Seeknite SK03

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Specifications

Brand/model	Seeknite SK03
LED	XM-L2 U2 (specified, there’s a catch)
Lumens	N/A
Beam distance	50 meters
Battery config.	1*AAA
Material	Titanium
Modes	1
Blinkies	N/A
Reflector	TIR optics
Waterproof	N/A
Review date	January 2021

I saw this small Titanium light on Banggood and I was sold directly, I love Ti and the sleek design so I jumped on it. It’s available in two finishings, bead blasted or smooth.

It’s small, clean and simple, I like that.

So Seeknite you say huh? 

Admittedly I didn’t know the brand, therefore I had to do some research, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find any useful info on them. Searching for Seeknite comes up with several flashlights, but it seems they are all other lights that are rebranded to Seeknite.

For instance, I found a Mateminco X6S, rebranded to Seeknite, Several convoys (a convoy T2 rebranded to Seeknite, a convoy S2+ rebranded to Seeknite ST02, a convoy T2 rebranded to Seeknite A02), and many more.

So it seems they don’t make flashlights themselves, and have a cooperation with Banggood since that’s the only source that sells this brand.

Another interesting fact is that Bangood sells another light which looks to be identical, but it’s missing the pocket clip (And it’s cheaper, for those interested, it’s named ‘Keshun’)

Enough nit-picking for now, the light itself looks really nice.

Package quality.

The light comes in a sturdy black ABS case with some foam padding inside. inside the box, you’ll find the light inside a minigrip bag and that’s it!

That’s everything you’ll get! 

There are no additional accessories, not even an manual

Accessories:

•  nothing, niente, nada, nichts !

Handling of the light is exceptionally easy, and it’s child’s play to operate due to its small form factor.

A big plus is that it’s equipped with a tail switch, something many small AAA lights don’t have. For example, the Astrolux A01 which is approximately the same size is a twisty, as is the Jetbeam Jet u.

Personally, I think it’s something really useful for pocket-size lights since it will prevent any accidental activation. (nobody wants to become empty-handed when you need to use the light you are carrying).

The clip is very stiff, I had a hard time taking it off. But it works well and does function as an anti-roll feature. Tailstanding is impossible due to the switch, so you can’t use it as a standing work light.

For the relatively low price, it’s selling for, I was questioning if it’s made out of real titanium,  and the answer is: Yes it is! 

As said in the introduction, the light comes in 2 variations, Smooth or bead blasted, or silver and sandstone as Banggood calls it.

The side of the tail switch is machined with knurling to provide some extra grip for opening or closing the light. Of course, this is very useful to simplify changing batteries.

The build and finishing is very well done for such a tiny light, threads are as you might expect from Titanium, not buttery smooth but as good as can be for triangular thread.

One thing I noticed is that the titanium switch cap has quite some play, it feels a bit wobbly. This is caused by the fact that the recessed part of the cap is a bit too wide compared to the protruding part of the plastic switch itself.

What I like about it, is that it looks well thought, the switch is placed into an exact fitting retaining ring, as well as the driver and TIR optic is also kept in place with a retaining ring. So it’s easy to take apart and there is no glue or whatsoever.

Since I was able to open it, I had the opportunity to see what’s inside! That’s where the interesting part began.

The LED inside the SK03 is not placed onto an MCPCB, instead, it’s soldered directly onto the backside of the driver. It seems the LED isn’t driven that hard, so an MCPCB to get rid of the heat dissipation from the LED wasn’t necessary.

Another interesting fact is that this light is advertised with a CREE XML2-U2 LED, however, it’s not!

When you zoom in and watch the details of the LED, you’ll see that it’s actually a CREE XP-G2!

The tint is Cool White, I would say around 6000K. It’s advertised as 6500K, but I have certainly seen cooler whites, which tend to be angry blue. Well, this one is CW, but it’s not unpleasant angry blue, it’s quite good actually.

The light uses a TIR, which might help to blend the CW to a usable beam. One thing I noticed though is that the TIR is not sealed with an O ring inside the head, so I wouldn’t guarantee its waterproofness.

As mentioned earlier, I like the simple and elegant design, without any additional fuss, just a smooth light without any crenelations or unnecessary design features.

• Length: 75 mm
• Head diameter:  17 mm
• Tail diameter:  15 mm
• Inside tube diameter 10.4 mm
• Outside tube diameter 12.7 mm

Weight: 

• Without cells:  27 grams

Keychain Flashlights

Size comparisons with some popular keychain flashlights.

From left to right: Astrolux A01, Seeknite SK03, Enogear/Fireflies AA SS, Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 Ti

There’s not much to tell about the UI, other than that it’s just a single-mode flashlight! Oh, and you can switch it on or off by the switch. The switch is a mechanical reverse clicky type, so you’ve got to push the switch all the way until it clicks to turn the light on. 

Low voltage warning:

• There is no LVP

Lock-out mode: 

• There is no lockout possibility, not even a mechanical since it’s entirely made of conducting material

The light uses regular AAA or AAA rechargeable batteries. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use the rechargeable AAA cells I had lying around since they were too wide to fit inside the battery tube. (I found this out using 1000 mAh Varta cells)

I don’t know if it’s just my particular light, but I have measured the inside diameter of the tube 10.25 mm. This is strange since the IEC standard dimension for AAA batteries specifies a maximum diameter of 10.5 mm. 

Non-rechargeable cells fit but very tight. You feel that there is zero tolerance. When you insert the battery, you have to squeeze them and hear that air is pushed out of the tube, like a piston in a cylinder. Getting the battery out is the same story. You either have to shake it very hard or just push the battery out with something like a pen.

This is something that really can be improved, just a fraction larger diameter will allow more different cells and easier exchange of the battery.

Lux readings are done with a UNI-T UT 383 S lux meter, Current readings are done with a UNI-T 210E Digital Clamp Meter and a Yokogawa 734-02 Digital Multimeter.

A new Duracell AAA battery was used for the test.

Amp measurement  

• Single Mode : 834 mA (UNI-T UT210E)
• Single mode : 847 mA (Yokogawa 734-02)

What is interesting to see is that the light starts with quite a high current, and gradually decreases current, after 1 minute it dropped to around 700 mA or so, this is also seen in the runtime output.

I couldn’t believe what I saw when the light was still lit after 3 hours during the runtime test, but it seems it starts high and just decreases.

Runtime graph

The results should be taken with a grain of salt since I am using an integrating Lumen tube which is not officially calibrated, so take into account a deviation of +- 10%

As said before, its runtime is really good! But then again it’s not the brightest light around. It drops from 38 to about 13 Lumens after one hour, but after that, it will run for another 3 hours!

This makes it an excellent emergency light.

Lumen measurements (for each mode)

The results should be taken with a grain of salt, since i am using an integrating Lumen tube which is not officially calibrated, so take into account a deviation of +- 10%

• Single mode: 38 Lm

Throw numbers: 

Throw is measured in a complete dark surrounding at exactly 5 meters

I measured  17 Lux at 5 meter

This corresponds with 425 Candela, and should be good for a throw of 41.2 m. Banggood states 50 meters, so it’s close.

This light is definitely meant for nearby use, since the luminous output is too low for any real good beamshots.

Therefore I have made some close-ups together with the Astrolux A01 on the left and the Lumintop Tool on the right.

You can really tell the difference, the rosy tint of the A01 already tells it has a Nichia 219B, the SK03 has the XPG2 and the Tool has an LH351D.

Disclaimer: I bought this flashlight with our own money. Nobody paid me to review this flashlight, nor have I been holding back on problems or defects.