Yes the Zebra SC31 ++
convince me i don't wark a quark 123 (or that i do =P)
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Yes the Zebra SC31 ++
My SC51 fits in just.
pellgarlic
Newly Enlightened
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EnduringEagle: thanks for your overview of these two lights - it seems to chime with the impression i've developed of them, so i feel like i'm able to make an educated decision about which i'd prefer (as much as is possible without having the lights in my hands...). with regard to the beacon/sos modes - i was a bit confused about this at first, as selfbuilt says that the strobe mode was dropped from the (engineering sample of) the sc51 he tested, but zebralight's own specs page for the sc51 says it has it:
http://www.zebralight.com/SC51-Flashlight-AA-200Lm_p_43.html
quote:
"User Selectable Levels: 3 main levels (High, Medium and Low). Each main level can be configured to one of its two sub-levels. The second sub-level of the High can be further configured to different brightness levels or strobes.
Light Output
High: H1 200 Lm (0.9 hrs) or H2 100 Lm (2.4 hrs) / 140 Lm (1.7 hrs) / 4Hz Strobe"
so i think it does have the strobe mode, it's just very well hidden, requiring "6 double clicks":
"The second sub-level of the High can be configured after 6 double clicks. Double click (starting with the 7th) to cycle and select different brightness levels or strobes."
interestingly, if asked when i started this thread if having a strobe mode was important to me, i would have said "not at all - i'll take it if it's there, but don't care if it's not". however, after deciding on the ZL SC51 i noticed that bit on selfbuilt's review that said it had no strobe, and i found myself feeling quite disappointed =P i guess it's more important to me than i thought for some reason. i can't say why, exactly, but i reckon there are several imaginable situations which would call for the "attention-grabbing" quality that strobe provides... assuming the specs on the ZL product page are correct, i'm glad it has it - seems better to have it and not need it etc...
the zebralight's character being more "floody" than "throwy" suits my purposes fine - going to mostly be using it for close-quarter stuff. you know: lighting up the inside of a coffin after being buried alive so i can break out, navigating the narrow corridors of an industrial compound while being pursued by raptors, investigating a ramshackle wooden house in the middle of nowhere that's occupied by the undead former residents... the usual stuff =)
(regarding those 3.0V "CRAA"s)
i may look into it at some point, although i suspect it may be more difficult to get them in the uk...
i appreciate your concern in emphasising this point - i realise there are guide-lines drawn by light manufacturers regarding suitable power sources, and that going beyond manufacturer recommendations can invalidate the warranty and worse - possibly damage or kill the light, but i'm also aware that user testing can find that sometimes it's possible to use the "officially non-supported" power sources (which usually means 14500s) for short periods of time with seemingly no ill-effect to the light. i likely wouldn't put a 14500 in the zebralight anyway, regardless of anyone else saying they had done so without harm - it was more just curiosity than anything else. however, i was also specifically curious about these "CRAA"s, being lower voltage than the 14500s (i.e. 3.0V) and whether or not the zebralight circuit/heatsinking could handle those...
although the sc31 looks awesome, the sc51 is more appealling right now cos it'll run on good ol' ubiquitous AAs (which of course makes the light slightly longer), and only takes a small hit in output =) otherwise i believe the lights are pretty much identical.
as i currently carry my quark mini AA in my "coin pocket", and the sc51 appears to be only slightly larger, i reckon i'll be able to fit in no problem too =) (i could easily fit a second mini AA in beside the existing one).
Last edited:
B0wz3r
Flashlight Enthusiast
pellgarlic,
FYI, I use diffusion film on my SC50w+ and my H51w as well, as they're my close-up EDC lights and I don't really need throw for either of them.
On my SC50w+ I use "LDF" a film you can get here...
I use DC-fix on my H51w as it has a slightly different characteristic than the LDF. (You can get DC-fix from Phaserburn, one of the members here.)
The DC-fix has a coarser texture, so it diffuses the beam more than the LDF, and since I use my H51w for close-up, hands-on tasks, it works better for that. The LDF preserves the hot-spot in my SC50w+ a bit more than DC-fix, but with both, at any distance more than about 20 ft. or so, the hotspot disappears and the beam profile is one where there is a bright center that gradually fades into the edges. I find that preferable to any kind of pure flood beam, and it's great for the kinds of things I use my EDC for anyway.
FYI, I use diffusion film on my SC50w+ and my H51w as well, as they're my close-up EDC lights and I don't really need throw for either of them.
On my SC50w+ I use "LDF" a film you can get here...
I use DC-fix on my H51w as it has a slightly different characteristic than the LDF. (You can get DC-fix from Phaserburn, one of the members here.)
