RovyVon S3 Pro Flashlight Review
There’s a new big kid on the EDC block – the RovyVon S3 Pro flashlight. This S3 Pro offers 7075 aluminum, USB-C charging, and more! Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the RovyVon S3 Pro flashlight product page.
Versions
Quite a few versions and options are available on the RovyVon S3 Pro flashlight. First of all, there are two body metals. We saw this on the E3 as well – there’s “regular” aluminum and 7075 aluminum. I think 7075 is only available in the desert tan, as seen in this post (though I am not sure there’s any other way to differentiate them). Multiple body colors are available: black, green, and desert tan. Three emitter options are available as well, but may not be available in every body color. Cool white, warm white, and Warm+Red+blue are available.
Price
The non-7075 versions sell for $63.96 (sale price) and the 7075 desert tan sells for a small premium at $71.96.
Short Review
In product photos, I always just assumed this is an 18650 flashlight. So when I opened the package, I was a little surprised – it’s not really small. It’s probably appropriately sized for an EDC light, but definitely on the large end of that range. I like the user interface and metal (and indicating!) e-switch. There’s a lot to like! USB-C charging really blazes! But C to C does not seem to work. C to C charging does work, but you might have to pick through cables to find one that does.
Long Review
The Big Table
| RovyVon S3 Pro Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Luminus SST-20 (6500K) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $71.96 |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes, and Switch warning |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | with cell: lowest 3 modes without cell (or without tailcap): lowest 2 modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 2800 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 2097 (74.9% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 6.5 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 130 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 420lux @ 5.918m = 14710cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 242.6 (186.6% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | 6500 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 5500-6500 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | RovyVon |
| 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 S3 Pro flashlight
- Rovyvon INR21700
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Spare charge port cover
- Spare o-ring
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
For being a 21700 cell light, the RovyVon S3 Pro is a reasonably small flashlight. That size comes at the cost of things like sidewall thickness. This shows up most in places like the tailcap threads. More on that below.
In hand and in use, though, the S3 Pro feels great. It’s great for wielding if you will. It fits in hand nicely and the switch just ends up in the right place.
Here you can see the threads and tailcap. Those threads (at the left) are in probably the thinnest part of the whole light, and you can feel it when screwing/unscrewing the tailcap. It’s not bad and you will not have problems, but you’ll likely notice it. That said, you might never even unscrew the tailcap, since the S3 Pro has remarkably quick USB-C charging.
Both head (below) and tail (above) have springs.
I feel like this ring below does something, but I do not know what. This is not the charging area (like on Olights). And while there’s a magnet in the tailcap here, I’m fairly sure it’s fully inside the tailcap and not exposed in this way. So this unanodized ring just appears to be decoration (which is fine, obviously.)
Size and Comps
Size: 119mm(L)*28.9mm(Dia.);
Weight: 150g (battery included)
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’s 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.
Here’s the RovyVon S3 Pro with my other RovyVon in 7075 aluminum.
Retention and Carry
There are a few ways to carry the RovyVon S3 Pro flashlight. In fact, probably more ways for handling this flashlight than most. First is the pocket clip. It’s a fairly standard friction fit pocket clip, with a mouth that hits right on a smooth spot in the body – very easy to use. You may recognize this pocket clip from my other RovyVon S3, which is a 16340 flashlight. The clip is nearly the same, but I think this one is a bit longer.
Next is the tripod hole on the pocket clip. This hole is a threaded insert and quite high quality. In this “threaded ring” area, the clip has a good bit of spacing from the body. You may want to be sure your tripod screw isn’t too long, but I don’t think you’ll really run the risk of scratching the light with a screw. This screw hole can double as lanyard attachment, but no lanyard is included.
Power and Runtime
The RovyVon S3 Pro flashlight is powered by a single lithium-ion cell. RovyVon provides the cell: a 21700. The provided cell is a flat top and unprotected cell.
It’s installed into the RovyVon S3 Pro in the usual way – positive terminal toward the head.
The switch will turn red to indicate the cell has low voltage. In fact, it’ll do more, as follows:
Green: 50%-100%
Blue: 20%-49%
Red (Steady): <20%
Charging
A nice feature that RovyVon has kept (as many of their other lights have it, too) is charging. There’s a USB-C port in the tailcap, and it has a press-in rubber cover. There’s a spare cover, too.
An appropriate cable is included. It’s USB to USB-C.
While USB to USB-C works great and is very quick, C to C does not seem to work. C to C charging does work. I didn’t test a full cycle, but it charges at 5V, and I expect the profile looks about the same as you see below. I had to try a few different cables before I found one that works, so if it doesn’t work for you on the first try, just try a different cable!
The indicating switch indicates for charging, too, as follows:
Red “breathing”: 0%-19%
Blue “breathing”: 20%-49%
Green “breathing”: 50%-99%
Green (steady): 100%
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 2800 | 1.5m + 8.5h | 2548 | 6.93 |
| High | 1000 | 3m + 9h | 1021 | 1.82 |
| Medium | 200 | 19h | 192 | 0.28 |
| Low | 50 | 54h | 48 | 0.07 |
| Moonlight | 0.5 | 790h | 0.6 | ~ |
Pulse Width Modulation
There are some squiggles on the graphs below, but this is not PWM. Also, it’s very fast so nothing to worry about.
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
RovyVon has used an e-switch on the S3 Pro. It’s a side e-switch, and it has an indicating feature in the center.
The switch has a raised ring not all that different from a light like the RovyVon A24Ti. That’s good; that’s a great switch. This switch adds an indication feature, too, which is an improvement. Give RovyVon credit! They’ve taken a lot of input and made a light that answers that input. And obviously, this switch is exactly like the one on the S3.
The action is great, as I probably said already.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | Moonlight |
| Off | Hold | Momentary Turbo |
| Any | Double Click | On (mode memory) |
| On | Click | Mode advance (LMHT) |
| On (Except if On in Low from single click) | Hold | Off |
| Low | Click | Off |
| Any | Click 3x | Strobe |
| Strobe | Click | SOS |
LED and Beam
Used in the RovyVon S3 Pro flashlight are three emitters. In my case, these are only stated as 6500K – the make and model are not disclosed.
I tried pulling the bezel off but didn’t have much luck (and actually didn’t have the right tools at hand, so I really only played at it.)
The bezel is flat, so light doesn’t escape when headstanding.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
These Luminus SST-20 emitters start at a reasonable 5500K and stretch all the way up to a cool 6500K by the higher output levels. Each mode displays a fairly positive dUV, which means they can appear greenish. CRI is low at around 71, too.
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.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Warm White emitter option
- High CRI option
- USB-C Charging works well (and is fast!)
- Tripod threads in clip (though a sleeker clip without that might be a nice accessory)
- Uses standard flat top 21700
- Includes standard 21700
- Great e-switch
- Indication features are useful
What I don’t like
- The user interface can be a bit complicated, with the “if’s”
Notes
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