Ray O Vac 1AAA LED Penlight Comparison Review

[UnknownVT]

I picked up this neat and inexpensive light at WalMart for $2.95

Size and head -

It's a (I assume) 5mm LED light with a tightly focussed lens.

It's obviously not as small as the well known 1AAA LED lights like the legendary ArcAAA, Fenix E0 or even the other now legendary and popular Dorcy 1AAA -
but it is small for a penlight as it runs from just a single AAA battery (supplied). It has a (reverse) clicky switch and obviously a (pen) pocket clip. It comes in other colors - blue and orange.

Being a spot beam the most similar is the current gen4 Spot Dorcy 1AAA - (which I like a lot as it limits the extraneous spillage of light, and the light is very even in the spot).

vs. Dorcy 1AAA Spot gen4

this is not bad at all -
subjectively this Ray O Vac 1AAA penlight seems to give about the same total amount of the light as the gen4 Spot Dorcy 1AAA. The spot is tighter so more concentrated - but the spot is not as even as the Dorcy 1AAA, and the RoV is very blue tinted in comparison.
Still this is almost half the price - a handy size, with a built-in pocket clip and a clicky switch.

Having that blue tint reminded me of the infamously blue Nuwai 1/2watts.

vs. Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H)

both these light have that rather obvious blue tint.
Brightness - hard call to make, since the beam characteristics are so different - but this little RoV penlight is pretty bright in comparison -obviously the Nuwai is more generally useful with its wide side-spill.

vs. Fenix E0

The Fenix E0 has a much more pleasent tint - although when shown in the -2 stops underexposed shot one can seen the characteristic Nichia CS blue center.

vs. Inova X1 Spot - White

The Inova X1 spot is even tighter and more concentrated. I feel the X1 is probably generally brighter. Again this RoV penlight's spot is not as even as the X1, and it's bluer.

Just to show how small these spots are - here's a beamshot with the lens setting zoomed back to my normal setting which shows the full target/paper.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Thanks for another great comparo, Vincent. I've had my ROV penlight for almost a month now and been happy with it. Still running on the original battery, and it's see a good bit of use. It's very convenient with the pocket clip and clickie switch.

Geoff

 

[Hondo]

I grabbed one of these about a week ago also. I subjectively felt it was not even close to the other lights compared for overall output (I have them all, sick). But I measured my draw at the battery, and it was only about 60 mA, so runtime should be even better than the marathon Fenix E0. The low price, nice aluminum finish and power sipping circuit make it a keeper for me, but its output also keep it from being any kind of "go to" light.

Hondo

 

[UnknownVT]

I measured my draw at the battery, and it was only about 60 mA, so runtime should be even better than the marathon Fenix E0.

Interesting - I just did a current draw measurement -

RayOVac alkaline AAA battery (as supplied with light) 1.569V open-circuit -
current draw 0.01A (on 10A scale) and 97.9mA (on 200mA scale)

Compare this with -
Fenix E0 - alkaline AAA @ 1.527V Open-Circuit
Current = 79mA

Dorcy 1AAA gen4 Spot - AAA alkaline 1.586V open circuit
Current = 0.15A

The Fenix E0 has been tested to run about 10 hours to 50%,
the Dorcy 1AAA gen4 ran for between 5-6 hours -
so it would seem from my measurements that this RoV 1AAA penlight probably would run for about 7-8 hours?

 

[WadeF]

I picked one up a Walmart. I wasn't that impressed, since it advertised "SUPER BRIGHT" or something on the packaging. More like super dim. It's a fun design though, clicks like a click pen. I might keep this in the car when a low level light is needed.

 

[swxb12]

Kudos to Ray O Vac for a very inexpensive but 'classy' looking design. Thanks for the big comparison, UnknownVT.

 

[UnknownVT]

hmmmm..... it seems like there are at least two people who thought this RoV 1AAA LED penlight was dim.

I thought it was at least in the same/similar ballpark as other single celled single 5mm LED lights I have - as my side-by-side comparison beamshots seems to show. I realize that the fairly tight/narrow spot beam may make these comparisons difficult - but to my eyes this RoV penlight held its own compared to modern single 5mm lights.

Be really interested to hear more impressions of whether this light is "dim", or "reasonable" for a single 5mm light using 1x AAA alkaline.

Also I thought my sample was blue tinted - are others similar - or is there a wide variation in tints?

Lastly I found the head unscrews pretty easily -

 

[RebelXTNC]

I bought one about a month ago.
I think the worst thing about mine was the blue tint of the LED.
The beam wasn't very even but it was acceptable.
I also found the clickie to be very loud but again it seemed reliable and flicker free and was acceptable if you weren't in a quiet environment. Since I often work where noise is to be avoided, I gave the light away after testing it.
I did consider it pretty dim but I think if the LED had been whiter I would have found it more useful. I didn't actually compare it to other lights though, so I'm just going from my memory.
The deep blue-purple body color is just dark enough to disappear in low light. I think the silver or the red-orange would be better in that regard.

