Skilhunt H03: I regret it.

I picked up the Skilhunt H03 a while back, and it’s broken now.

Here’s what happened: I used the magnetic base to stick the H03 on a corrugated metal wall, about 6 ft up from the ground. I bumped into the wall, and since the magnet is weak, the light slid down and slammed into the concrete floor. Keep in mind this was not free fall, but a slower descent due to the magnet still sticking to the wall.

After that, the light turns off at the slightest bump. There is a rattle inside the head.

I opened up the top to see if there’s any loose wires. Nope, connections are fine from the LED to the top of the pill. Likewise the pill is fine from the battery end. Which means the rattling is coming from in between the top and bottom boards.

Again, I’ll like to emphasize this was not a free fall. It was a sliding fall from 6 ft. There’s not even cosmetic damage to the light from the fall. I have less than 20 hours on this light sighs.

Meanwhile, my Zebralights from 7 years ago work absolutely fine.

Just pay the extra to get a epoxy filled pill like Zebralight. These skilhunts are toys.

that sounds bad, I never had a Skilhunt so can’t tell anything about reliability.
So far, I have only read good things about this brand…

Mine fell a little under 2 meters once and was fine, it’s a matter of luck really. Doesn’t surprise me they aren’t as durable as Zebralights though.

This probably won’t work but have you tried stretching the springs? Also, it is possible to remove the head and access the driver, it depends on how much threadlock they used. I managed to undo it with just my hands. Your mileage may vary.

Also keep in mind magnets stick better to thicker lumps of iron. So a thin sheet with a curved surface (corrugated metal sheet) will not have as much magnetic pull.

My friend’s died after about 6 months. It’;s a good light, but it’s a budget light.

Cheaper?? lights.
I tend to stick to Convoy. Astrolux, and Sofurn.
with Jetbeam and Olight tending to be one step higher up the ladder.
In my experience. There are a LOT of others too but I haven’t gone their way much. Budget all the way for me. These ARE proven well built, with good materials.

My H03 worked perfectly fine before i put it inside a cabinet. A month later, i checked back and it’s broken eventhough i didn’t use it at all for a whole month. Some people i know also reported their Skillhunt H03 and H02 broken after a drop just like this so i guess that the way it is. It’s still a good budget flashlight but i don’t think that i’ll ever trust the durability of Skillhunt flashlight again.

I had similar problem with two H02 flashlights.
Both fallen just from table. I was able to repair those 2.
I would blame lead-free soldering (standard solder with lead seems to be much stronger) of PCB inside:) Driver is T-shaped, soldered from two peaces. So these two PCBs are detached after falling.
After re-soldering PCB connections the flashlights work well.

Had a H03 since Xmas, no problems, used it for motorcycle repairs, all sorts of DIY, dropped it a few times.

I have replacement drivers with Narsil or Anduril

Those were my thoughts exactly: lead free is so brittle, home soldering with 63/37 solder produces a superior build.

What’s the easiest and least messiest way to disassemble to resolder the driver? Did you reflow, or free hand it?

I’m new to modding, so don’t know anything about drivers :slight_smile:

I do have a Nichia 219c on there. I love max output. Thoughts?

It’s a toy that makes it easy to swap out LEDs. Exterior build quality is very nice. Internals, they skimped, and understandably so, they had to skimp somewhere.

This is definitely not a work light. Personally, I would rate its value at $10, similar to a zoomie.

I’ve used mine for many 6+ hour stretches. It is a great headlamp, but as noted above, they had to scrimp somewhere.
I’ve had Surefires apart for modding and it looks like there’s a thin coating of something all across the top of the driver. I may start doing something like this to keep the bits from falling off. Will avoid the tops of components to prevent overheating.
It seems like this wouldn’t be too hard for manufacturers to implement but any extra cost drives up the price.

I don’t remember how to disassemble the flashlight (just remind that my was H02). But as I remember it was not difficult to disassemble, hope the story is same with H03.

It can happen to any flashlight. What about warranty ?

I think it is a good light, I use it daily and experienced no problem, except that the screws on the reflector were loose.

Hello, if you need it, you can look at our warranty terms. Service – LED Headlamp │ Tactical Flashlight

Hi and thank you for your reply. A general problem is that tracked and insured shipping to China is about as expensive as a H03 itself. So sending a light back to China is often not an interesting option.

Ive had my H03 now for around 2 years and use it daily. So far “knock on wood” ive had great luck with mine. I do agree that they are not the best built but for what i paid for it im ok with it. I caught it on sale @ $29 usd. If you want better headlight I would probably go with Armytek or Olight.