The Arkflex adds a new angle to the innovative wedge style EDC. The Arkflex rounds out the harder squared edges of the Arkfeld design. It is a little smaller and lighter than the Arkfeld and lacks the rotary control, UV light, and laser. Arkflex adds a new feature: a hinged top which can tilt the dual LED emitter to 90º angle. With the tilting emitter, the Arkflex can transform from a standard wand style flashlight, into a clip-on hands free work light.
In testing, the Arflex meets or exceeds all of its printed specs. The Arkflex outputs a little over a maximum of 1000 lumens in Turbo mode. It has a runtime of 120 minutes in Turbo and can be fully immersed in water.
But nothing is perfect. After my testing, my sample unit wouldn’t turn off until the battery died and wouldn’t recharge. It was defective. But rather than this review ending in a negative conclusion, it became a test of the company’s warranty and customer service.
I went to the Warranty and Repairs page of Olight’s website and entered in a return request. After uploading photos of the unit and describing the issue, they emailed me a PDF return label. I received a replacement unit a few days later. Unfortunately Olight was out of the Halloween limited edition lights, so they sent me a plain orange one. Far from disappointed, I was impressed with how easy Olight’s warranty return process was.
The Arkfeld Ultra is an upgrade on the Arkfeld Pro, which I reviewed just a few month ago. The Ultra increases light output by 100lumens which isn’t a huge leap in output. The more notable changes are in the design of the body and a new aluminum alloy used in it’s construction, that Olight calls O-aluminum.
The Ultra has a slightly raised and beveled face on it’s body design, somewhat reminiscent of the Tesla Cybertruck. This serves a practical purpose, shielding the control ring and button from wear and tear. For extra credit, I tested the Ultra’s claimed extra strong design by running it over with my KIA SUV. It survived, though I did bend the belt clip noticeably and scratched up the lower body (though not as badly as I would have expected).
The Ultra also features a finely checkered pattern on the sides of the box-shaped flashlight, which provides more grip friction than the Arkfeld Pro’s ribbed pattern. In performance, the Arkfeld Ultra is nearly identical to the Pro. My testing did confirm a light output near its claimed 1400 lumens. The Ultra is rechargeable and uses the same magnetic recharging cable as the Pro and other Olight flashlights.
The Ultra costs about $20 more than the Pro but the latter offers a wider array of color selection in its body. At the moment the Ultra only comes in a olive-gold like color thats somewhat infused into the metal. In addition, Olight inlcudes a limited edition Olight challenge coin in the Ultra box.
The Klarus E5 looks like a flashlight Apple would design: a cross between a highly functional EDC and an overpriced minimalist fashion accessory. But the E5 is anything but overpriced. Flat EDC lights are a mini-trend in flashlights. The Olight Arkfeld is probably the best-known example. Klarus has staked out its position by offering the lightest, flattest EDC.
The 1.4 oz E5 weighs less than a pair of Apple AirPods (with charging case). It’s about the size of 3″ bladed EDC knife and shares about the same pocket space. It has a magnetic tip that allows the E5 to tail-stand as a work light or be attached to the roof of a car as a warning signal. The EP5 comes in 6 different colors, with matching colored belt clips.
The EP5 has two light emitters. In function, it’s intended to be primarily a clip-on lapel light. Its main LED emitter is its larger round light on its side. Its auxiliary light forms the top end opposite its magnet. Both lights are activated and controlled by a single side button the light. Tapping on the button after the light unit is activated switches the main light from low-medium-high-flash/signal modes. Keeping the button pressed after activation switches between the Main and Aux light emitters. Double tapping the button activates the Aux light in strobe mode. Triple tapping the button activates the Main light in Turbo mode, outputting a maximum of 600 lumens
The EP5 trades off ergonomics in controls and function for minimalist aesthetics. The EP5 is stylish and lightweight, making it appealing, but it lacks features like mode memory, which are required in a real EDC work light. But its low price, lightweight, and packability make it a great every-day-carry light, just not an every-day-use light.
