Hello, my name is Patrick and welcome to my review. I’m a late 30’s Australian who likes to collect knives, torches and other EDC type gadgets.
As a collector and hobby reviewer, I am always searching for the ultimate “Buy It Once For Life” product that I can genuinely recommend to other people. I am a firm believer in “value for money” which to me means that it is reliable, high quality and should potentially last a very long time. A well informed decision is a good decision, so through many hours of research and years of personal experience, I aim to deliver clear, honest reviews that cover the good, the bad and everything in between.
Today we will be talking about the Olight ArkPro Ultra: Olight’s ultimate iteration of their flagship Arkpro line (formally Arkfeld). Last year they launched the Arkpro which was a complete reimagining of the Arkfeld family of products, leaning heavily into their “Rethink Light” and “3+1=7” taglines for this new series. I thoroughly enjoyed the Arkpro but really wished it came in OAL material. Olight said “wish granted” and now we can take a closer look at the ArkPro Ultra.
Overview & Specs
The Olight ArkPro Ultra is a very sleek and elegantly designed EDC torch that is extremely pocket friendly. It features a solid unibody construction from Olight’s super alloy OAL. It features 3 Lighting modes: Spotlight, Pure Flood, UV plus a Green Laser that can be used separately or combined with any of the 3 lighting modes. Hence the “3+1=7” tagline.
It weighs in at 120 grams or 4.23oz with a total Length of 124.mm (4.88 inches), a Width of 27mm (1.06 inches) and a Thickness of 16mm (0.63inches). It boasts a very impressive IPX7 waterproof rating with an optimal working temperature between 0-45 Degrees Celsius. The manual states it is drop tested to withstand up to 1m (3.28ft) but based on previous reviews and youtube tests, Olight products can generally handle a fair bit more than that, especially being made from OAL.
A major upgrade that the ArkPro Ultra has over the regular ArkPro is the inclusion of Olight’s first self-developed LED - the EIP 1. This EIP 1 produces a crystal clear, pure white beam with an incredibly low DUV of <0.006 which means it is free from any colour tint, while achieving an “industry leading efficiency” of 134 lumens per watt at the ArkPro Ultra’s maximum power of 14.5w.
Below are the specs and runtimes for the different light modes.
White Light Modes:
Spotlight: A Cool White LED with a listed maximum output of 11.5W
- Turbo = A powerful 800 Lumens for 4 minutes before dropping down to 400 Lumens for 130 minutes.
- High = 400 Lumens for 125 minutes then reducing to 100 Lumens for the final 10 minutes.
- Medium = 100 Lumens for a staggering 10 hours of runtime!
- Low = 15 Lumens for 66 hours which is very impressive.
- Moonlight = 1 Lumens for 14 days which is phenomenal.
The Spotlight has a maximum throw distance of 205 meters (672 feet) in Turbo mode which is very impressive for such a small flashlight! This is more than enough for any basic EDC needs and could even work for search and rescue scenarios in a pinch. It must be noted however that because of the LED's position it does have a bit of a “D” shape on the outside of the beam.
Floodlight: Olight’s new pure white EIP 1 LED with a listed maximum output of 14.5w
- Turbo = A spectacularly bright 1700 Lumens for 3 minutes before decreasing to 520 Lumens for 140 minutes. That is even better than the previous top of the line ArkPro!
- High = 520 Lumens for a very impressive 155 minutes, then reducing to 100 Lumens for the final 10 minutes.
- Medium = 100 Lumens for 13 hours of runtime with no reduction in brightness at all which is pretty awesome.
- Low = 15 Lumens for an incredible 72 hours of runtime which will get you through a lot of late nights reading at the campsite.
- Moonlight = Runs at 1 Lumen for a full 14 days.
Both white light modes also offer a Strobe function, but there is no runtime listed for this. I can confirm though that is extremely disorienting so if you are in law enforcement or interested in home defence, this function is very effective.
UV Mode:
The ArkPro Ultra UV function operates at 365nm and has a maximum output of 3.5W which is 33% stronger than the previous Arkfeld Ultra! The UV light has two modes:
- High = Runs at 1200mW for 5 minutes before stepping down to 580mW for a further 300 minutes.
- Low = 360mW for a pretty substantial 8 hours of run time.
This gives you plenty of time to check even the biggest of hotel suites for cleanliness! It also works great for checking pets for nasties like Ringworm too. I personally use it to charge up glow in the dark things around the house and check for different minerals in rocks I find.
Laser Mode:
The ArkPro Ultra features a 0.39mW (Class 1) green laser with an extremely impressive runtime of 226 hours! That is enough to get you through even the most arduous week of business presentations and still have enough to enjoy multiple play sessions with an army of cats. The dot is very bright and the beam goes on for a distance far greater than I was able to measure.
The laser function is now operated via a separate button on the side of the unit and can be momentarily turned on by holding the button in or turned on/off manually by just pressing the button. This new design makes it faster and easier to operate and also means you can easily combine it with the other light functions. This is how the 3+1=7 thing works.
Battery
Powering all of these functions is a 3.7volt, 2,000 mAh Lithium Polymer Battery which boasts a 33% increase over the previous Arkfeld Ultra. This new redesign/rebranding of the previous Arkfeld series now includes a USB-C charging port on the front left hand side of the torch which is protected by a small metallic port cover which opens and closes with a satisfying yet gentle click.
