Loop Gear SK05 Review: A Three-in-One Flashlight With Real Personality

Introduction

The Loop Gear SK05 is a multi-functional flashlight that packs three light sources into a single flat wedge-shaped body: a spotlight, a floodlight, and a sidelight. It is not the first flashlight of this style, but it pushes the concept one step further than its closest inspiration, the AceBeam Terminator M2, by adding a useful multi-color sidelight to the mix.

With an IP68 dust and waterproof rating, a magnetic tail cap, and a control system built around one side switch and a rotary dial, the SK05 aims to be the kind of light you keep in the car, in a drawer, or in a bag for emergencies. The version reviewed here sits at roughly the $100 mark, with a Pro variant around $150. This review covers how it actually performs and whether it earns that price.

Design and Build Quality

The body is made from aluminum and measures 4.17 inches by 1.88 inches by 0.89 inches. With batteries installed, it weighs 7.7 ounces (218 g), which is fairly hefty for its size, though the flat form factor makes it comfortable to hold with a thumb resting naturally on the side switch. Small ridges at the bottom give your forefinger a comfortable resting spot.

The front houses a single emitter pushed back within a smooth reflector for the spotlight, and a three-emitter floodlight array alongside it. The LEDs emit a cool white color temperature, eyeballed at somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 K. Styling is clean and the fit and finish feel genuinely good in hand.

One gap in the box: the user manual lists a pocket clip, but it was missing from this early sample. Without it, the light just sits loose in a pocket, and the empty mounting rectangle where the clip should attach is visible. Presumably retail units ship complete, but it is worth checking on arrival.

Controls and User Interface

Everything is controlled with a single side switch plus a rotary dial, and the dial is one of the smartest parts of this light. Flipping the dial to the lockout position disables the button entirely: no fancy presses, no twisting a tail cap. Turning the dial while the light is off does nothing, so you can select flood or spot without the light blasting on, and it only switches modes when the light is already running.

Flood and spot modes each offer three cyclable brightness levels via press-and-hold, with double-press for turbo and a single click to turn off. Mode memory works independently for each mode, so the light remembers the last brightness level on both flood and spot simultaneously. Switching between flood and spot on the fly is fast and satisfying.

The sidelight offers seven modes across eight colors, including solid white (with low, medium, high), solid colors like red, cyan, blue, pink, yellow, green, and light blue, plus breathing, streaming, and rainbow effects. Triple-clicking from the sidelight brings up a red and blue flashing emergency mode that looks strikingly like a police light, which pairs perfectly with the magnetic tail for roadside visibility.

Magnetic Tail and Emergency Use

The flat magnetic tail cap is strong enough to hold the entire 7.7-ounce weight of the flashlight against a car body, and the flat wedge shape lets it tail-stand as well. Set on its side with the white sidelight turned up, it also works nicely as a reading light for camping, bouncing soft light off a ceiling or tent wall.

This is where the SK05 makes the most sense. The red and blue flashing emergency mode combined with the magnetic tail makes it a genuinely practical car flashlight: slap it on the side of the vehicle if you break down so other drivers can see you. That combination alone is a strong argument for keeping this in the glovebox.

One caveat inside the tail: the batteries are not user-replaceable in this version. Two screws hold the tail closed, and the unit cannot be opened. An SK05 Pro variant exists, which may allow battery swapping, but the standard version reviewed here does not.

Lumens, Runtime, and Output

The floodlight runs 50 lumens on low, 350 on medium, and 950 on high, with turbo at 3,600 lumens. Turbo steps down after about 40 seconds, high runs roughly 5.5 hours before stepping down, and there is a generous 30-minute tail at 50 lumens. Medium is the sweet spot here: 350 lumens with a 20-hour runtime is excellent.

The spotlight runs 40 lumens on low, 220 on medium, and 600 on high, with turbo at 1,300 lumens for 40 seconds before stepping down. Max light intensity is 41,000 candela with a max beam distance of 405 meters. The spotlight medium at 220 lumens delivers a claimed 19-hour runtime, which is equally impressive.

Beam Performance: Flood and Spot

Switching from flood to spot is instant, and the two beams have distinct personalities. The floodlight produces a wide, even pattern that lights up a broad area, easily reaching a barn and surrounding trees on high, with turbo briefly washing the whole scene. The spotlight throws a crisp, defined hotspot with a clean outer perimeter, easily reaching distant trees and structures even on medium.

The sidelight is not meant to throw; it is a diffused, soft panel for close-up tasks like reading or working without a harsh spot or flood. The solid red mode is reasonably bright and useful for hunters who want to preserve night vision, and the emergency flash is bright enough to be clearly visible from a distance.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The biggest omission is a moonlight mode. There is no one-lumen or five-lumen firefly setting, which matters for anyone considering this as an every-day-carry light. Grabbing it in the middle of the night means getting blasted by a much brighter low mode than you need.

The second issue is the gimmicky RGB modes. The colored breathing, drop, and rainbow-flowing effects are fun to demo but essentially novelty items you cycle through to reach the useful white and solid-color modes. There is no way to hide or program out the modes you do not want.

Also note the non-replaceable battery in this version, and the missing pocket clip on this early sample. Neither is a dealbreaker for a car or emergency light, but both matter if you plan to carry it daily.

Buying Advice

At around $100 for the standard version and roughly $150 for the Pro, this is a pricey flashlight on paper. But it does a lot, and it does several things smartly: the independent mode memory, the lockout dial that never blinds you, the strong magnetic tail, and that genuinely useful red and blue emergency flash. For a car emergency light or a versatile around-the-house and camping light, the SK05 is one of the better flashlights of this style in recent memory. Skip it if a moonlight mode or a carry-friendly pocket clip is essential to you.

Conclusion

The Loop Gear SK05 takes a familiar wedge-shaped flashlight format and improves on it with a useful sidelight, excellent runtimes on medium, and thoughtful control behavior. The gimmicky RGB modes and lack of moonlight hold it back from perfection, but as an emergency and multi-purpose light, it is easy to recommend.