Loop Gear SK03 Review: A Pocket Flashlight With a Glow All Its Own

Introduction

The Loop Gear SK03 has been around for a little while, but it remains one of the more interesting compact everyday carry flashlights on the market. It combines a conventional out-the-front main light with wraparound side LEDs, something few flashlights in this size class attempt, and it backs that up with a genuinely unusual set of features.

This review covers the Pro version, which adds a magnetic mounting bracket to an already well-specified package. After spending real time with it, the short version is this: the SK03 is close to an ideal small EDC light, with a few quirks worth knowing about before you buy.

What Comes in the Box

Loop Gear includes a lot here. Along with the flashlight itself you get a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, an unusual braided lanyard, four color tubes for the side lights, a small screwdriver, spare O-rings, and the user manual. The Pro version also adds a magnetic bracket with a small integrated blade and bottle opener.

The flashlight ships with a rechargeable Loop-branded 14500 battery inside. There is no charging port on the body itself; charging happens on the battery, which glows red while charging and blue when full. The split-ring, removable two-way pocket clip is deep carry, and it doubles as a hat clip if you want to use the light as an improvised headlamp.

Specs at a Glance

The SK03 tops out at 1,000 lumens with a maximum throw of 120 meters and 3,600 candela of intensity. The body is aluminum with an IP65 rating: fully dust proof, and resistant to low-pressure water jets from any direction. Impact resistance is rated at 1 meter.

Dimensions are friendly for pocket carry. It measures 3.01 inches long with a 0.85 inch body diameter, and it weighs 2.5 ounces (72 grams) with the 14500 battery and pocket clip installed. The build quality feels solid throughout, with a gray aluminum body, a glossy piano black head, and a metal tail switch that gives a small tactile bump when pressed.

The Wraparound Side LEDs

This is the feature that sets the SK03 apart. Loop Gear calls it the electric tritium tube: a ring of LEDs that wraps around the body and produces a soft, even glow in any orientation. Because the light can be tail-standed or head-standed, you get usable ambient lighting either way, which makes it surprisingly practical for close-up work in the dark.

The four included color tubes snap onto the body over the LEDs. Red looks excellent, blue is strong, the orange tube reads as a bright yellow when lit, and the gray tube acts more as a white diffusion filter than a true color. They are a fun addition, though carrying them around is one more thing to keep track of.

Controls and UI

Everything runs through a single metal tail switch. A short press turns the light on and off, repeated short presses cycle through the three cyclable brightness levels, and a double click jumps to Turbo. Triple click activates strobe, and long presses cycle through SOS and Beacon.

The side LEDs are activated by pressing and holding the switch for about a second, then releasing and holding again to cycle through modes. The micro level, an extremely dim glow with a claimed two-year runtime, is reached by pressing the switch five times quickly. It is genuinely useful for finding the light in pitch darkness, such as inside a tent at night, though the press-and-hold-then-release-again sequence is not the most intuitive design. Mode memory is included, and an eight-press lockout prevents accidental activation in a pocket.

The Pro Version Magnetic Bracket

The standard SK03 tail switch is not magnetized, which is where the Pro version earns its extra cost. The included magnetic bracket replaces the pocket clip and lets the light attach to any metal surface, with a locking knob that holds the angle wherever you set it: straight up, angled behind, or anything in between.

The bracket also includes a small blade and a bottle opener. The blade is more of a box opener straight from the factory; it looks sharp but is not, and could stand a touch of sharpening. Still, for anyone who wants to mount a flashlight to a workbench, car hood, or camp setup, the bracket is a legitimately useful accessory.

Battery Options and a Quirk

The included 3.6V, 920mAh 14500 battery powers the full feature set. A nice bonus is that the SK03 also runs on ordinary 1.5V AA batteries, so you are never stranded if the rechargeable runs flat.

There is one quirk to know about: the micro side light mode does not activate with standard AA batteries, even though the main light works fine on them, including Turbo. If the two-year micro glow matters to you, stick with the 14500.

Beam Quality and Runtime

The diffused lens produces an evenly spread beam with a soft, barely defined hotspot. That suits an everyday carry light well; this is not a crisp-throwing tactical light, and it does not pretend to be. In snowy nighttime testing, low was a modest 7 lumens, mid at 70 lumens felt like the sweet spot for most tasks, and high at 220 lumens comfortably lit objects at a distance.

Turbo hits a full 1,000 lumens for about 30 seconds, then steps down to 220 lumens over roughly two and a half hours. Loop Gear deserves credit for stating the 30-second Turbo window upfront rather than hiding it. Runtime figures are strong across the board: 50 hours on low, 10 hours on mid, and 2 hours 35 minutes on high. The side lights reach 80 lumens on high and 10 on low.

What holds the light back slightly is mode spacing. There is no true moonlight mode; the lowest main light setting is 7 lumens, and mid sits at 70 rather than a hoped-for 100. More significantly, the SOS and Beacon modes are surprisingly dim, which undercuts their purpose. An emergency signal nobody can see is not much of a signal.

Pros and Cons

The strengths are easy to list. It runs on any common AA battery in a pinch. The two-way deep carry pocket clip is genuinely well executed. The size and weight are near-perfect for pocket carry. 1,000 lumens of Turbo output is plenty bright, and the 80-lumen side lights with color filters add real versatility. The micro mode with its two-year runtime is a standout, and the Pro bracket solves the missing magnet nicely. A five-year warranty backs it all up.

The downsides are just as clear. IP65 means it survives rain but is not submersible, which is a real limitation for an everyday carry light. The side light UI is clunky. RGB LEDs would be more useful than removable filters. The micro mode fails on AA batteries. There is no one-lumen moonlight mode. And the dim SOS and Beacon outputs are the most disappointing omission.

Should You Buy It?

The standard SK03 costs $59.99, which feels like fair value for a light this distinctive. The Pro version runs $89.99, a $30 step up for the magnetic bracket. That upgrade price is steep for what is essentially an accessory, but the bracket itself is well made and genuinely useful if you have a place to stick it.

If you want a compact, well-built EDC flashlight with a twist, the SK03 is an easy recommendation at either price. Just go in knowing its limits: it is not submersible, the emergency modes are weak, and the side light controls take some getting used to.

Conclusion

The Loop Gear SK03 is one of those products that earns its personality honestly. The wraparound side LEDs, the two-year micro glow, the flexible battery options, and the compact form factor add up to a flashlight that is genuinely fun to carry and genuinely useful day to day. Its flaws are real, particularly the IP65 rating and the dim emergency modes, but none of them ruin the core experience. For under $60, the standard version is a strong buy, and Pro buyers get a mounting solution that makes the light even more flexible.