Loop Gear SK-05 Helm Flashlight Review

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm Flashlight Review

The Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight offers so many things. Throw and triple flood and side RGB as well as USB-C charging and a Pro version, too! Read on!


Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight product page.

Versions

There are at least two versions of the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight. Two body colors are available – black and grey. There’s a Pro version too, and the Pro may be only Grey. There could also be a number of emitter options. Cool white is seen here, but there seems to also be a high CRI version (again, that might be just the Pro!)

Price

The Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight was initially available on Kickstarter at a price starting from 50% off, at $49.5. The funding period is over, so I’m not sure it matters what the Kickstarter price is. But the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight will probably come in north of $100 when it’s for sale at MSRP.


What’s Included

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight what's included

  • Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight
  • Charging cable
  • Manual

Package and Manual

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight box

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight box

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight manual

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight

While the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight does use standard 18650 cylindrical cells, it offers an interesting side-by-side layout. It’s great for carrying and the slim dimension really fits in a bag nicely.

It’s not necessarily small, but that’s reasonable with all the features!

This version is not intended for disassembly. It’s held together by just two TORX screws though, and the cells are not soldered in. So while it’s a bit of a pain, very big kudos to Loop Gear for not locking us in to one set of cells for the lifetime of the SK-05!!

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight with tailcap off

Note that the Pro version has a hinged door for the cells and they’re easily field-swappable! That alone should be enough to push you to get the Pro. I’m not sure how much bigger it is (but probably minimally) due to the hinge. (The product page says they are dimensionally identical!!)

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm Flashlight Size and Comps

106mm x 47.8mm x 22.5mm and 225g.

If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in the fourth photo).

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight in hand

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a custom laser-engraved Convoy S2+ host by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or just go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!

Also above is the light beside a TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats. I also reviewed that specific edition, the “Oveready BOSS FT Collector Vintage Brass” 35. I love it!

I was interested in seeing these two side by side. They seem like they’d be similar but they are in fact quite different! The Acebeam Terminator M2 (left) has an LEP, and the LEP module is much bigger than the throw option of the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight. Because of that LEP size difference, it has just one 18650, while the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight has two!

Retention and Carry

There’s a strong magnet in the tailcap. It’s perfectly sufficient for holding the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight horizontally or vertically. In the same tailcap area, there’s a loop where a lanyard could be attached but no lanyard is included.

Power and Runtime

The Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight uses two 18650 cells. They are, of course, included – they have to be because they’re “built-in.” Loop Gear says on the product page that they’re 3000mAh, but the cell is labeled 3.10Ah. So actual is a little better than the claim. Notably, the pro version gets a capacity boost, up to 4000mAh per cell.

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight with included 18650s removed

Both cells go into the light with the positive end toward the head.

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight with included cells installed

I tested the top two modes for each emitter (or set of emitters.) The two can not be used concurrently except in Strobe.

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight runtime charts

Output meets the claim, which is nice! This stepdown on turbo is quite dramatic, though, making the 2279 lumen initial output nearly irrelevant. Not also that the Pro version gets a spec bump across the board, but also uses entirely different emitters for these two white modes!

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight runtime charts

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight runtime charts

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight runtime charts

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight runtime charts

Low voltage protection was observed in each test. There’s a prominent side RGB COB that alerts the user to approximate cell voltage at startup. In fact, you don’t even have to turn the light on – just switch the rotary dial away from lockout mode and the indicator will display the charge level. It’s basically a power meter. Red means basically empty (“0%”) and anything blue is higher than that. So for example, if the indicator is half blue and half off, the charge is approximately 50%.

Charging

UBS-C charging is used for the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight. The port is near the head and has a press-in silicone cover.

A C to C charging cable is included.

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight charging cable

Charging looks fine – While C to C delivers less current, it’s delivered at 12V, so is overall much quicker. A to C also works fine, but at 5V and a higher current still takes over 3 hours.

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight charging charts

The RGB COB on the side indicates the charging status.

Modes and Currents

Mode Mode Claimed Output (lm) Claimed Runtime Measured Lumens
Flood Turbo 2100 6.5h 2279 (0s)
2105 (30s)
Flood High 650 7h 433 (0s)
429 (30s)
Flood Medium 150 24h 130
Flood Low 20 >20d 18.1
Spot Turbo 750 9.5h 776 (0s)
710 (30s)
Spot High 200 10h 165 (0s)
164 (30s)
Spot Medium 60 40h 48
Spot Low 10 >20d 8.9

Pulse Width Modulation

Every mode uses PWM – and it’s about the same for spot or flood. In the case below, Flood is on the top row. I don’t expect you’ll have a problem with this PWM unless you’re doing some high-speed photography, though. It’s not problematic.

