This is the new Olight ArkPro Ultra – possibly the perfect EDC torch. The ArkField made flat EDC torches popular, and the new ArkPro series is the successor. This Ultra model appears to have everything: a 1,700-lumen flood mode, a 205-metre spotlight, a green laser pointer, UV light, USB-C and magnetic charging, and it’s made from Olight’s own scratch-resistant aluminium alloy.
I’ll run through its features, compare it to the other models in the ArkPro series, and test Olight’s claims to help you decide if it’s the right torch for you.
So let’s take a closer look.
Overview
There are three torches in the new ArkPro series. For this review I’m mainly looking at the ArkPro Ultra, and I’ll explain briefly how the regular ArkPro and the ArkPro Lite differ.
The Ultra comes with Olight’s magnetic charging cable, the instruction manual and a UV test card in the box.
The ArkPro Ultra is only available in Olive Green at the moment. It’s made from Olight’s OAL superalloy, which is designed to be a tougher, more scratch-resistant aluminium than the standard aircraft-grade aluminium used on the ArkPro and the ArkPro Lite.
The Ultra has the usual Olight build quality and feels properly premium. It weighs 123 g or 4.3 oz, a few grams heavier than the Pro and over 15 g heavier than the Lite. Physically, the Ultra and Pro are the exact same size, while the Lite is 13 mm shorter.
The main attraction of these torches is their flat design that makes them way more pocketable than a comparable round torch. So perfect for EDC or Everyday Carry. All three torches are 16mm or 0.63 “ thick – that’s only fractionally thicker than the tiny torch I still always have on me from my keychain sized torch roundup – the RovyVon A8.
All three models now use the same excellent pocket clip found on the ArkField Ultra. It’s a two-way clip, so you can carry the torch bezel-down with only the very end showing – the typical deep-carry style.
What I particularly like is the smoothly rounded, slightly wider lip, which makes it very easy to slide into a pocket. A small detail, but an important one if you’re using it every day.
You can use the other side of the clip on a baseball cap as an impromptu head torch – although it’s a bit heavy for that in my opinion.
The clip is removable with a small hex bit if you’re not going to use it and want to bring the weight down further.
Probably the most exciting upgrade for me with the new ArkPro series is USB-C charging. And like their newer Oclip torches, there’s a hinged metal flap that reveals the USB-C port. So much more preferable than the typical fiddly rubber flap. The cover stops muck getting in but the torch has an IPX7 waterproof rating even with the flap open.
You can still charge the torch using the supplied magnetic cable which works great when you’re at home. But it’s an extra cable to remember when you’re travelling. And charging is quicker over USB-C although Olight doesn’t include a USB-C cable in the box. I charged the torch with its integrated 2000 mAh battery, from completely flat in 1 hour 34 minutes.
It charges at around 9W for the first 30 minutes or so and then slowly drops its charging speed from then on – so typically conservative charging speeds from Olight but still twice the speed of magnetic charging!
And with magnetic charging you don’t see the nice LED battery level display – it’s just red for charging and green for fully charged on the cable itself.
The magnetic base is also useful for mounting the torch – and the magnet is strong enough to support the torch’s weight even horizontally.
In the hand the torch feels very comfortable. The new central switch is larger and recessed compared to earlier models, and your thumb naturally settles on it in a normal grip. The top of the torch also has a slightly raised ridge, which Olight says adds structure and depth. Compared to the ArkField Pro Ultra, which is completely flat on top, it does feel a little more comfortable — though that’s partly because it’s slightly longer.
Below the switch is the light mode lever to select between UV, Flood and Spotlight. That’s a key difference on the Lite model – it swaps the Spotlight Mode for a Red Light mode.
The other feature missing on the Lite is the laser, activated with the side button. The lever switch is very smooth with positive clicks at each position. It has a certain amount of fidget factor to it.
Turn the torch on with a single press. In Flood mode, hold down the button to cycle between the low 15-lumen mode which runs for 3 days, the medium 100-lumen mode which runs for 13 hours, and the high 520-lumens mode which steps down to 100 lumens after 155 minutes.
When you turn on the torch and cycle through the modes, the green battery level and white brightness level LEDs briefly light up, to see what mode you’re in.
I do like the separate colours for both – it’s much clearer than the all green display on the Marauder Mini 2 I just reviewed.
Although I would love to see the digital display, with live remaining runtime you get on some Nitecore torches. The Ultra also has Olight’s ArkBeat LED, which changes colour based on usage. It’s purely cosmetic with no practical benefit I can see, but you can turn it off or set it to a colour you prefer.
Moving the mode lever to Spotlight – only available on the Ultra and Pro – you’ve got similar brightness levels and runtimes which makes things easier to remember. There’s a 15 lumen 66 hour low mode, 100 lumen 10 hour medium mode and a 400 lumen high mode that steps down to 100 lumens again after 125 minutes.
In both flood and spot you have quick access to moonlight, turbo and strobe mode. Very important on an EDC torch. A long button press with the torch off gets you to the 14 day 1 lumen moonlight mode. A double press with the torch on or off in Flood mode gets you to the 1700 lumen turbo mode that drops to 520 lumens after 3 minutes. This maxes out as 1500 lumens on the Pro and 1200 lumens on the Lite, but for 4 minutes before stepping down.
In Spot mode on both the Pro and Ultra you get an 800 lumens Turbo mode that drops to 400 lumens after 4 minutes. I’ll measure the Flood Turbo mode shortly to verify these claims. Finally a triple press with the torch on or off gets you to a 13 Hz strobe mode.