I assume ‘PD’ in PD32R stands for Police Department because Fenix designed their entire PD flashlight line “professional” users such as LEOs, security, and first responders. First impressions of the unit are that it’s a ‘typical’ looking tactical flashlight with a 1″ barrel, tail click button, and crenellated bell. But looking at the Specs we can see it’s an evolutionary rather than evolutionary flashlight.
The PD32R runs off a standard 18650 lipo cell. An o-ringed screw down collar below the bell covers a USB-C port which allows you to recharge the battery inside the PD32R. The flashlight is IPX-68 rated means it can be submerged in down to 2m of water for up to half an hour. I tested it sealed in a water jug for an hour with no moisture leaking in.
It has a silent tail click button that activates the unit and based on the length and number of presses allows you to cycle through it’s brightness modes: low, medium, high, and turbo. The button is partially hooded to protect it from accidental presses but will not allow it to tail stand. mode has offers up to 1400 lumens of brightess that automatically dims to high and medium to avoid overheating the electronics.
There is a strobe mode which is activated by keeping the button pressed for 3 seconds. This is intended to be hide the strobe from accidental activation or activated under stress when a user crunches down on the button. I would have liked to allow the user to means to change this feature to switch out to Turbo instead of strobe for those who absolutely do not want a strobe on their EDC.
OLight turned heads when they released the Arkfeld EDC light a few years ago. The Arkfeld’s innovative flattened box design was an inspired departure from the barrel tube body of flashlights since the 19th century. This newest version, the Arkfeld PRO, adds both a UV inspection light and a green laser pointer to a high lumen output multi mode white LED.
The primary controls are an ergonomic dial and a single, if not completely intuitive, activation button on the side of the unit. The dial switches between white light, laser, and UV light. Its internal battery has charge indicator lights below the mode dial. It is recharged via OLight proprietary magnetic charging adapter calbe which is USB-A compatible. The magnetic charging port at the tail of the unit has the secondary function of allowing the flashlight to be attached to metal surfaces, like a car hood.
The Arkfeld features a deep cary clip which can be removed. The clip is 2-directional allowing it to be clipped into the brim of a cap to function as a headlamp. The body is a solid feeling box of aluminum that comes in a variety of colors and some special edition graphic paint jobs.
In my testing I was able to get more than it’s 1300 lumen advertised maximum brightness. It met my drop test and water proof testing. Fully recharged I got a runtime of about 140 minutes starting in Turbo mode which aligns with OLight’s specs.
I’ve been used to wearing a smaller and lighter EDC but despite the Arkfeld’s larger size and weight, its flattened design allows it to fit into most pants pockets with minimal printing or encumbrance. My only peevs with this otherwise near perfect EDC is that the simple one-click activation can lead to accidental activation in pocks and that a double-click could lead to accidental strobe activation.
At the 5.11 booth a came across their BRAVO travel jacket. This blazer sports coat has internal secure pockets and retaining straps. This covert jacket allows you to carry various EDC gear in a secure and ergonomic manner for rapid access and deployment. It isn’t quite John Wick’s bullet proof Italian suit but I imagine it’s a suit he’d wear while on vacation from a “job”.
5.11 Tactical is a outdoor and tactical outfitter which is best known for making specialized backpacks, hiking, and duty pants. At their own stores and 5.11 branded sections at retailers, you can also find 5.11 accessories like EDC knives; almost as an afterthought like swag.
One of their newest is the 5.11 Braddock DP and on first blush it could be easily overlooked. The Braddock has the generic look of a archetypical tactical folding knife. Polymer handle with a frame lock design and a traditional drop point, with a half-length swedge and a black stonewashed finish.
On closer inspection, I found the handle to be solidly constructed with a grippy textured finish without the creak you’ll find on cheaper polymer knives. The blade was very sharp out of the box able to cut paper, 1/8″ paracord, and 1/4″ nylon clothesline with ease.