The DC-fix has a coarser texture, so it diffuses the beam more than the LDF, and since I use my H51w for close-up, hands-on tasks, it works better for that. The LDF preserves the hot-spot in my SC50w+ a bit more than DC-fix, but with both, at any distance more than about 20 ft. or so, the hotspot disappears and the beam profile is one where there is a bright center that gradually fades into the edges. I find that preferable to any kind of pure flood beam, and it's great for the kinds of things I use my EDC for anyway.
EnduringEagle
Enlightened
- Joined
- May 14, 2011
- Messages
- 307
B0wz3r said:
I bought a small holster for the light so that it won't get scratched. Great light!
crizyal
Enlightened
One more light to add to your list in my opinion is the Peak Logan QTC. It is a single cr123/rcr123 with a TIR optic. It has a very balanced beam with infinitely variable output. If you get it in stainless steal you do not need to worry about ever destroying this light, and it looks fantastic. It is using the latest rage in flashlight tech (Quantum Tunneling Composite). The light is a no-nonsence twisty with no blinking modes. As you twist the light on, the head compresses the QTC and the light turns on at a low level. Twist more and the light gets brighter. No pre-flash or lock out needed.
B0wz3r
Flashlight Enthusiast
Mine fits perfectly in the holster that came with my Quark AA.
jcw122
Enlightened
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2009
- Messages
- 445
You don't want it...you want the 123^2!
OneBigDay
Enlightened
An excellent choice IMO.
After all the testosterone is spent , chests pounded on, teeth bared, zombies slain, etc... to aquire the latest greatest flashlight (which will of course continue forever) - a good AAA or AA will easily handle most domestic tasks and beyond. The SC51 broke new ground with it's brightness on standard AA cells and aside from that it's got a great clip, and great UI.
The strobe is there and one you program it in, it's not a big deal to get to. I had it there for a second, but realized that I like having 6 brightness levels better.
Enjoy your new light!
pellgarlic
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2011
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- 59
i have been convinced i wark a zebralight =)
thanks for all the continued suggestions, but i have made my decision, and have also already bitten the bullet, despite saying i was going to wait for my birthday two weeks away - that just seems like an eternity and i couldn't wait... i ordered the sc51 today
it should hopefully arrive monday or tuesday =) i'm sure i'll be very happy with it.
thanks for all the continued suggestions, but i have made my decision, and have also already bitten the bullet, despite saying i was going to wait for my birthday two weeks away - that just seems like an eternity and i couldn't wait... i ordered the sc51 today
it should hopefully arrive monday or tuesday =) i'm sure i'll be very happy with it.
EnduringEagle
Enlightened
- Joined
- May 14, 2011
- Messages
- 307
Re: i have been convinced i wark a zebralight =)
BTW. I grabbed my SC51 to check out the strobe issue. It DOES have a strobe and you can configure it for the 2nd level Hi mode. Enjoy your new in the best of health.thanks for all the continued suggestions, but i have made my decision, and have also already bitten the bullet, despite saying i was going to wait for my birthday two weeks away - that just seems like an eternity and i couldn't wait... i ordered the sc51 today
pellgarlic
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2011
- Messages
- 59
crizyal
Enlightened
Re: i have been convinced i wark a zebralight =)
Enjoy your new light...Many more to come!
Enjoy your new light...Many more to come!
lovecpf
Sparky's Magic
Enlightened
Re: i have been convinced i wark a zebralight =)
Great choice! Enjoy your new 'light. My favorite Z/L. is a fantastic SC60W. Beautiful beam, lots of output, intelligent UI. and the fit and finish is better than a lot of custom flashlights: It takes an 18650 cell and seems to go forever using the two medium modes and the occasionally 'burst' in the high 2 mode.
Good Luck.
thanks for all the continued suggestions, but i have made my decision, and have also already bitten the bullet, despite saying i was going to wait for my birthday two weeks away - that just seems like an eternity and i couldn't wait... i ordered the sc51 today
Great choice! Enjoy your new 'light. My favorite Z/L. is a fantastic SC60W. Beautiful beam, lots of output, intelligent UI. and the fit and finish is better than a lot of custom flashlights: It takes an 18650 cell and seems to go forever using the two medium modes and the occasionally 'burst' in the high 2 mode.
Good Luck.
Outdoorsman5
Flashlight Enthusiast
Re: i have been convinced i wark a zebralight =)
Pellgarlic, you're gonna love the sc51. I have the H51w (neutral white) and recently got the H51 (cool white) which is the same light as the SC51, but in a headlight configuration. I love the H51, and believe it to be one of the greatest single AA lights around. I bet you will feel the same way about the SC51. The cool white version is noticeably brighter than the neutral white version which is much more useful to me. Enjoy.