 

[WadeF]

I was at Target today and saw Energizer has a similar product, but it's two AAA's, and the pen body is metal. The LED is brighter, but it is really purple. When I turn it on Barney appears.

 

[UnknownVT]

I was at Target today and saw Energizer has a similar product, but it's two AAA's, and the pen body is metal. The LED is brighter, but it is really purple. When I turn it on Barney appears.

LoL!

Yes, I saw that too at WalMart - I think at about $5(?) -
this RoV 1AAA penlight does have a bit of a pink overtone to the blue - not enough to make it "purple" though.

I wonder what LED the RoV is using - since it seems to have that single wire shadow that the Nichia CS shows - but the tint is too blue.

 

[Hondo]

Interesting - I just did a current draw measurement -

RayOVac alkaline AAA battery (as supplied with light) 1.569V open-circuit -
current draw 0.01A (on 10A scale) and 97.9mA (on 200mA scale)

Compare this with -
Fenix E0 - alkaline AAA @ 1.527V Open-Circuit
Current = 79mA

Dorcy 1AAA gen4 Spot - AAA alkaline 1.586V open circuit
Current = 0.15A

The Fenix E0 has been tested to run about 10 hours to 50%,
the Dorcy 1AAA gen4 ran for between 5-6 hours -
so it would seem from my measurements that this RoV 1AAA penlight probably would run for about 7-8 hours?

I am thinking this could be a circuit that is very sensitive to the Vf of the LED, like the E0. I got about the same draw on my E0 as you, but when I put in an uncut MJLED, it jumped to about double with the low Vf of that LED. The Dorcy, on the other hand, stayed about the same with either LED. My Dorcy AAA pulls a bit closer to 200 mA with a NiMH, and near 300 mA on a fresh alkaline, though - it is the older circuit with the reflector lights. So my Rayovac and some of the other "dim" reports could have higer Vf LED's in them, and be runtime champs, while yours has a bit lower Vf for better brightness - just a guess. For three bucks, I may have to try another to test the theory.

I really like those 2xAAA Energizers for shirt pocket carry, though. That thing is bright and floody, which is my usual preference in beam style. Mine don't seem so terribly blue as some have found. Unfortunately, my local Walmarts have all stopped carrying them, but I think they are only a buck more at Target.


Hondo

 

[Hondo]

Sorry, must correct myself. I must have been getting consistantly bad contact when I first measured current on this light, because I now get 100 to 110 mA with a fresh alkaline, about the same as you, Vincent. Although my comments with respect to the E0 should still be correct. This light should still be a very long runner, and I tried putting in a "dead" AAA from the bench, at 1.25 volts, and it was still surprisingly bright, subjectively still over 50% of new, although probably not according to a light meter.

I did try a couple more of these for subjective brightness, and I still see them as dimmer than just about anything else I have. But for those liking a "covert" beam, they may be the ticket, although the glowing head around the lense could conflict with that objective.

Hondo

 

[LedLad]

Picked one up last week. Nice little light, as noted above it does have a very blue tinge to the beam, nice tight spot with a narrow ring offset from the spot, not an eyeburner by any means but a nice cheap well-made (seemingly) shirt pocket special. FWIW I like the ROV better than the Dorcy because the Dorcy push button is blocked from easy use by the metal triangle attach point although the twist is fine.

 

[Hondo]

FWIW I like the ROV better than the Dorcy because the Dorcy push button is blocked from easy use by the metal triangle attach point although the twist is fine.

That Dorcy attachment wire can be adjusted to "snap" up tight to the tail button so it won't interfere, I have had a couple that would swing into the way of momentary operation too. If you flex one end out of the hole in the plastic tail button, you can detach the whole thing. I use a tiny screwdriver, then I bend the little end in towards the main arc of the wire a tad with a small needle nose pliers and reinstall. Usually gets them to stay against the aluminum tailcap unless I pull it down on purpose. I have a hard time comparing this Rayovac light to the Dorcy AAA, as I only have the old reflector style Dorcy, modded with a high output LED, it's not a fair fight. The ROV only wins on one count for me, it kills the old Dorcy for runtime.

Hondo

 

[beautifully-stupid]

I got sucked in by the size and price but mine was really dim. YMMV but this one went straight into the trash.

 

[WadeF]

I wonder how the Rayovac pen would be with one of those 3v lithium-ion AAA's in it.

 

[swxb12]

I wonder how the Rayovac pen would be with one of those 3v lithium-ion AAA's in it.

Exact opposite of M&M's? :devil: