Review: Solarforce Skyline 2

Purchased from : http://www.solarforce-sales.com/ just after Christmas and arrived in the first week of the new year .

I took advantage of the sale solarforce-sales was having , and since I found the Skyline 2 to be one of the more interesting lights that I have wanted to own , I simply could not resist the siren song of a sale , and here we are , so first some pictures for you to enjoy .


First Impressions :


It is very distinct , and does stand out from the crowd , and to me , very attractive , in a mechanical sort of way . The Skyline 2 is very well put together , double O rings in the head and a O ring for the tail cap [ all lubed by the way ] , and the threads are very smooth , and everything is nice and tight , the tolerances are really kept to a minimum , in a nut shell , the Skyline 2 is top shelf all the way with very nice even anodizing and clean machining on the body , Solarforce really went all out on this one .


If your sick of the usual run of P60 hosts and want to try something a little different , well I did . I took the Skyline 2 for a walk the other evening , and I found it very easy to carry , it's a little heavier than say the L2P , but not noticeably so when you go walking with it . Now when using the light , the beam is some what narrow , especially after having become accustomed to XP-G equipped lights . It does throw though , very well for such a compact light , and will easily out throw all my XR-E XP-G non thrower lights [ P60 ] . The ramping feature is built into the tailcap , and to activate one simply holds the clicky down when turning it on [ Dont lift off till it ramps ] , after this you can ramp up and down to your hearts content .


Description Borrowed from Solarforce.hk website : 



- Uses a CREE XR-E (WC-R2) LED

- Aluminum alloy reflector with smooth reflective surface for extreme lighting range up to 200m

- Micro processor for various output modes and adjustable output levels with current regulation

- Protective circuit design for preventing over-discharging and reversed polarity of batteries

- High strength aluminum alloy body with Mil-spec hard-anodized finish

- Stainless steel bezel

- Strengthened ultra-clear glass lens

- Input voltage: 2.7V - 6.0V (18650 x 1 pcs or CR123A x 2pcs)

- Working temperature: -40 to 60 deg. Celsius

- Waterproof capability: IPX-8 standard

- Runtime* with

n 18650 battery x 1, at

u Approx. 200 lumens: 2.5 hour

u Approx. 1 lumen: 250 hours

n CR123A battery x 2, at

u Approx. 260 lumens: 2 hours

u Approx. 1 lumens: 120 hours

- Operation (when the flashlight is turned off):

n Press once and release (< 0.5 second): turn on

n Press constantly (> 0.5 second): output adjusting mode from 100% to 5% (release to stay). Press constantly again to activate the output adjusting mode from 5% to 100%

n Press twice and release (< 0.5 second): strobe mode

- Length, Head Diameter, Body Diameter: 130mm, 33.7mm, 25.4mm

- Weight: 124g (without battery)



Some Performance Figures :


Lets start with 18650 ..


High = 200Lumen , I measured 0.83A and 207L when using the MM

Turning the light as low as it would go , returned about 1L


2 x CR123A Primaries


High = 264L which faded to 256L I measure some 1.2A [ same 256L ]

As low as it would go was about 2L


No Tail Cap


18650 = 220L

2 x CR123 = 264L


Throw measured in Lux @ 1 Meter


18650 = 12200Lux @ 1meter

2 x Cr123 = 14600Lux @ 1meter


Would seem that Solarforce is rather spot on with the estimations for output , which is nice to see .


Afterthoughts .

I would love to see this light with a decent 4.2v driver [ single 18650 ] , and driving the emitter @ say 1400mA .

I have to say , one of my better buys , and if your a little tired of the usual run of P60 lights and still want a single cells light [ 18650 ] then perhaps you need to look at the Skyline 2 . Its the same size as a P60 host , and is very unique [ in a attractive sort of way ] looking and will really stand out in a crowd . The Skyline 2 is very well made , and holding it just gives you confidence that its a quality product , and my only complaint is the battery set up , it performs best on those nasty little Primaries , it really wants to be single 18650 , but I guess you cant please everyone .


Beamshots tonight !

http://makeagif.com/i/ypsZ70 Animated Gif !

Just a note , the worst possible conditions for showcasing a thrower , its 10pm and the sky is still lit up by the setting sun ..

The R2 is my best , about 300OTF , and I also took the XM-L from KD along , yeah , I think 600+ OTF Lumens makes a difference .

Unfortunately for the skyline , it has a bit of a narrow beam and not the best location or conditions to show it of . + It really does throw much better than the other lights , only the camera just cant do it justice , one day , I will have to get a Digital SLR ...

Ooops! Sorry, I missed this one! Nice looking light, I wish they had a 1xAA version... Hint-hint Solarforce.

Frontpage'd and sticky'd.

Sweet pictures, as usual, from Old4570. Thanks!

Excelent review, pictures.. and flashlight.. I think the XRE led can be replaced with an XPG, as the reflector is screwed to the drop in, and it wont rattle. You will have more lumens, a bigger hostspot and more spill.. what do you think about it?

This is an actually beautiful flashlight.. unfortunatly it is underdriven with 1x18650

Driver mod ! First ... Will see about a 1400mA 4.2v single mode driver in the pill ... Some time down the track ..

XP-G ? Ive got plenty of XP-G lights .

I just think XPG are more useful: more efficient, more lumens, bigger hotspot. Unless you want a nice thrower.

Do you think it is possible to use a 1400 mA driver? or a 2800 one with an XML? (I don't know what the circuitry of the tailcap do).

I put a 1400mAh driver in my Skyline 1 .. Works fine ...

Tailcap circuitry ramps the output .. So rather than modes , you just ramp it to the level you want 1L - 200L [ 18650 ] , anywhere in between .

For now , I want to keep it as is , once the newness wears off , I will see about a driver mod ..

After that ? , Looking at the shelf , there are at least a dozen P60 lights ready to go ... [ 15 ]

1 x SST 50 / 1 x Dual XP-G R5 / XP-G R5 x 3 / XR-E x 6 / XM-L x 3 / XP-E x 1

And I have quite a few pills , and no bodies ... Hmmm - a C1 maybe ...

No.. please.. I hope Solarforce don't sell it anymore by tomorrow.. I must not buy more flashlights..

Well darn you again for doing this! First I fell for the Skyline 1... and now the "two". I must say, the distinctive machining looks absolutely stunning. My thoughts about accumulating so many flashlights is that I will be able to mod my favorites well into the future... and it feeds the sickness right along with my other hobbies. At least I'm incorporating flashlights into many of the things I do. LOL! The "two" surely looks like a fav for a long time to come. It just screams "high tech" and damn good looking! Thanks for the great review. Looking forward to you tearing the living guts out of this thing like you did to your "one"! Its probably to early to tell, but do you think heat management is better than the typical light of this size, or is the machine work more for aesthetics than function? I wonder how it would manage heat @2.8A with an XML. Yeah, I know it would probably be pushing it if on for more than 5 min, but you never know.
Have you tried to dedome any XML's yet?

Heatsinking should be fine , it takes a 16mm round base/star ...

De-dome a XM-L , no , havent tried that .. Did it by accident to a XP-G R5 , still works .. One day ill find a light to put it in

Its still there with a discounted price!

My concern with driving an XML @ 2.8A in this host is the lack of threads (contact area) to transmit the heat from the body to the head. What do you think? Does the head get as warm as the body?

Lack of threads = To the head yes , its just a very narrow threaded part on the pill ..

I need to drill some holes to remove it [ When the newness has worn off ]

ATM heat is not an issue .. , One could try wrapping the reflector in Al-foil , and doing the foil trick , should one Mod it to XM-L

I didn't understand.. drill holes to remove what from where? how is this related to the increasing of heatsink?

The pill that screws into the body , that the LED sits on .. To remove it , I will need to drill 2 small holes , so I can remove it ..

I dont want to damage the threads for the head , or reflector , removing the pill .

I thought you wanted to increase the heat transmision between the head and the dropin with that, I didn't understood.

Laughing

Quick dumb question: The Skyline 2 is a P60 compatible host or not?

Thanks!

does'nt look like it. the reflector screws onto the body.

It's not compatable. The pill is mounted in the body, and is a bugger to remove. During upgrading my skyline II witha 1.4a driver I had to destroy the original...complete pita!

Thanks for clearing that up!