| Name Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| LEP type / class | N/A |
| Max. beam intensity (candelas) | 640,000 cd |
| Max. beam distance (meters) | 1,600 m |
| Lumens | 910 lumens |
| Modes | 4 |
| Avg. Price | $319 |
Skywalker zoomy in use
Meet Loop SK01s, the new player in town. Despite being a new flashlight brand, loop Universe is not new to the flashlight industry. Bruce, the owner of the brand has had extensive experience with other brands in the past. He used to work for another manufacturer, and therefore knows a lot about flashlights.
The Loop SK01s Skywalker (full product name) is a pretty unique LEP flashlight. It’s not just a flashlight, but a fidget toy at the same time. And besides these unique features, it also look pretty unique. And that’s also noticeable by its flashlight packaging.
New brands usually don’t spend much thought on this, but the Loop box feels and looks great. Its manual (printed on a dark background) is also quite unique.
On top of the flashlight is a fidget ring, that is positioned for your index finger (or middle finger) to go through. This allows a pretty secure grip, with your thumb resting on the rear switch. By swinging it around, you can change hand positions quite easily.
Lastly, the battery tube offers a bolt-action movement, with a locking mechanism. This way, the flashlight is physically locked out. However, you can still use a stick to turn the flashlight on/off.
On the front of the light is the zoom mechanism. And on mine this mechanism was pretty hard to use, especially single-handed. You need to use both hands to turn that ring.
Just below the zoom ring, there is another fidget ring, spinning around the body. So basically, it has 3 fidget movements, and 1 light source… well kind of, because there are some AUX LEDs built into the switch, which can’t be turned off.
Batteries, and more
The SK01s was touted as the most compact LEP flashlight by the manufacturer, and some people even copied that on their sales page. That is pretty misleading because it’s quite big for being powered by a 18350battery.
And in terms of weight, it’s also not ‘tiny’ weighing about 253 grams (8.9oz) with the battery installed. In comparison, the Lumintop Thor 1 (one of the actual smallest LEP flashlights) weighs 127 grams (4.5oz).
Loop Universe included a 1100mAh 18350 battery, with a built-in USB-C port for charging. You can still charge the battery in a normal charger, but you don’t have to buy one to use it. You can simply insert an USB-C cable, and be done with it.
Performance
Unfortunately, this is where the Skywalker doesn’t really shine. The manufacturer used the specifications received by the maker of the LEP module (or a reseller), and they were off by a large margin. This is the main reason why I test flashlights, so people know to expect.
The beam is great, when zoomed in, and out. But when it’s zoomed out (widest setting) the beam isn’t very bright, and lost quite a bit of lumens. This is the nature of focusable flashlights. So when zoomed in, you lose about 30-40% of output on average.
Here are the lumen measurements:
| Mode | Specs | I measured at turn on | after 30 seconds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eco | 10 lm | 0 | 0 |
| Low | 100 lm | 22 lm | 25 lm |
| High* | 450 lm | 91 lm | 90 lm |
| Turbo | 910 lm | 465 lm | 265 lm |
And here are the numbers in terms of throw:
| Mode | Specs | I measured: | meters | yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eco | – | 125 cd | 22 m | 24 yd |
| Low | – | 40,125 cd | 401 m | 438 yd |
| High | – | 212,500 cd | 922 m | 1008 yd |
| Turbo | 1600m / 640,000 cd | 350,000 cd | 1183 m | 1294 yd |
| Turbo (at start) | 610,000 cd | 1562 m | 1708 yd |
I would not recommend buying this flashlight if you were going to use it for actual use, and carrying it in your jacket. It’s too sensitive (dirt getting inside the spinners/fidget. And on top of that, the output and beam distance were a bit on the low side.
However, if you are looking for a cool looking LEP flashlight, with fidget features, I don’t think there is anything that comes close.