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find. I’m adding multiple timescales, comparing them to the test light will be easier. Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, which is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms. 5ms. 2ms. 1ms. 0.5ms. 0.2ms. In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line. I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and briefly explained PWM.

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm Flashlight User Interface and Operation

There are two ways to interact with the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight. First, there’s a rotary dial. It has four positions. Locked (seen below), then flood, then spot, then side RGB.

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight e-switch in hand

Next is the e-switch, right in the center of that rotary dial. It’s a very big switch with good action.

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight rotary switch detail

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight switch for side emitters

As stated above, there’s a rotary dial with four positions. You’ll want to rotate this dial to your output of choice, then follow the actions in the user interface table below! Note that the user interface for Spot and Flood seems to be the same.

State Action Result
Off Click On (Mode memory)
On Click Off
Off Hold Turbo (both emitters)
Rotary set to Floodlight or Spotlight
Off
Double click Turbo (selected emitter(s))
Rotary set to Floodlight or Spotlight
On
Hold Mode advance (LMH only)
Rotary set to Floodlight or Spotlight
Any
Click 3x Strobe (both emitters)
Rotary set to Floodlight or Spotlight
Strobe
Click then hold SOS (reverse direction works too)
Rotary set to Special Mode
Off
Click RGB COB On (Mode memory)
Rotary set to Special Mode
Off
Click 3x Red-blue flash warning light mode
Rotary set to Special Mode

On

Double click Advance through Lighting options (Steady White > Steady Color > Fade in/out Color > Slide Color > Dash Color > Rainbow Slide)
Rotary set to Special Mode
On
Hold Advance through Color options for specific lighting options (or advance through 3 lighting levels for COB White.)

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm Flashlight LED and Beam

There are two options here for output. In the photo below, the left emitter is the “Spot” output – it’s a Luminus SFT-12. The triple on the right also uses Luminus emitters – the SST-20. Both are cool white.

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight emitters

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight spot emitter on

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight flood emitters on

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight emitters on

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight emitters on

The side RGB can display a bunch of colors! Switching between them is discrete – it’s not a fade from one to the other. There does not seem to be any direct access to COB white.

There are also modes within the RGB output. It can do all sorts of things!

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight rgb emitters on

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

This non-Pro version of the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight is decidedly cool white and low CRI. There’s a High CRI version of the PRO if that’s very important to you. (There’s also a higher output version of the Pro if output is what you’re after.)

In fact, the High CRI Pro version has a higher output than this non-Pro, too!

I’ll try to add CRI CCT for the side white later!

Beamshots

These beamshots are always with the following settings:  f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)

I keep the test flashlight on the left, and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right. These photos are taken around 18 inches from the door. In the photos below I included the side white output in the bottom row.

I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Summary and Conclusion on the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm Flashlight

Depending on how much you end up paying and which version you get, I think the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight is a pretty neat light. Particularly for high CRI and “fast access” cells, I’d be tempted to pay a little more. At the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight introductory price, you certainly get a lot! Very good throw, a nice flood, and a fun side RGB. Charging works well and the UI is fairly intuitive. It’s a solid light!

The Big Table

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm Flashlight
Emitter: Luminus SST-20 (3) (Flood)
Price in USD at publication time: $99.95
Cell: 2×18650
Runtime Graphs
LVP? Yes
Switch Type: E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA): ?
On-Board Charging? Yes
Charge Port Type: USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port No
Claimed Lumens (lm) 2100
Measured Lumens (at 30s) 2105 (100.2% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen 5.56
Claimed Throw (m)
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) 531lux @ 5.191m = 14309cd
Throw (Calculated) (m) 239.2
Claimed CCT
Measured CCT Range (K) 5800-6300 Kelvin
Item provided for review by: Loop
All my Loop Gear reviews!

 

Loop Gear SK-05 Helm flashlight
Emitter: Luminus SFT-12 (Throw)
Claimed Lumens (lm) 750
Measured Lumens (at 30s) 710 (94.7% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen 62.85
Claimed Throw (m) 370
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) 1123lux @ 6.084m = 41568cd
Throw (Calculated) (m) 407.8 (110.2% of claim)^
Claimed CCT
Measured CCT Range (K) 6700-7200 Kelvin
All my Loop Gear reviews!

^ Measurement disclaimer:  Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.

What I like about the Loop Gear SK-05 Helm Flashlight

  • Meets output specs for both throw and flood
  • Solid build quality
  • Cells are not soldered in
  • Uses standard flat-top cells
  • Intuitive user interface
  • RGB side options are fun!
  • C to C charging works very well

What I don’t like

  • Very cool white
  • Low CRI
  • Cells are not quick-swappable

Notes

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