If you switch between Flood and Spot modes it maintains the approximate brightness level, even in Turbo mode, which can be useful.
The last dial position is the UV mode available on all models. It always comes on in the 360 mW 8 hour low mode. Hold the power switch down to cycle to the 1200 mW high mode which steps down after 5 minutes to 580 mW.
In all light modes you can activate the 0.39 W green laser or you can use it on its own with the light off. Press and hold for momentary use – handy for quickly pointing something out or give it a single press to turn it on and off. When it’s on, you can cycle to a 5 mW high mode in some countries, but not here in the UK.
Lastly, you can lock the torch with a long press of the button while it’s off in any mode. The LED comes on briefly and then goes out. Another long press unlocks it and turns it back on at the lowest brightness level. I particularly like the little lock icon that appears when it’s locked — even if you’ve forgotten how to unlock it, the icon at least reminds you that it is locked, so you’re not left wondering why it won’t turn on.
Performance
Behind the glass lens are the flood, spot, UV and laser emitters. The Ultra is the only model that uses Olight’s own EIP 1 LED for the flood beam, designed to keep the tint as neutral as possible – Olight quotes a Duv of under 0.006.
It’s only available in cool white at the moment, and I measured 6501 K with a Duv of -0.0016, comfortably within their spec. The lower brightness levels aren’t quite as good, with a slight green tint visible, but still within Olight’s stated tolerance.
Out of curiosity, I tested the Pro as well, and across all its brightness levels I also measured a Duv of under 0.006, although the Ultra has a slightly nicer tint in Turbo.
What’s a bit disappointing is the colour accuracy – even with Olight’s own LED, colour accuracy or CRI is only 67. For comparison, my RovyVon A8 High CRI version hits 94, with a Duv of just 0.0008.
The spotlight is the same as on the Pro – I measured 6755K and very low Duv in Turbo, but at the lower output levels the Duv shifts more positive, giving a noticeable green tint.
Next I measured the runtime of the Flood in Turbo mode with a fully charged battery in my DIY lumen test chamber. I measured 1738 lumens at turn on, 1658 lumens at 30 seconds, but then it dropped rapidly to just over 500 lumens in the next 30 seconds, where it ran for around 75 minutes before dropping again. So I didn’t get the claimed 3 minutes at Turbo or 140 minutes in high. Most likely due to thermal throttling. In real use with a cool breeze, runtimes will be longer.
I did measure the temperature of the torch with my thermal imaging camera and the head got to only 41°C before dropping down in brightness.
I personally don’t use the UV light very often, but the high mode is brighter than most and has a decent range. I’ve used UV before for checking bank notes and I tested it on my multitool to bring out the fluorescent spacers, which worked well. Olight also supplies a test card to reveal a secret message.
The laser definitely comes in handy and it’s great you can use it in any mode or on its own. You have to change your grip to use it which might be a little awkward if you use it a lot. For some professions, like teaching, I can imagine it being genuinely useful. It does work outdoors, but because we’re limited to only the low-power version in the UK it makes more sense indoors.
I tested the white light modes outdoors and compared it to the 1500 lumen ArkPro, 1400 lumen Arfield Ultra and the 3500 lumen RovyVon E30 Pro.
In flood mode, the Olight torches are all pretty close. The RovyVon is noticeably brighter as expected. But doesn’t have a spot mode, and neither does the Arfield Ultra. The ArkPro Ultra and Pro also have what Olight calls Pure Flood. Basically a smooth beam profile without any noticeable central spot. That’s what you want a flood for, especially for close-up work and they’ve done a pretty good job. You do of course sometimes want a more focused central beam to see into the distance too – but you’ve got the spotlight mode on these torches so that’s not a problem!
The spot beam on both the Pro and Ultra is identical, rated at 10,640 candela, which gives a throw of 205 metres. In my own tests I measured 7,408 candela, or 172 metres. In flood mode I measured 1,689 candela, which equates to 82 metres of throw.
Although the RovyVon only has a flood beam, it’s extremely bright – I measured its throw at 186 metres, which is actually more than the ArkPro manages in spot mode. But that output is only available in very short bursts, so it’s not as practical.
Conclusions
The ArkPro Ultra is one of the most capable flat EDC torches I’ve tested so far. It’s packed with features if you want them, but it’s also simple to use as a basic torch – a single click to turn it on in your last-used mode, and another to turn it off. Even if you haven’t picked it up in weeks, the interface feels instantly familiar.
USB-C charging is the real upgrade here. Magnetic charging is handy at home, but for a genuine everyday-carry torch you need the ability to top up from any USB-C cable you already have with you. That alone moves the whole ArkPro series ahead of the earlier models.
The Spotlight mode is genuinely useful and makes the Ultra and Pro models more versatile than many flat EDC lights I’ve tested. The laser will be a bonus for some people, while the UV is more niche – personally I’d love to see a version that keeps all the Ultra and Pro features but swaps the UV for a red mode with an emergency flash.
I’d also like to see a higher CRI for an everyday-carry torch, and my Turbo runtimes came in shorter than claimed. Real-world airflow would likely bring them closer though.
The main drawbacks are the price — it definitely sits at the more premium end of the EDC torch market, the non-replaceable integrated battery, and the size and weight. The flat design helps pocketability, but it’s still a bit big for something you’d carry at all times. If Olight could keep the full feature set, shrink it slightly and get the weight under 100 g, it might finally replace my RovyVon A8.
As it stands, it’s still the torch I’ve been grabbing when I head out for a walk on these darker mornings, because once the sun comes up, I barely notice it in the pocket of my trousers.
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