Pellgarlic, you're gonna love the sc51. I have the H51w (neutral white) and recently got the H51 (cool white) which is the same light as the SC51, but in a headlight configuration. I love the H51, and believe it to be one of the greatest single AA lights around. I bet you will feel the same way about the SC51. The cool white version is noticeably brighter than the neutral white version which is much more useful to me. Enjoy.
pellgarlic
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2011
- Messages
- 59
if you're looking for an awesome single-aa edc light, you wark a zebralight sc5too =)
hi all, just wanted to express my thanks again for all the suggestions and info from everyone - i received my sc51 yesterday, and i couldn't be happier - i haven't been able to stop playing with it since =D i've had to "seek out" darkness to be able to though - summer-time is just too light... so i've been spending a lot of time in corridors without windows, pausing in shaded areas, and wandering about my home at night =P
it's an exquisite little light, very well manufactured afaict with my limited knowledge of these things - it feels robust and is comfortable to use. it's surprisingly small =) despite having previously seen photos of it next a quark mini aa (it is about 10% larger volume-wise than the mini aa i'd say at a guess, mostly in diameter), i was still surprised at its size seeing it "in person" =P. it's currently living quite happily (in between being tested at every available opportunity) in my jeans coin pocket, where my mini aa was previously (the mini aa will now be my backup light). the solid clip keeps it nice and secure as well - no concerns about it escaping, and i could forget it was there if i wasn't so fascinated by it =). i'm very impressed with both the highest and lowest outputs - both are incredible. the ui is really good, easy to use and flexible with well-spaced brightness levels. i'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for a flexible single-aa edc light.
at first, when i took it out of the box and started testing all the modes, i thought there was either something wrong or a misprint in the instructions. of course, there was nothing wrong - it was just impatience resulting in me testing in imperfect testing conditions - in my car at lunchtime, in bright sunlight =D .
when trying to do the "press the button quickly to cycle through the modes", it seemed like the light was going from "high" to "low" to "off", and skipping "medium". this impression was made stronger because first, when trying to turn on to "low" by pressing and holding the button for 0.5 seconds, i didn't realise that the "low" mode had actually activated, and kept the button held down a fraction of a second longer until it went to "medium", resulting in me thinking _that_ was "low". =P after a few minutes, i realised that as i was testing outside in bright daylight (damn summer... =P) i was just not seeing the supreme low-ness of the "low" mode.
when i realised, and looked directly at the emitter when it was in "low", i couldn't suppress a childish laugh at how low the "low" was - even though it was lit, i could actually see the "grid lines" on the base of the LED =o this is _exactly_ what i wanted. i have since tested in dark conditions, and it's perfect. (NOTE - i would only advise looking directly at the emitter _after_ you've put it in low mode, not while you're trying to change modes - until you get the feel of the timing, which only takes a few goes, it's possible to inadvertently make it turn on in "high", which if you're looking directly at the emitter, results in coloured spots in front of your eyes for a while... =| i guess it's possible even looking at it in low mode isn't advisable, but a second or two can't hurt, can it?).
a wee side note, not specifically to do with the zebralight, rather to the notion of "lumens" in general - one thing that this light has taught me is the visible difference (or lack thereof) that comes with increased lumens - don't get me wrong, the max 200 lumen output of this light is markedly brighter even in subjective terms than the 90 lumens of my quark mini aa, but in it doesn't "feel" (roughly) twice as bright. this is something that has obviously been discussed to death already on these forums and elsewhere, by those much more knowledgable about it than me, but i have read about how the human eye perceives an increase in light in a non-linear way, in that a doubling of lumens doesn't look twice as bright, so i fully expected this and i'm not disappointed in any way - the sc51 is still an awesomely bright light, especially considering it runs off a single AA, but it was very interesting to be able to compare the output levels in a way that i wasn't able to with my quark mini. i set the sc51's "H2" sub-level to the 100 lumens option, and switched back an forth between that the highest "H1" 200 lumens mode, and my purely subjective impression was that the increase from 100 to 200 lumens resulted in about 30-40% more brightness. this experience/knowledge will help me in future when trying to judge the capabilities of any new light i'm considering.
