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The "Purrfect" Rofis TR10 Experience

KuroNekko

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 3, 2014
Messages
89
When I first came across the Rofis TR10, it was either on this site or on Gearbest. Having a bunch of primary CR123's soon to reach their "use by" date, I wanted to add a single CR123-sized flashlight to my collection. When I first saw the Rofis TR series, I was interested in their design given it meshed various desirable qualities such as numerous outputs, strobe, a magnetic tail, and a unique rotating head. The magnetic end and the rotating head were of interest to me given I hadn't owned flashlights with either feature before. Furthermore, I'm a car guy that likes working on vehicles. Having an EDC that can also function as an overhead hands-free light in a pinch appealed to me.

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After finding a coupon code for the TR10 on Gearbest, I ordered the light. Upon receiving it in the mail, I started carrying it around on my nightly walks with my dog. Not long afterwards, I wanted to test out the max lumens of the TR10 so I opted to walk to a dark alley with some dumpsters in my neighborhood. Upon seeing the shadowy outlines of the dumpsters in the alley, I turned on the TR10 to its Turbo mode. It was then that I saw tiny kittens around a trash bag on the ground between the dumpsters, trying to rip it open to eat. I counted about 3 or 4 before they scurried away. The kittens were very small and I later found out about 3 to 4 weeks old. A mother cat was also nowhere to be found and the kittens were obviously resorting to desperately feeding themselves.

I then quickly called my girlfriend telling her I just found some kittens in an alley. Coincidentally, we had just talked a few days earlier about adopting a cat after we moved later in the year. I told her I was coming home to drop off the dog and for her to get ready to help me catch them. She quickly met me on the street carrying a cardboard box, a towel, and her pink Wuben 10180-powered keychain light I got for her a short time ago.

With my Rofis in hand, we went back to the alley. This time, the kittens were not around the dumpsters near the mouth of the alley. I went further in into the darkness of the alley, but the TR10 lit it up very well. Towards the back, in a dead-end littered with trash, 4 or 5 kittens were huddled around, again without a mother cat anywhere. Upon seeing us, they made a run for it. All ran away but one that decided to crawl into a broken drain pipe to hide on the ground. I gently pulled the kitten out and put it in the box my girlfriend was carrying. This kitten was a grey, white, and black one later determined be a female. One down, 3 to 4 more to go.

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The next night, we went back. Again, I carried my trusty Rofis TR10 which was the perfect flashlight for this purpose. With its high power output and ideal flood pattern, it was perfect for searching in a dark alley for kittens. We were able to catch another one, this time a Tortoiseshell. It was a female and I later learned nearly all of them are given the genetics related to a Tortoiseshell coat pattern. Again, we saw the other kittens including an all-black kitten and another Tortie but no mother cat in sight.

I kept going back often after that, determined to catch all the kittens given it was clear their mother had abandoned them or was possibly dead. Each walk with the dog had me searching for the kittens and each time, the Rofis TR10 was with me. It had become my kitten-catching tool.

Three days after catching the second one, I walked my dog on a brisk and rainy morning and went by the alley in the off chance the kittens were there. Surprisingly, two of them were out in the open, sitting on top of a cardboard box rather than in it. They were huddled together side by side, soaking wet as they were getting directly rained on. It was a pitiful sight as they looked cold, miserable, and seemingly ready to die from impending starvation or hypothermia. I tied my dog to a dumpster and approached the kittens. They surprisingly didn't run away this time as I approached. Only when I reached for them did they move, but directly into other cardboard boxes making them easy to catch. These two were the all-black and the other Tortie I had seen earlier.

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Despite catching and fostering four kittens, I wanted to be sure I got the whole litter. Having thought to have originally seen five total kittens, I kept going back, day and night to be sure. In over 25 additional searches, I didn't see any other kittens or a mother cat.

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We kept all four until they were 8 weeks old, raising them to optimal health with vet visits. My girlfriend was then able to find someone through her sorority network who would take one of the kittens. Upon seeing them, the woman melted in kitten love and agreed to take two together and adopted the Tortie twins. My girlfriend wanted to keep the first kitten we caught and I always wanted a black cat. "KuroNekko", after all, means black cat in Japanese and is an online handle I've used for over 15 years. The black one also happened to be the only male in the litter. The two we kept moved with us from Maryland to California, road-tripping across America. Now at about 6 months old, they are much larger than when we got them. However, the reason these kittens are here with me today is because of my Rofis TR10.

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While the Rofis TR10 was indeed "purrfect", it wasn't exactly perfect. Shortly after receiving it, I ordered an 16340 battery for it. When the battery arrived, I opened up the TR10 to install it. It was then that I noticed an oddity inside the inner barrel of the flashlight. Upon close inspection, it was a tiny hole that went through the flashlight, located behind the rear O-ring. While it didn't affect the performance of the flashlight, it compromised the IPX8 ingress protection. I contacted Rofis customer support and was able to correspond with Rofis regarding the issue. After sending photos, they agreed to replace my TR10 with a brand new one. I was pleased and even surprised when the replacement arrived in a matter of days instead of weeks, having been shipped from the US. The replacement was in perfect condition other than from the emitter being very slightly off-center. However, comparing the two TR10s (the original having a perfectly-centered emitter), I saw it had absolutely no effect on the performance in any way. The best part was that Rofis didn't ask for the old one back so I kept it. I use the original as my nightstand/EDC flashlight given it works perfectly fine and is one I don't mind getting a little banged up from daily use. The warranty experience had me know I could trust Rofis for customer support and for them to stand behind their product.

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Recently, Rofis posted that they will be releasing their new R series with the CR123-based R1 being the first to debut. They wanted several "experiencers". Given my experience with the TR10, I contacted them for the opportunity and was delighted when I was selected. I will be reviewing the R1 once I get it, comparing it with the TR10 and also field testing it on a night hike-based review. I look forward to the R1 and who knows, maybe it will once again help me find kittens?
 
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KuroNekko

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 3, 2014
Messages
89
Thank you! I look forward to the R1 and the rest of the new R series from Rofis.
 
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