Rofis R1 Flashlight Review

Check out this Rofis R1, a flashlight with an indicating switch, magnet, and a Cree XM-L2 emitter. Read on for testing and thoughts!

---

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Rofis R1 Flashlight on GearBest – check it out there!

Versions

There is only one version of the Rofis R1.

Price

GearBest’s current price is $51.52.  Looks like the regular/normal price is around $69.95.

---

Short Review

While this light is a little long, the whole package is great, and of course, I like the orange accessories.  🙂  The twisty head works well, and onboard charging is a good bonus.

Long Review

The Big Table

Rofis R1
Emitter:	Cree XM-L2 U2
Price in USD at publication time:	$51.52
Cell:	1×16340
Turbo Runtime
LVP?	No (Switch Warning)
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (A):	?
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Chargetime
Power off Charge Port with no Cell?	?
Claimed Lumens (lm)	900
Claimed Throw (m)	150
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	157lux @ 4.346m = 2965cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	108.9 (72.6% of claim)^
All my Rofis reviews!

^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.

What’s Included

• Rofis R1 Flashlight
• Rofis 16340
• Lanyard
• Charge cable
• Head strap
• Manual and paperwork

Package and Manual

Rofis has a black package with orange trim.  The package has a photo of the light on the front, and features/specs on the back.  There’s a GearBest inventory sticker on the back, so see the manual for the specs. 🙂

The box is a kind of flip-open package, with a window showing the light.

The manual is good.  It’s a long piece of paper, printed front and back with many languages (8, maybe?).  I like that the numbers part isn’t repeated – that’s not usually necessary in my opinion.  Just the wording is repeated.  Saves a little space.  What words there are cover the light well.

Build Quality and Disassembly

Like other Rofis lights I’ve handled, the R1 has great build quality.  It feels great in the hand, and while I might complain later about it being “long for it’s size” or “too long” – in fact, it’s a nice size in-hand.

Especially when used as an “aerosol” or right-angle setup, it’s just a nicely built light.  The twist feature is very smooth, and there’s adequate grip on the head (with a bunch of mass-removing cutouts) to grip.

The threads on the tail are thick square-cut, and not all that lubricated.  The tailcap threads on very smoothly, anyway.  I wasn’t able to get any other parts of the light off, but I believe the bezel should unscrew with the right motivation.  Note in the body of the light that there’s a brass ring around the positive contact.  This is physical reverse polarity protection (and prevents flat top cells, too).

Size

Officially the R1 is 79.8mm long and 31.2mm in diameter. When angled, the length is just 69.6mm. With battery, the R1 weighs 67g.

I have a couple of comparison shots but I managed to forget to upload them.  I’ll add those back in at zeroair.org later.

Retention

The R1 comes with three means of retention.  Firstly, the pocket clip.  It’s a friction fit clip, which attaches to the head end.  The clip will remain on the light while the head twists around, but it needs to be in one certain spot.  That spot is on the side with the “Rofis” label.  The clip is good – very standard clip.

Next is the headstrap.  The silicon part is orange, so is obviously vastly superior to any other holder.  The strap is brown and green – altogether unusual.  Only around the head, not over, which is fine for a light.

It’s not really possible to use the headband with the pocket clip installed.  It is possible to use the headstrap with the light in a straight (forward) position – with the light body around on the side of your head.  That’s a nice variation.

Finally, the tailcap has a magnet, and it’s nice and strong.  It looks to be held in by the brass contact spring and is likely removable.

Power

Rofis includes the cell required to run this light; a 16340.  A button top is required – there’s physical protection to prevent reverse polarity, which also prevents flat-top cells.

Here’s a runtime on Turbo.  Turbo steps down at exactly the claimed 30 seconds.  It’s also possible to reset the light to Turbo, though it doesn’t reach 100%.  Unfortunately the 30 second stepdown confounds a throw measure.  I measure at 30 seconds, and the light stepped down literally exactly when I took my measurement.  I can’t fairly say that the throw rating is inaccurate, but according to the [FL1] standards I measure by, that’s why there’s such a disparity.

