How This Tiny Gadget Quickly Became My Go-To EDC

I’ve had it for over a year. It’s tiny. It’s affordable. It’s awesome.

By Tucker Bowe

Published November 14, 2024

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Updated November 14, 2024

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Admittedly, I bought the RovyVon Aurora A8 flashlight on bit of a whim.

Last year, I was going through a bit of an obsession with transparent gadgets (like this Dockcase USB-C hub and Shargeek’s portable battery) and I also needed a flashlight because days were short and my dog was as dark as night.

I forget where I first saw it, but during a late-night browsing session (and after a few hazy IPAs), I bought the tiny flashlight. Fast-forward to a year later, and I couldn’t be happier — this little thing is awesome.

RovyVon Aurora A8

My tiny flashlight

I needed a new flashlight because the ones I had were either too big, too old or didn’t get bright enough — most were all three. My iPhone’s flashlight? It just didn’t have the distance.

Why did I need a flashlight? If your dog has ever chased deer at night or you’ve had to bag their poop in complete darkness, then you know why.

A year on, the Aurora A8 has been the perfect dog-walking companion for a bunch of reasons. Mostly because it gets super bright and is so tiny — when Jersey nights get chilly and you need to tuck hands in pockets, the latter fact is a big deal.

A 650-lumen beam

When I say that this tiny flashlight gets bright, I really mean it. It maxes out at 650 lumens, which is bright as all heck. (I’m no flashlight expert, but a quick Google search tells me that most flashlights emit around 100 lumens.) If that’s too bright for you, the flashlight has several lesser modes.

Its light also goes far. I often bring my dog to my parent’s house and let her off leash, and the Aurora A8 fully illuminates most of the yard for what seems like a hundred yards. It’s incredible.

See-through nostalgia

I mean, just look at it — you can see right into it.

Admittedly, transparent gadgets are a bit of a trend these days. A bunch of brands have released see-through gadgets — everything from phones to wireless earbuds, wall adapters to chargers, video game consoles to turntables.

And as somebody who grew up with a see-through GameBoy and N64 controller, I’m here for the nostalgia. A year later, every time I pick up the Aurora A8, I still think it looks damn cool.

No need to replace a battery

Fun fact: The Aurora A8 is slightly smaller than an AA battery. Also, you don’t have to worry about AA batteries because the tiny flashlight is rechargeable.

The Aurora A8 has a USB-C charging port, just like the newest iPhones, so I can charge it with the same cables I have spread around my house.

That said, I do have to charge it quite frequently. Because it is so small and gets so bright (and because I use it every night), I charge it probably once a week.

According to the company, the Aurora A8 can get up to 72 hours of runtime on the lowest brightness or up to 1.5 hours on the highest.

Light from within

When on, the Aurora A8 lights up both inside and out. It features some LEDs inside that illuminates body that, admittedly, looks neat as hell.

Also, the flashlight has a couple of neat tricks. If you quickly triple-tap the power button, the flashlight turns amber. If you quad-tap the power button, it starts flashing red and blue.

Admittedly, I don’t use these different-colored lights much, but they could be handy if you’re reading at night (the amber light protects your eyes) or in an emergency. I find them just fun to fiddle with.

Less than $50

The Aurora A8 isn’t terribly expensive. When I bought it a year ago, I think Amazon had it discounted to $37. But it’s normally around $45.

Also, RovyVon sells a bunch of similar-yet-different tiny flashlights in its Aurora line. Not all are see-through (if that’s not your jam) and some come with additional clips or are able to flash different colors.

You can check out all the different models in RovyVon’s Aurora line, here.