“Wait…why is this a midi review? You haven’t reviewed the Arkfeld before?” You might be thinking that, but the truth is, I have reviewed this light before because pretty much all of the Olight EDC torches are the same. If you have reviewed the Baton its the same for the Arkfeld, the Warrior, pretty much ANY Olight with a TIR instead of a true reflector.

The Arkfeld represents an amalgamation of all the worst trends Olight has been following for the past 7 or 8 years—squashy optics, useless add-ons marketed as “features,” proprietary batteries, and more. This is not just a bad light, it is the apotheosis of bad product design. It is bigger when the market got smaller. It has a terrible beam pattern when its size should allow for the exact opposite. It has an innovative switch that, unfortunately, is misused and actually makes the light harder to operate and not easier. Over and over again, the Arkfeld feels like a missed opportunity, a cash-in for Olight on folks that have gone into Pokemon mode with gear, and not an essential or useful purchase for pretty much anyone. Truth be told, I don’t have it in me to write a full length review on a product this thoroughly bad. Especially because all of the Para3 carrying fanboys are going to revolt. Oh well, my site; my opinions.

The Arkfeld is a “candy bar” style light with a built in battery, a multi-emitter head, a pocket clip, and a non-removable internal battery. There are dozens of variants. This is the Ultra version which has a slightly different body shape, a slightly higher output, and a new harder aluminum body. It costs roughly $120 MSRP. Here is the product page. Here is a video review (with a very different opinion than mine). Here is the review sample:

Quick Review Summary: Atrocious.

Let’s lay bare the problems here. This is a light that has a great specs page and seems to offer features you can’t find in many other lights. But in hand, it is pretty terrible. The problem lies with one fundamental truth about flashlights and another about product design in general.

The flashlight truth is this—the optic has an outsized role in the performance of a light and there are very few effective ways to compare optics on paper. As a general rule you can assume that TIR optics are more consistent and uniform across individual units than true reflectors, but the very best optics are well-tuned reflectors. This means that a light with a good reflector, like the Zebralight SC5 or the Surefire EDC1-DFT, can absolutely blow away a light with higher lumens and a newer emitter that is hampered by a crappy TIR.

And so, while you can compare some aspects of a light on an internet page, the minute you have a few in hand, you can tell that the optic matters more than everything else. So while the variance in performance from model to model with a TIR optics is low, if the performance is bad, you aren’t going to find a TIR equipped torch that is substantially better than other units with the same optic. Here, the Olight TIR used throughout its EDC line of lights is atrocious. The Baton stinks. The Warrior Nano is a bit better but is still pretty crappy. This light, which has even more limitations on than either of those lights, is absolutely wretched. It is, by a large margin, the worst light I have reviewed when comparing paper specs to real world performance. This says nothing about its tint either, which is also horrific. Olight has built a flashlight empire based on lights that underwhelm in real life and the Arkfeld Ultra is the most egregious example of good on paper, bad in reality.

The second major flaw with the Arkfeld is the fact that good design is not about more stuff, but the right stuff. Think about it like this—have you ever used something and thought to yourself “I wish this was more complex?” Of course not. Good design is not about cramming a bunch of shit into a product and saying “that’s perfect.” It is about carefully and thoughtfully choosing features that matter, features that work together, and features that are simple to use. Do you really need a UV emitter? What about a laser pointer?

I can’t think of the last time I went to check on a bump in the night and wanted to use a laser pointer. Its dumb and gimmicky. It makes the light bigger and adds almost no additional utility. More is not better. More is just more. Then there is the UI. It could be great. I would love a three stage light with a clicky switch and a slider to select output. Instead, this potentially great set up has been squandered on letting choose among features you didn’t want. This is a perfect example of why more is not better.

Over and over the design decisions are pretty terrible. But there is another entire other level of stupid decisions here. First, the candy bar format. In theory, I could get behind it. If you need the built in battery to get some feature or to make the light a specific size, then I think the trade off is worth it. See my Nitecore TIP SE review. But if there is no size or feature advantage, the built in battery means that your light has an expiration date. It also means that in an emergency you can’t swap in fresh cells greatly limiting your runtime. These two things are HUGE disadvantages. I am also not convinced that the magcharger system is worth it.

Olight has become obsessed with creating an ecosystem of gear which reminds of the MiniDisc format from Sony in the early 2000s. Olight’s EDC offerings are so obsessed with snaring you in the system that, like MiniDisc, they forgot to make the system worthwhile. The system’s “universal” charger is a perfect case in point. Sure it is easier to snap a light on a magcharger and it preserves the water tightness of the light, but its not that much of an advantage over a rubber boot covered USB-C port. Now if you want to travel with your Olight you have to bring a special charger. It is, like the entire Olight ecosystem, not worth the hassle. To see an example of how to do an ecosystem around a light that actually works and is worth it, take look at something like the BOSS system from Torchlabs (I especially love the acrylic wand attachments in swirly colors so you can direct traffic and by absolutely fabulous at the same time) or the Rampant platform from Exceed Designs. Both have a turnkey approach that allows the user to control virtually every aspect of the light AND includes useful accessories and upgrades. A product ecosystem works when it gives the user choices to customize the core product, not when it forces users to do certain things.

On the good side, the fit and finish is pretty nice, I like the new aluminum compound as it seems less ding prone, and the clip is good for this light.

Its not much but the light is not a total loss.

Overall Score: 6 out of 20 (Design: 0; Fit and Finish: 2; Grip: 2; Carry: 0; Output: 0; Runtime: 0; Beam Type: 0; Beam Quality: 0; UI: 0; Hands Free: 2)

I hate this format for lights. I hate the Olight ecosystem of lights. I really hate the optics. I think this is probably the last of these lights I ever review. I just don’t have it in me to review another of these lights. I might grab the Olight Baton with the actual reflector, but in terms of these TIR/magcharging Olight torches I don’t need or want to see any more of them. They are universally awful. And as bad as something like the Baton is, it is smaller and technically has swappable battery (even the swappable cells are now proprietary). This light is just horrendous.

That said, I have a simple tip for you to avoid the pain of an Olight purchase: anytime you think you hear the hoof beats of an Olight, think Zebra (light).

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