I also didn’t find the light or cell to have any low voltage protection.  When this runtime was over the cell was reading 0.0V.  The manual says there’s a warning indication on the switch (red, flashing), but I didn’t observe that in my testing.  More on the switch later.

Charging

The R1 also has onboard charging.  This is achieved with a magnetic connector on the light end, and a USB on the other.  The cable is fairly short, but the connection is very good, and charging works well.  Since the cell used in the light is not proprietary, the R1 can recharge any button top 16340.

The chargetime is one of the cleanest I can recall.  Absolutely flat 0.44A charging.  Fairly slow charging, but 0.5C should be very easy on the cell, a feature I appreciate. The cell is labeled as “700mAh” but it tests much higher, at almost 800mAh.

User Interface and Operation

There’s a single switch on the R1. It’s a silicone side e-switch. It’s large and responsive, and if I’m honest, I really love it. It’s one of the better indicating switches I can recall – very nice illumination across the switch.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t observe the red part of the indicating switch warning me about low voltage.  And since the light has no LVP, I ran the cell down to 0.0V, which of course, is not good.  I further tested the switch with my bench power, and while the green works fine, I still didn’t observe the red.

A note about the green – when a cell is first installed in the light, there’s a voltage check.  If the cell has >50% capacity, the switch lights green for 2s.  If power is between 10 and 50%, the red will light, for 2s.  If power is <10%, the red switch will flash for 3s and shut off.  During the time that the switch is lit, the light is unresponsive.  This means that for 2 seconds after installing a cell, the light is inoperable.  That sounds minor, but I found it very annoying.

Here’s a user interface table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Click	On (Mode Memory, excluding Turbo)
On	Hold	Mode change (LMH only)
Any	Double Click	Turbo
Off	Hold	Moonlight
Any	Triple (or more) Click	Strobe
Strobe Group	Hold	Strobe Cycle (Strobe, SOS)
Off	Long Press	Lockout
Lockout	Long Press	Unlock (Moonlight)

Modes

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Mode Measured Lux	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	900/300	30s/65m	18370	3.56
High	300	70m	6240	0.54
Mid	60	7.5h	1232	0.08
Low	10	40h	254	0.01
Moon	0.5	20d	4	0.00
Strobe	900		–

LED and Beam

The emitter of choice in the R1 is a Cree XM-L2 U2.  The reflector is shallow and smooth.  The beam has a distinct hotspot with very little spill.

It’s worth noting that the moonlight mode on the R1 is very respectable.

And while I didn’t talk about it a whole lot in the review, the angle feature of this light is neat, useful, and makes the light just look cool!

Beamshots

These beamshots are always with the following settings:  f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.

 

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)

I keep the test flashlight on the left, and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.

Random Comparisons and Competitive Options

Here’s a relevantly filtered page on parametrek.com.

It’s probably safer to categorize this light as a “headlamp,” even though I’ll use it mainly as a straight light.  Even in the more limited headlamp category, there’s quite a bit of competition.  Even Zebralight has a bunch of entries in this group.  That said, once “on-board charging” is added, there’s really just one other competitor:  The Olight H1R.  Now I liked the H1R, but the R1 adds a twistable head, which is a nice, and neat, bonus.

Conclusion

What I like

• Switch (great to press!)
• Magnetic tail
• Ships as full package
• Orange silicone headband holder!

What I don’t like

• 30 second stepdown
• Tint is not all that fantastic
• Light is a little long
• No Low Voltage Protection

---

Notes

• This light was provided by GearBest for review. I was not paid to write this review.
• This content originally appeared at zeroair.org.  Please visit there for the best experience!
• For flashlight-related patches, stickers, and gear, head over to PhotonPhreaks.com!
• Use my amazon.com referral link if you’re willing to help support making more reviews like this one!
• Please support me on Patreon! I deeply appreciate your support!