RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium Flashlight Review
RovyVon released a special edition Aurora A11 Titanium flashlight as a sort of beacon of hope after a rough 2020. Read on for testing!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium flashlight product page.
Versions
Specific to the Aurora A11 line, there are three lights. “Dawn in the Dark,” “Rainbow after the rain,” and “Blue Sky.” What I have here is Blue Sky. These are all titanium, and there were only 100 of each made. They could originally be purchased with or without tritium, and with Cree XP-G3 (as seen here) or Nichia 219c.
Price
These are selling for $98.95. The RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium flashlight is available on amazon. (That is a referral link.)
Short Review on the RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium Flashlight
The RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium flashlight is very much like the A3x, which I reviewed previously. Notable differences include that it’s titanium and that it’s anodized in a special way. I liked the A3x just fine, and the A11 is a nice improvement in form, with a similar function.
Long Review
The Big Table
| RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium Flashlight “Blue Sky” | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XP-G3 |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $98.95 on amazon. |
| Cell: | Internal (260mAh LiPO) |
| High Runtime Graph | Medium Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | micro-USB |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | Yes, all modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 650 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 254 (39.1% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 6.5 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 109 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 220lux @ 3.011m = 1995cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 89.3 (81.9% of claim)^ |
| All my RovyVon 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
- RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium Flashlight
- Pocket clip (unattached)
- Charge cable (USB to micro-USB)
- Lanyard
- Split ring
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Up front: I didn’t disassemble this light. It was somewhat possible with the old series, but the bezel is glued down.
There’s not much difference in the A3x/A4x and this version, but there are a few things… Namely that the body is titanium. That’s a big thing! The three anodized options are very attractive.
Below you can see another of the major differences: tritium slots! There are two, and they change the way the lanyard loop is designed. It’s not a change in function though.
The tritium slot has a very nice “peekaboo” side view, too. This is somewhat unusual, and I love it!
Size and Comps
Officially:
Length: 57.3mm
Diameter: 15.6mm
Weight: 24.7g
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine is a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light!
And here’s the light beside my custom-engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.
Retention and Carry
The main way this will be carried is probably a keychain, for which there is a split ring included. That split ring will attach to the loop on the end of the body. Also, this is the lanyard attachment point (and a lanyard is included).
Here’s the lanyard attached.
The body now has only one clip attachment point – probably good for those of us already on the edge of analysis paralysis with daily life decisions. (Original RovyVon lights had multiple slots into which the clip could be placed). And the clip will go either direction, so the light can work as a hatlight just great.
Power and Runtime
The A3x, like the models before, is powered by a built-in lipo pouch battery. This is not replaceable, except by RovyVon.
The runtime for high and medium follow. Output doesn’t hit the claim when considered to FL1 standards, and even initial output isn’t hitting the 650lumen claim in my testing.
The switch will give a low voltage indication, but I didn’t observe the light actually shutting off.
Charging
Of course, since the battery is built-in, there must be onboard charging too. There is, in the form of a micro-USB port in the side of the tail. It’s covered with a press-in translucent silicone cover.
This cover is easy to take out but doesn’t just fall out easily on its own. Would I love this to have been USB-C? Yes I would. But I still have plenty of micro-USB cables, so it’s not really a problem for me. And charging is quick enough anyway.
The included cable is USB to micro-USB.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | 450 | 1.5m/75m | 254 |
| Medium | 260 | 1.5m/95m | 235 |
| Low | 15 | 8h | 15 |
| Moonlight | 2 | 30h | 2 |
Sorry, since I can’t get into the light, I also can’t measure mode-current.
Pulse Width Modulation
PWM is still present, but it’s greatly improved from the originals. I can’t even see this PWM by eye, and the older model had extremely evident PWM. So this is much better. I believe this is even improved from the A3x model, too. Much faster
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
There’s a single side switch for operating the RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium flashlight. It’s a clicky indicating side e-switch. Despite how it looks, it’s still a silicone switch cover.
I am seeing a little bit of (fairly important) discrepancy between the manual (what I want) and what my light has with regards to UI. Namely that double-clicking to turn the light on steady does not go to moonlight as we wish, but goes to Medium (consistently, though).
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Hold | Momentary High |
| Off | Double Click | Moonlight (technically the manually memorized mode^) |
| On | Click | Mode Cycle (Moon > Low > Med > High) |
| On | Hold | Off |
| On >3m | Click | Off (and also sets the mode memory) |
| Any | Click 3x | Strobe |
^ It’s possible to memorize any of the 4 modes with this UI. Just leave the light on for around 3 minutes, and that mode is memorized (except for secondary emitters). Your light will likely ship with this mode set to High!
LED and Beam
My review copy has Cree XP-G3, which is what you’d want to pick for higher output. At the time RovyVon shipped this light to me, this was the only option they had in stock.
As this is a limited run, if you desire to purchase Nichia, I’d recommend doing that sooner than later…
RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium Flashlight LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
Pretty typical XP-G3 CRI/CCT here, I think. This is in the 6500K range, or cooler, and makes it a very “cool white” output flashlight.
Beamshots
These beamshots always have 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.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion on the RovyVon Aurora A11 Titanium Flashlight
What I like
- New battery is twice the capacity as the old
- Output is good (but rated from turn-on not 30s FL1 standard)
- Build quality is good – sturdy light
- Quite fantastic titanium finishes
What I don’t like
- Switch cover could be metal (like the bigger A23 lights)
- PWM is still present (though greatly improved!)
Notes
- This light was provided by RovyVon for review. I was not paid to write this review.
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