this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2023
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Portable illumination

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The RovyVon A5x is my EDC at the moment, and I love it enough that I bought another one when I killed it in the washing machine (it's IP66 - but only with the charging plug in - long story at the end).

Like a few of these little lights, it has ancillary LED's on the side. I chose the white+UV side LEDs. The other option is white + red which would probably be more useful, except this is the glow-in-the-dark case, and the UV supercharges that in a couple of seconds.

The GITD is not amazing, but if you're camping away from city lights, it's still bright enough to find the next morning right up till the sun comes up.

The choices for the main LED are CREE XP-G3 or Nichia 219C. I went with the Nichia with a warmer CRI. The Nichia is 450 lumens vs the Cree 650.

The battery is rated 330mAh and is USB-C chargeable (I think my old one was mini USB?). The story with the charging plug on my old one was I washed it in the pocket of some pants, and it still worked, but I could see a drop of moisture inside. I pulled the charging port stopper right out since it kept half closing itself in the rice. Then I couldn't get it back in (probably could have with tweezers) so I thought I'd do that later, then washed it again the following weekend without the plug in. I went all out with the drying attempts, but it was properly soaked through, and never came back from that.

It doesn't really tailstand unless you've got the magnet on (I do) and something to stick it to. It's just a lovely little general use torch for your pocket.

reflector view

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I've got one of the older models. I love it. What do you mean when you say the magnet?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Both mine had a little clip on magnet came with it. I was dubious when I clicked it on that it would stay there, but it's been fine. It just clips on the the bottom of the keychain loop.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

USB C is a big boon. The old one is indeed micro B - USB 2.0 which is my least favorite connector - it's so flimsy.

My main gripe with the old one (and maybe I had a dud) was the standby time was pretty awful. 3-4 days after charging and the light would only run for a few minutes.

I'll have to look at the revision after your review - it seems like at least a few improvements.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

There was something wrong with your light. I keep one on my nightstand that gets used almost every night. I recharge it every two or three months and have never had a low battery issue.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Unfortunate - that's good to know - Thanks. I'll try swapping the battery in it, probably just had a bad one.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

That might have been addressed along the way. I generally do mine every second weekend and it's not flat by then.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

I EDC the latest Gen4 version. The Aurora series really are outstanding lights. The versatility of the front and side lights makes them a lot more useful for all kinds of tasks. They are perfect for all kinds of up-close work. They also have enough power for brighter and longer range work, as long as it's relatively brief.

Rovyvon has also done a great job of improving these lights with every generation. They've gotten bigger batteries, better switches, better LEDs, better charging, and even better user interfaces (adding an ultra-low level). The Aurora is not a replacement for my Emisar DT8, but it can cover the essentials surprisingly well and do it at a fraction of the size and weight.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I (finally) received a couple of these recently after seeing this post and placing an order. One for my dad and one for me. We both really like them, and discovering how to use the interface together was really fun and exciting. These are such cool little devices, super bright, extremely functional, and great quality it seems. Thanks for sharing, otherwise I would've never known about such a neat little necessity.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Great stuff - thanks for coming back to say so. I hope you both enjoy them as much as I have. Don't put them through the washing machine with the charging plug out ;- )

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Of course, and I'll try not to! XD