Olight ArkPro Ultra flashlight review - Just Brilliant!

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REVIEW – Whether I’m working on 3D printers or just going outside to look at the night sky, I use flashlights every day. I’ve got over a dozen of them, and each has its pros and cons. When the Olight ArkPro Ultra review came along, I thought the switch design was finally the answer to a lot of the cons of my other lights.

?? Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $129.99
Where to buy: Olight Store and Amazon

What is it?

The Olight ArkPro Ultra is an ultra-slim and portable flashlight with some unique features that really set it apart from the competition.

What’s included?

Olight ArkPro Ultra flashlight
Magnetic Charging cable
Instructions

Design and features

When I first chose to do the Olight ArkPro Ultra review, I based it on a single photo of the flashlight. I assumed the rotary switch was for the brightness modes, and the pushbutton switch would be for on and off. I was hoping, but I was wrong.

I have many flashlights, most of which have adjustable brightness levels, but the method of operation to go from one mode to the other has always been cumbersome. The main problem I have with most of my flashlights is that you normally have to press and hold a button to step through the brightness levels. Often, those levels or modes include a strobe mode that I find annoying.

I often just want either the lowest setting to help preserve a little of my night vision, or I want the brightest level to help see what I’m looking at. I even have a light that I have to double-click a button to unlock it, then press it again to turn on the light.

When the Olight ArkPro Ultra arrived, I pulled out the instruction sheet and was initially disappointed to find that my assumption of how it operated was wrong. There was a chart of the various modes, and at first glance, it seemed complicated. I wanted an easy-to-use light. However, that disappointment didn’t last long. In about 15 seconds, I went from “ew” to “oh!”

The Olight ArkPro Ultra is an ingenious design, both in the physical design and the operational design. First, the physical design isn’t the typical cylindrical design that is normally dictated by the cylindrical batteries of old. The Olight ArkPro Ultra is primarily rectangular, being 1.08″ (27.6mm) wide by 0.64″ (16.5) thick and 4.9″ (124mm) long. It fits great in your hand and in your pocket.

Made from Olight’s exclusive OAL super-tough aluminum alloy, the ArkPro Ultra resists scratches, breaking, and dents. Weighing in at just 4.23 ounces (120g), the alloy is 1.73x harder than 6061 aluminum and has 1.73x the tensile strength of TA2 titanium. The unibody construction means that this light is extremely strong and durable.

The dual charging capability is fabulous. I’ve never seen a light with two charging methods, although there may be some. The base of the light has a magnetic charging surface, and the side has a USB-C charging port that has a metal charging door cover that flips open easily, and stays open, unlike other silicone or rubber charging ports. I like that feature, as I don’t have to take the included magnetic charging cable with me. I really like being able to just stick the light near the cable, and it will magnetically snap into place. The ArkPro Ultra can fully recharge in 1.5 hours with the USB-C cable, and 3 hours using the magnetic MCC cable.

The ArkPro Ultra has 4 lights: UV, flood, spot, and laser. The rotating switch selects between the UV, Flood, and Spot modes. The UV light (365nm) has a 360mW and 1,200mW mode. The flood and spot lights each have 5 brightness levels and a strobe mode. The brightness levels are approximately 1lm, 15lm, 100lm, 520lm, and 1700lm.

The battery life of the ArkPro Ultra is 14 days on the moonlight setting, 72 hours on the low setting, and 13 hours on the medium setting – which is a lot of time if you’re lost and need to conserve battery life.

The green laser has its own on/off switch on the side that can be used independently and along with the other lights. Pressing and holding the laser button will turn it on, and it will turn off when released. Pressing the button will turn the laser on at whatever brightness level it was last used. When on, pressing and holding the button will change between the low and high laser output. The laser is extremely bright. At the end of my street, there is a white fence, which is 1,300 ft (1/3 mile) away. At night, I could see the green laser on the fence.

Olight 2 008 — Laser use is hard to photograph, but this photo shows the laser dot on one of my 3D Printer parts. This was from about 15 feet away.

When you first look at the included chart for the various modes, it seems a little overwhelming. However, once you try out each mode, you quickly become familiar with it, and it’s easier to remember than many of the other lights I own.

I typically operate it like this: I press and hold the button, and the light comes on in the lowest setting (moonlight mode). In almost complete darkness, this is enough to see what you’re doing without blasting too much light. If I need a lot of light quickly, I double-press the button for turbo mode (max brightness). If I just want a little more light, I press and hold the button to cycle through the brightness levels, but the lowest (moonlight) and the brightest (turbo) are not in that cycle. A triple press will start the strobe mode.

If I had to pick one thing to change about the ArkPro Ultra, it would be the cycle time between brightness levels when pressing and holding the button. It’s a little quick for my liking, and I often overshoot the brightest level.

It probably sounds more complex than it is, but that’s the magic of the ArkPro Ultra; once you operate it a couple of times, you understand and remember it. I really like being able to go from low to high with just a double press of the button.

The control switch has illuminated indicators for brightness and battery levels. Each time you operate the switch or button, it briefly illuminates for about 3 seconds. I like the multi-segment battery level indicator, which is much easier to read than some of the other lights I have.

The clip is positioned on what I call the backside, which lends itself well to several uses. First, when you grab the light in the dark or without looking at it, you immediately know that the controls are on the opposite side from the clip, and your thumb naturally falls right on the switch. Secondly, when the light is clipped in your pocket, the switch is towards your body, making it impossible to accidentally turn on by leaning against something. The clip is also dual-use, being able to clip from two directions. This also makes it easy to clip to a hat for hands-free use. Finally, the clip extends to the end of the light, meaning that when it’s in your pocket, it doesn’t stick up above the pocket.

Final thoughts

The range of brightness from very dim to extremely bright, and the ease of switching modes make this light hands-down my favorite light. I really like being able to start the light on the lowest (moonlight) setting, and when needed, double-click for full brightness. The ArkPro Ultra fits great in the pocket and in your hand. This is by far the best flashlight that I’ve ever used.

What I like about the Olight ArkPro Ultra flashlight

Easy to switch light modes and brightness levels
Dual-direction clip
Super-bright laser

What needs to be improved?

Cycle speed between brightness levels is a bit fast

Price: $129.99
Where to buy: OLIGHT Store and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Olight. Olight did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.