The ArkPro Ultra still includes the amazingly innovative magnetic charging plate on the base of the unit, as well as the magnetic charging cable in the box. The full charging time listed in the user manual states 1.5hours charging time via USB-C is as opposed to the 3 hours via the regular magnetic charging cable. I love the magnetic charging cable and I think it’s such a great idea. But it is good to see Olight catering for the USB-C fans out there.
Due to the unibody construction though, the battery is not removable. This may be a negative to some people but Olight is gracious enough to offer a full lifetime warranty on their products so if you were to have any battery issues somewhere down the line, I have full faith that Olight would take care of it. They are a great company and I have never had any issues with any of their products.
Overall the ArkPro Ultra is very similar in specs to the ArkPro. However, you are getting a much tougher and more durable material which makes a big difference long term. You are also getting a better quality Flood light that is 200 lumens more powerful than the regular ArkPro. This might not sound like a big deal but there is a pretty noticeable difference when comparing the two units side by side.
In comparison to the previous Arkfeld Ultra, the battery size has also increased substantially from 1500mAh to 2000mAh which Olight is stating is 33% higher than the Arkfeld Ultra. Coupled with the convenient addition of USB-C charging, you really will be hard pressed to find a better performing EDC flashlight. Especially one that looks this good and can take an absolute beating.
Another small but cool feature is the ArkBeat. It's essentially like a usage meter that gradually changes colour over the many hours you use it. While it doesn't offer any particularly useful function, it is a nice way to see how much time you and your trusty ArkPro Ultra have spent together on adventures.
I have broken the rest of my review down into two sections below: Presentation and Performance - where I grade both aspects out of a potential 10 and then offer some concluding thoughts.
Presentation
The ArkPro Ultra came in what seems to be Olight’s new premium black box that looks like something a smartphone would come in. The box is very well printed and has a nice and premium feel to it, but I do really miss their old white boxes with the magnetic closures on them. They were so cool!
Inside the box was a precut cardboard tray holding the ArkPro Ultra. Underneath which was an information card discussing the OAL and ArkBeat concept, along with the instruction manual. The magnetic charging cable was nestled into a small cutout in the cardboard below. Interestingly though, unlike the previous ArkPro I reviewed, this one didn’t contain a special UV hidden message card which seems a bit disappointing now that I think about it.
If you are upgrading from a previous Arkfeld product, the first thing you may notice about the new ArkPro line is the raised central ridge that runs down the centre of the body. Olight says this “adds structure and a sense of depth.” Personally, I am not the biggest fan on this “ridge” line to be honest as It just feels awkward to me and I don’t really like how one side of the light always looks darker than the other.
Each side of the ArkPro Ultra now features a 6.3cm squared section with roughly about 1,800 precisely CNC machined squares that form a diamond like pattern. Olight says that this “combines symmetrical elegance with a secure, premium grip” and honestly, I can’t disagree. It feels very grippy in hand and combined with the nice “striated” finish of the OAL body, it makes the ArkPro Ultra very nice to hold onto.
The new ArkPro Ultra also features these amazing laser micro-perforated battery, brightness and lock-out indicators. These are situated around the outside of the thumb button along and are colour coded too! This would not be a cheap process, so the fact that Olight is providing this incredible level of detail and precision without passing that increased cost onto the consumer is a massive win.
Overall the presentation of the ArkPro Ultra flashlight itself is definitely a step up from the previous Arkfeld series and sets the gold standard for every other EDC light out there. I give the ArkPro Ultra a Presentation Rating of 10/10.
Performance
The ArkPro Ultra not only looks great though, it performs great too! If you are upgrading from the previous Arkfeld series, you may notice the ArkPro series now has a larger, concave on/off button which offers improved ergonomics and comfort. Surrounding said button is the new “meticulously tuned” rotating selector switch. The control scheme is still very intuitive and easy to use and allows for very fast and easy mode selection. It is also way more satisfying to fidget with as it has an extremely satisfying “click” when selecting the modes.
It features a broader pocket clip than the previous Arkfelds, but it still glides nicely in and out of the pocket and secures it firmly. Because of its double folded design, you can even clip it onto a hat brim and if you want a very well lit evening walk. The white light modes cover almost every possible lighting need you can think of; and because of its flat design, it wont roll away from you if you set it down while you're busy trying to do something.
The UV light is incredibly useful for checking the cleanliness everywhere you go. I love using this for rock hunting, charging up glow in the dark materials and even for checking for counterfeit currency. The laser function is very bright and the fact that you can use it in combination with every other function on the ArkPro ultra really elevates it from a novelty sub function to an actually useful tool.
I have been using the ArkPro Ultra now for a couple of weeks and I can’t fault the performance of it at all! I award it a much deserved 10/10 rating.
Final Thoughts
Having used almost every iteration of the Ark family since they launched, I have to say that the ArkPro Ultra really is the best one I have ever owned. While at first glance the improvements may not seem that massive compared to the previous Arkfeld Ultra, the new ArkPro Ultra does offer a markedly superior performance in both brightness and battery life, along with the inclusion of the USB-C charging option which to many people is worth upgrading for alone.
This is definitely a “Buy It Once For Life” item and I award it the maximum 20/20 score. Well done on another industry leading product and a happy 19th birthday to Olight!
