Skylite Switchable 2-Red / 2-White LED Flashlight

The Rigel Skylite is the 2nd one I have bought, as I liked the first one enough to buy a second as a backup!I've owned Skylites for several years now, and they are definitely long lasting and durable. I fly light planes occasionally, which I why I bought it...I wanted a dual mode, lightweight aviator light that was bright enough to do a preflight after sunset, and which allowed for night vision preservation with another mode. The Rigel does this in spades, as the output at maximum mode for the white LED's is very high, and illuminates an area of ~ 20x10 (200 square feet) very clearly, while the red LED's are great for spot reading of maps, charts, etc. Other key features are it's light weight, one handed rotary selector/dimming switch, long battery life of over 300 hours on low and 12 hours on the maximum setting, resistance to rain, spills, and dust, (it can probably survive a dunking in 3 feet of water for a short time, under a minute, but it is not waterproof)and the provided lanyard, very handy for when you need 3 hands for something! The battery typically lasts about 1 year for an alkaline or 2 years for a lithium one. This is definitely well designed for its purpose as an aviator light, with lots of utility as a camper, personal carry, or emergency flashlight as well.

White LEDs produce a nice uniform illumination. Red LEDs produce a terrible illumination pattern, red rings interspersed with dark bands. And which color will most buyers use; red of course! Lanyard is designed to attach to the cheap plastic rear thumbscrew holding on the battery cover by use of a rubber o-ring. Wouldn't be long before the o-ring slips over the edge of the thumbscrew and the light falls away. The 9-volt battery connects via two spiral spring contacts rather than the industry standard snap-on battery terminals. This light was designed about as poorly as someone could conjure up a collection of bad ideas. Definitely DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS LIGHT!!

This is by far the most reliable and convenient bed-side flashlight ever, especially having the adjustable dimmer for both red and white LED settings --- excellent for amateur astronomers, outdoors at night, travel when staying in new lodgings and finding your way around at night --- using the red LED setting saves your night vision and makes it easier to get back to sleep. The while LED gives very bright medium wide beam for use day or night for looking something in a dark closet, under the bed, behind furniture, etc. I've have four of these and they have all lasted years and years. Takes one 9 V battery --- lasts a long time.

Just received this today so I can't comment on how durable it is, but it is VERY plastic. It even has seems from molding. I would think a simple product at this price point would be rubber coated for protection. One drop on on a stone or concrete floor any my guess would be this thing would disintegrate into many pieces.

Good light for astronomy; I bought it because most astronomers use it... but a really bad value. Even 1/2 the price would feel like a bit much for such a simple plastic item. I still recommend it for armature astronomers, because it is the defacto standard - but know you're getting ripped off a bit.

I've been using this at public star parties this summer and it's been a great, reliable light so far. I like how it feels sturdy, the dimmer is large, sturdy, and has a large dynamic range from very dim to very bright. I debated between this and a headlamp, and i find that I end up shining headlamps into other people's faces and bumping them into eyepieces, so I like the neck lanyard except when my hands are full and I need to look at a star chart. But I still prefer the neck lanyard for most astronomy needs. The switch between red and white is very good with an obvious click and change of direction required, so there's no way to accidentally switch to bright white and ruin dark adaptation.The only problem I've had so far is that the lanyard is attached to a fairly small screw in the back, held in place by a little o-ring. The o-ring looks like it could break or fall off if you pulled too hard, although that hasn't happened yet. What did happen, is that the screw must have been loose, or my wearing it loosened the screw, and it fell off my neck and opened up the case, since the screw holds it all together. I screwed it back tightly down and it hasn't come unscrewed again, although I occasionally think to check its tightness. I think this light needs an integrated lanyard eye molded into the plastic case to be at its sturdiest.If they could strengthen the lanyard holder, I would rate it a 5-star product. If they could then figure out how to make it easy to go from head strap for chart reading to neck strap for unobtrusiveness, I would give it a 6-star review. I know, that doesn't exist. But I currently know of only one other headlamp that has a dimmable red and white light, the Photon Fusion, which is nice but a little clunky on the head and not usable around the neck, and its easy to accidentally turn on the bright white light. Most other dual white/red headlamps fail to add a dimmer to the red light. This light therefore fills an important niche, and it's great on it's own. And it could be even better and fill an even bigger niche with one or two modifications.

This is my second Skylite. It's an LED flashlight that is useful in many situations, astronomy and beyond, because of it's white or red hues and variable illumination control. I use it for preserving my dark adaptation when outside observing the sky, for getting around the house after lights-out without disturbing my wife, and for taking medications early in the morning without overly stimulating my alertness so returning to sleep is easy. I'm even looking into refurbishing my old one so I'll have two available.

Comes in extremely handy as a guiding light or with a quick turn of the dial as an adjustable red light to preserve night vision.Compact, lightweight and tremendously functional with adjustable dial - a keeper!