REVIEW – I’ve accumulated a small collection of flashlights and am always prowling for the newest, brightest, and snazziest. I was intrigued by Loop Gear’s SK-05 dual-lens flat flashlight. Is it my new EDC? Let’s go!
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $159.99
Where to buy: Amazon
What is it?
The Loop Gear SK-05 Helm Pro is a rechargeable battery-powered multi-brightness flashlight with wide-angle, spot (both with flash and SOS), and multicolor side-light multiple modes.
What’s included?
- SK-05 flashlight
- Two 18650 Batteries
- USB-C cable
- Pocket clip, screws, and screwdriver
- User manual
- Item
Tech specs
Impact resistance: 1m
Waterproof rating: IP68
Battery capacity: 8000mAh
Max charging power: 20W
Max discharge power: 20W
Dimensions: 106 x 47.8 x 22.5mm
Spotlight modes: Turbo (1300lm 40sec), high (600lm 5.5hr), medium (220 lm 19hr), low (40lm <96hr)
Spotlight maximum intensity: 41000cd
Spotlight maximum beam distance: 405m
Floodlight modes: Turbo (3060lm), high (950lm), medium (350lm), low (50lm)
Floodlight maximum intensity: 10000cd
Floodlight maximum beam distance: 200m
Side-light runtime: <20 days
Spot and flood brightness gradually decrease with lowering battery power.
Design and features
The SK-05 arrived in an attractive hinged box.
The flashlight uses two 18650 batteries under a hinged, lockable cover. For transport, a paper tab prevents the batteries from touching the terminals.
The USB-C charging port under a rubbery cover accepts up to 20 Watts of juice. A short cord is in the box, but you’ll need a power supply. The SK-05 also works as a USB-C power bank, which should be enough to charge most phones fully. Well done, Lop Gear!
There are a pair of relatively strong magnets in the base.
The SK-05’s first cool trick is activating a strobing, sequential red light while charging. The bar turns blue when complete. When off the charger, the LEDs sequentially show the current battery capacity every time the mode changes. Slick! But wait! There’s more!
The SK-05’s body is remarkably well-polished and feels fantastic.
I especially liked the finger grips on the port/battery release side. Even if your fingers are too big to fit between them, they feel good to hold.
A rotary switch selects the side-light, spot, flood, and lock. In the center is a button with a pleasant clicky feel that turns the SK-05 on/off and accesses brightness and flash modes.
There are screw holes in the side of the flashlight to accommodate an included belt clip. Loop Gear kindly included the screwdriver to attach the clip.
The flashlight’s “front” sports two lenses: one with a well-focused parabolic single LED spot beam and the other a triple array wide-angle.
With the power off, holding the button activates Turbo mode, which turns both beams on at the brightest level. It’s blindingly intense, even in the daytime.
From off, a quick button tap retrieves the previous brightness level. A double click turns the selected beam on at its brightest.
Both beams have three levels. With the light turned on, holding the button cycles the brightness. A triple click engages the strobe mode on the spot beam. It’s dazzling and disorienting, so please use it with caution. If you are photosensitive, be especially careful before trying this. In flash mode, holding the button toggles between flash and SOS.
The spot beam is tight and free from shadows or other artifacts. A wide corona surrounds the primary focus.
The wide-angle beam is equally delightful, delivering a smooth beam with a bright corona.
Turbo mode is incredibly bright:
When I started researching this flashlight, I was unaware it had a super-versatile side LED strip. I mentioned before that it displays the battery’s charge status and level, but does much more. For starters, the side light can display three brightness levels of three color temperatures of white light. Holding the button cycles through seven different colors.
Double-clicking cycles through five different colorful flashing modes with variable speeds. Triple-clicking opens another flashing mode, focusing on red, blue, and white. I had a blast fiddling through many colors, patterns, and speeds!
Final thoughts
Loop Gear packs a ton of features into its SK-05 Flashlight. Dual lenses provide artifact-free flood and spot beams with three brightness levels, flash, and SOS modes. A multicolor side-mounted LED array has dazzling colors and flash patterns. As a huge plus, the pocketable SK-05 is a USB-C power supply. I’m thrilled to say the SK-05 is the most versatile flashlight in my collection and has instantly become one of my favorites! Excellent job, and thank you, Loop Gear!
What I like about the Loop Gear SK-05 flashlight
- Very bright
- Both spot and flood lenses
- Extremely comfortable to hold
- Flawless construction
- Heavy duty
- It uses commonly available 18650 batteries
- Flash and SOS modes
- Beautifully innovative multicolor side light with cool strobing effects
- It works as a USB power bank! Cool!
What needs to be improved?
- Add a very dim mode for dark-adapted eyes.
Price: $104.99
Where to buy: Amazon, Loop Gear
Source: LoopGear provided a free sample for this review but did not provide input, guidance, or editing before publication.
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