More info about Zebralights ?

[marinemaster]

Of all the manufacturers discussed here ZL gets bad press. My thing is that is not about the " lights themselves " BUT about ZL as a company. That is what bothers me. I think their lights are brilliant.
Maybe I should start posting about the "very popular" other China brand how totally unreliable their 8 to 10 lights I had, have been. I chose not to.
All my ZL have been very reliable.
Look at SF and their vaporware lights. People joke about it, but nobody actually looks down on SF because they never come to be manufactured.

 

[markr6]

I personally, and I think I can speak for many others, give ZL a hard time because we really like their lights. SO much that anything keeping them from improving or being ALMOST their perfect light comes to the surface and starts a talking (complaining) point.

The inventory is a little akward, so we see people complaining about this a lot and that leads to "what going on with Zebralight"-type threads.

 

[Illumination]

That certainly sounds like a conspiracy theory.

Or, it could just be that ZL's are very hard to get right now and people are complaining about it.

But I'm sure you're going with the conspiracy theory....

Surefire sued CPF years ago; they seem to have come to agreement; but the mods control the negative talk lest another lawsuit come along...

 

[Etsu]

Surefire sued CPF years ago; they seem to have come to agreement; but the mods control the negative talk lest another lawsuit come along...

Okay, I didn't realize that. So much for free speech....

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Surefire sued CPF years ago; they seem to have come to agreement; but the mods control the negative talk lest another lawsuit come along...

Excuse me!! Surefire threads gets closed because they end up crazy. No protection for Surefire by me, or any other administrator, or moderator. Let's stop this and stay on track re the thread title. No trolling please. Phry, welcome back, I see that you continue to intervene in various threads with your anti Surefire rhetoric.

Bill

 

[BillSWPA]

I personally, and I think I can speak for many others, give ZL a hard time because we really like their lights. SO much that anything keeping them from improving or being ALMOST their perfect light comes to the surface and starts a talking (complaining) point.

The inventory is a little akward, so we see people complaining about this a lot and that leads to "what going on with Zebralight"-type threads.

I do not own a Zebraloght and can therefore not comment one way or the other about the quality of the lights. However, I think the above quote raises a very valid point, especially given other threads I can see. From a business standpoint, the fact that the lights do generate this sort of interest should be motivation to work out any supply issues that may exist, and should also provide some level of confidence that the investment and associated risk needed to do so is likely to be worthwhile.

 

[Impulses]

Sounds like something as simple as hiring or retasking a community rep would go a long way towards enhancing ZL's image... Seems like the bulk of the frustration centers around customers just wondering what the heck is going on.

A few negative comments about their service & support gave me pause before buying my SC52 but in the end it was still my best option in it's price range (with Illumination Supply's gracious discount), price seemed fair so I risked it.

I'll probably hold off and see how it treats me before getting any more ZLs tho, I'd like an H5x but they're in short supply anyway so might as well wait it out

 

[dinokay]

If Zebralight got there act together on the supply end, very few companies would be able to compete with them on the innovative and price point fronts. I don't know who designs the little wonders but I do know that they have been doing a great job (for years now).

 

[markr6]

Sounds like something as simple as hiring or retasking a community rep would go a long way towards enhancing ZL's image...

Or at least posting a few "coming soon" pics or some kind of info on their Facebook page beyond 2012!

 

[Mr Floppy]

Zebralight is a privately held, foreign company. They do have a presence inside the USA, but they are NOT an American company.

How did you gather that? I don't really understand what you classify as a foreign company but does an US tax id mean anything?

In any case, the company was registered in the 2009 but Zebralight has been on here since 2007, the H50 Q5 released in 2008. As I understand, it was a side project for George, the company set up as a family run business, probably two family members. The lights are engineered by George himself and manufacturing done in China employing the services of a small plant, and the manufacturing was moving to the US.

All the info I have has been from CPF and some dealers. I've followed them since the H50 and it was more about the head lamp passion and sharing that passion at the start. I think they are still sharing that passion. I don't understand the push or importance to have manufacturing done in the US but then again, I'm not an USAian.

 

[Imon]

ZL is supposedly based near here in Irving, TX.

I've never been to the address of the HQ but the owner, as you guys have mentioned, has come to a few DFW flashaholics get-togethers. He even brought the SC600 over when it was a prototype.

Funny thing, whenever I order anything from ZL, I get the light the very next day even if I don't pick next day shipping so they must be close, lol.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Or at least posting a few "coming soon" pics or some kind of info on their Facebook page beyond 2012!

Got the SC52 L2 newsletter. They say they are on Facebook again. New Sc52 is current regulated but not PID?

 

[beamis]

I don't understand the push or importance to have manufacturing done in the US but then again, I'm not an USAian.

If you are an American company, having your manufacturing done in China can be a real pain. Quality control issues abound. There is a significant delay in shipping time. There's no way to verify or control the conditions at the plant (are they treating their employees like slave labor, or like humans? Are they belching clouds of toxic chemicals into the local river, or are they an environmentally responsible shop?). You may not be the only customer of the manufacturing plant either. Are they going to duplicate your designs and components for an off-brand light to sell on the Web?

 

[Etsu]

Are they going to duplicate your designs and components for an off-brand light to sell on the Web?

Hey, that gives me an idea! Anyone know of any off-brand ZL's that are actually being sold and in stock?

 

[Overclocker]

If you are an American company, having your manufacturing done in China can be a real pain. Quality control issues abound. There is a significant delay in shipping time. There's no way to verify or control the conditions at the plant (are they treating their employees like slave labor, or like humans? Are they belching clouds of toxic chemicals into the local river, or are they an environmentally responsible shop?). You may not be the only customer of the manufacturing plant either. Are they going to duplicate your designs and components for an off-brand light to sell on the Web?

yeah it's such a bad idea to do your manufacturing in china. no wonder everyone does it

 

[neutralwhite]

nothing from ZL fb since Dec 2012...

 

[beamis]

yeah it's such a bad idea to do your manufacturing in china. no wonder everyone does it

It's kinda like steroids: the results look great on the surface, but appearances can be deceptive.

 

[Etsu]

It's kinda like steroids: the results look great on the surface, but appearances can be deceptive.

Nothing wrong with Chinese manufacturing as long as the quality control is good. That's up to the design company to enforce.

Besides, even if you manufacture in your own country, many of the parts likely still come from China or somewhere overseas.

It's a world-wide economy. Get used to it.

 

[beamis]

Nothing wrong with Chinese manufacturing as long as the quality control is good. That's up to the design company to enforce.

That's the hard part - enforcing quality control from 10,000 miles away without significant product delays. It's also difficult to verify their social and environmental practices.

Besides, even if you manufacture in your own country, many of the parts likely still come from China or somewhere overseas.

Despite the overactive imaginations of some people who perceive the desire to keep manufacturing close to HQ as some sort of latent racism, the issue isn't the origin of the parts, it's the language barriers, time zone differences, geographical distances, and the shipping time. If I'm making lights at a factory down the street and they screw something up it takes me ten minutes to go down there and see what they're doing wrong and yell at the shop supervisor. Where they get their parts is their problem. If they're getting them from China, India, Pakistan, or Mars is irrelevant. If they can't produce my product when I need it because of delays in their supply chain, then I'll go to someone who can.

It's a world-wide economy. Get used to it.

It certainly is, but that's no reason to forget about timely, quality service.

 

[RIX TUX]

When it comes to flashlights I think the only large manufacturer in the U.S. is Surefire, and some of their parts are from overseas. They may just assemble them here.