I saw this little Rovyvon A5 flashlight advertised somewhere on social media. I can't remember where exactly, but the size and features caught my eye immediately.
Considerations:
When deciding to purchase this flashlight, I had a number of considerations to mull over:
- Availability:
Mail order only from outside of New Zealand is always a bit of a downer for me, as postage adds to the cost. Fortunately delivery was pretty quick.
- Brightness and runtimes:
I knew with a tiny torch, I'd have to compromise on brightness, but then I recalled I used to carry around a 2AA Mini Maglite with me (Not the Solitaire model either, which was too dim for practical use for me), and realised that these were not much longer than the head of the Maglite!. On high, these torches are more than bright enough for what I generally need it for (Lighting a room briefly, finding the door locks, opening the garage door at night etc). The side lights are also bright enough and floody enough.
- Multiple modes:
Flashlights are no longer one trick ponies, and multiple modes is common. These two flashlights have multiple brightnesses, modes and colour options.
- Power source:
- Ease of use:
Multiple key presses are not my favourite UI, but on something this size, there are not much options. I would prefer that the momentary on was mid or low brightness, rather than full.
The contenders:
I wasn't sure whether to get the Glow in the dark A5 with the red or UV sidelight option. I'm always keen on UV lights, for checking security features on documents (Something I used to do professionally), but decided upon the red option. I figured that it would be more practical. I wasn't too fussed about CRI.
When the A8 was released, I decided to go for the UV version, so I was more likely to have all the functions I needed on me.
The verdict:
I love both of these flashlights. I have the glow in the dark A5 (with red sidelight) in my pocket, with my Leatherman Squirt PS4, and the A8 (with UV and red sidelights) on my keychain.
I do find the cycling through modes a little messy, especially if I hadn't used them for a while, but usually I get there in the end!
I figure that when i need to check banknotes (As I did when I was in Colombia) having the UV light on my keychain was most logical.
I did have a problem with the metal clip breaking, and Rovyvon replaced it for free when I contacted them.
Since these flashlights were release, Nitecore has released a similar flashlight, in their TIKI model.
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