Overall it does feel a bit basic. The only stand out feature was the reposition-able pocket clip which comes in a matching color to the polymer body panel (kangaroo brown or black). The clip itself was shorter than typical knives. Its short length and matching color has the advantage of making the Braddock slightly more covert than most EDC knives.
5.11’s products command slightly premium pricing not as much as Arc’teryx or TAD but certainly in that “technical clothing” eco-system. While its a bit more than a baseline model from better known knife brands, the Braddock DP is well designed and well constructed. You’re getting good gear while paying only a modest brand name premium.
5.11 got its start making rock climbing pants and is known as an outdoor and tactical outfitter. So its a natural evolution that they would develop knives and tools. Their offerings include folding knives, sheathed knives, and hatchets. At SHOT Show they literally opened up their drawer and let me see their product line.
I’ll be posting a review of their new Braddock DP EDC knife soon. The striking orange knife you see in this video is the Fero knife and is available on Amazon https://amzn.to/49trjul
OLIGHT debuted their newest models of their Arkfeld flat EDC flashlight and Baton. The Arkfeld now offers a UV mode in addition to being a flashlight and laser pointer. Their popular Baton compact EDC now comes with a powered charging case that features a USB-C port and a 5000mAh internal battery. It will recharge the Baton up to 5 times or can be used as a portable power bank.
A few months ago, I reviewed the Boruit V3 which disappointed me because its light output fell short of it’s claims. Would it be the same with the new V10? This flashlight follows the same keychain fob format, creating a slightly bulkier and boxier version of the V3. The V10 is the same size as my car key remote fob making it a handy backup EDC or as a primary one.
Like the V3 the V10 comes in a choice of a polymer body in dark smoke or glow-in-the-dark white. The unit is powered by an internal LiPo battery charged by a USB-C cable under a silicone flap. There is a rare-earth magnet on the tail like the V3 which allows the light to attached to a steel car hood or on the side of a door panel where the side LEDs could be used as an emergency signal.
The V10 has a twin set of main LED white emitters and a small UV emitter at one end and a panel of colored LEDs on the side panel next to the buttons. Inexplicably the control buttons on the V10 arranged differently than the V3. When tapped twice, the left button activates the side LEDs and cycles through various color modes. 3 taps the side button activates the UV mini lamp. A continuous press activates an audible panic siren and the flashing red/blue side LED.
Double tapping on the main control button activates the twin LEDs. Tapping cycles through the brightness modes. A continuous press actives maximum output TURBO mode. In my lumen testing rig, I was able to record a HIGH output reading over 600 lumens which drops off quickly after 35-45 seconds to below 400 lumens. This was approximately in line with manuals stated HIGH output of 450 lumens.
Testing the TURBO mode was challenging because it requires holding the lights button down while holding the flashlight inside of my testing box. Some light would inevitably not leak out. Despite this I was able to record about 900 lumens which was close enough to its claimed 1000 lumens. This makes me wonder if I gave the V3 too poor of a review if it has a similar performance curve drop.
Testing the beam, the pattern is very much a flood with a defuse hot spot. Even in TURBO mode, I could barely register any visible illumination past 50-60 yards. The side LEDS are visible from a distance but cast a very short throw.
There is one key feature where the V10 falls short of the V3: IPX4 water resistance. Because of sound holes on the body for the siren speaker, the V10 is not water proof. The unit is only resistant to splashes and light rain. Not knowing this when I tested the unit using a water hose, water entered through the sound holes and pooled up inside the body. Oops.
The V10 is in most ways more capable than the V3. I especially like the panic button mode. But it is a bit larger so adding a second large fob on my key chain would be ungainly. It would still make a very useful backup EDC. If I envisioned a V20, it would be an elongated version of the V10 with longer runtime and a clip.
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V10 Dimensions: 2.63″D x 1.37″W x 0.59″H Beam Distance: 100m Battery: Internal Lithium Ion Weight: 46 Grams Water Resistance: IPX4 Brightness: 1000 Lumen Battery Description Item Weight: 1.62 oz