hi all, just wanted to express my thanks again for all the suggestions and info from everyone - i received my sc51 yesterday, and i couldn't be happier - i haven't been able to stop playing with it since =D i've had to "seek out" darkness to be able to though - summer-time is just too light... so i've been spending a lot of time in corridors without windows, pausing in shaded areas, and wandering about my home at night =P
it's an exquisite little light, very well manufactured afaict with my limited knowledge of these things - it feels robust and is comfortable to use. it's surprisingly small =) despite having previously seen photos of it next a quark mini aa (it is about 10% larger volume-wise than the mini aa i'd say at a guess, mostly in diameter), i was still surprised at its size seeing it "in person" =P. it's currently living quite happily (in between being tested at every available opportunity) in my jeans coin pocket, where my mini aa was previously (the mini aa will now be my backup light). the solid clip keeps it nice and secure as well - no concerns about it escaping, and i could forget it was there if i wasn't so fascinated by it =). i'm very impressed with both the highest and lowest outputs - both are incredible. the ui is really good, easy to use and flexible with well-spaced brightness levels. i'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for a flexible single-aa edc light.
at first, when i took it out of the box and started testing all the modes, i thought there was either something wrong or a misprint in the instructions. of course, there was nothing wrong - it was just impatience resulting in me testing in imperfect testing conditions - in my car at lunchtime, in bright sunlight =D .
when trying to do the "press the button quickly to cycle through the modes", it seemed like the light was going from "high" to "low" to "off", and skipping "medium". this impression was made stronger because first, when trying to turn on to "low" by pressing and holding the button for 0.5 seconds, i didn't realise that the "low" mode had actually activated, and kept the button held down a fraction of a second longer until it went to "medium", resulting in me thinking _that_ was "low". =P after a few minutes, i realised that as i was testing outside in bright daylight (damn summer... =P) i was just not seeing the supreme low-ness of the "low" mode.
when i realised, and looked directly at the emitter when it was in "low", i couldn't suppress a childish laugh at how low the "low" was - even though it was lit, i could actually see the "grid lines" on the base of the LED =o this is _exactly_ what i wanted. i have since tested in dark conditions, and it's perfect. (NOTE - i would only advise looking directly at the emitter _after_ you've put it in low mode, not while you're trying to change modes - until you get the feel of the timing, which only takes a few goes, it's possible to inadvertently make it turn on in "high", which if you're looking directly at the emitter, results in coloured spots in front of your eyes for a while... =| i guess it's possible even looking at it in low mode isn't advisable, but a second or two can't hurt, can it?).
a wee side note, not specifically to do with the zebralight, rather to the notion of "lumens" in general - one thing that this light has taught me is the visible difference (or lack thereof) that comes with increased lumens - don't get me wrong, the max 200 lumen output of this light is markedly brighter even in subjective terms than the 90 lumens of my quark mini aa, but in it doesn't "feel" (roughly) twice as bright. this is something that has obviously been discussed to death already on these forums and elsewhere, by those much more knowledgable about it than me, but i have read about how the human eye perceives an increase in light in a non-linear way, in that a doubling of lumens doesn't look twice as bright, so i fully expected this and i'm not disappointed in any way - the sc51 is still an awesomely bright light, especially considering it runs off a single AA, but it was very interesting to be able to compare the output levels in a way that i wasn't able to with my quark mini. i set the sc51's "H2" sub-level to the 100 lumens option, and switched back an forth between that the highest "H1" 200 lumens mode, and my purely subjective impression was that the increase from 100 to 200 lumens resulted in about 30-40% more brightness. this experience/knowledge will help me in future when trying to judge the capabilities of any new light i'm considering.
Outdoorsman5
Flashlight Enthusiast
Re: if you're looking for an awesome single-aa edc light, you wark a zebralight sc5to
Great write-up/review.
Great write-up/review.
lightsandknives
Enlightened
Re: if you're looking for an awesome single-aa edc light, you wark a zebralight sc5to
I was sure you would like your new SC51 when I saw that you were getting one. I'm loving mine, and just bought one to give to my adult son. Can't wait to see him this weekend! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I was sure you would like your new SC51 when I saw that you were getting one. I'm loving mine, and just bought one to give to my adult son. Can't wait to see him this weekend! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Re: if you're looking for an awesome single-aa edc light, you wark a zebralight sc5to
I'm contemplating the Zebralight that Pellgarlic got as well, except in the 'w' version. What if I accidentally drop the ZL sc51w on the ground, is it quite resilient to a minor beating like this?
Pellgarlic, have you noticed the light coming on in your pocket?
I suppose worst case scenario is your pants get hot [are you happy to see me?]. At which point, you'd do the tail cap lockout.
And...holy cow, you received your light 4-5 days from order? Are you close to Texas?
Marc
I'm contemplating the Zebralight that Pellgarlic got as well, except in the 'w' version. What if I accidentally drop the ZL sc51w on the ground, is it quite resilient to a minor beating like this?
Pellgarlic, have you noticed the light coming on in your pocket?
I suppose worst case scenario is your pants get hot [are you happy to see me?]. At which point, you'd do the tail cap lockout.
And...holy cow, you received your light 4-5 days from order? Are you close to Texas?
Marc
