ErickThakrar
Enlightened
Zebralight came on the market a few years ago with their first product, the H50 headlamp. It was a unique product at the time, offering a remarkably small and lightweight package with a substantial output and it was entirely a flood light, providing a smooth, even illumination almost to the very edge of your peripheral vision. The form factor was also unique, eschewing the traditional tube-with-light-coming-out-the-end shape and opting for a non-reflectored side-emitting form factor. Which makes for an extremely compact overall package!
The H50 ran on a single AA battery. Since the release of the H50, Zebralight has released two other products, the H30 that runs on a single CR123 battery; and the light we'll be looking at today, the H60, which runs on a rechargeable lithium ion battery, a single 18650.
The H60 is a fairly large overall light, compared to many headlamps, but the size doesn't make it unwieldy, nor is the weight substantial.
The light with battery installed weighs right under what some of the more popular headlamps weigh and they don't provide nearly as powerful a light. I'll list the specifications from Zebralight and I'll continue from there.
Main Features and Specifications
Construction
Ok, that was quite a mouthful. As you can see from the features description, despite appearing to be a quite simple light at first glance, the H60 has a plethora of features.
6 individual levels of light, all of them quite distinct.
Waterproof rated for 30 minutes of continuous immersion down to 1 meter, Up to a 190 lumens of light output!
Output
I'll go into detail about the output. The H60 and the other Zebralight products, differ from most headlamps on the market by using neither a reflector nor an optic to focus the light. Instead they provide you with a beam that is entirely a flood beam with a roughly 80 degree spread. There are some rings at the very edge of the beam, but they're minimal and I find them unobtrusive. The color temperature is on the cool side, which is to be expected with the Cree Q5 binning, but is very nice and white with no ugly discolorations.
It's a very natural light and it makes for very easy and natural navigation in the dark. There is never that sensation of looking down a tunnel that you often get when using a focused-beam flashlight.
It's especially useful for caving and other such environments and for use as a tasklight.
It's almost perfect for reading at night, looking at maps, navigating around a campsite and crawling through abandoned mine tunnels. It has very quickly become one of my favorite lights for a variety of things.
There are a total of 6 available levels. 3 defaults and each level has an additional setting that is accessed with a rapid double click. Each setting is distinct from the others and there is a quite nice spread here for a variety of purposes.
Build Quality and Design
Because of the form factor and the lack of a reflector, the H60 is barely bigger than the battery that it uses.
The light itself is extremely well-machined, with nice crisp lines, and a very well done hard anodized coating. The body is ribbed and the tailcap has very well-done knurling. Grippy, but not too abrasive. The entire light, including the threads and the inside of the battery tube is hard-anodized in a nice, uniform olive drab color. The finish doesn't appear to have any chips, blotches or other defects.
The threads are smooth, but came from the factory a bit on the dry side. O-rings appear well-seated and provide a good seal.
The button is covered with a smooth, yet grippy silicone rubber cover that only protrudes from the top of the light a little. I will say that I would probably have preferred a more recessed button as it's somewhat easy to turn the light on accidentally. There is a stainless steel retaining ring holding the button cover in place, secured with three phillips head screws.
Internally, the H60 is again well-made.
There is a single spring in the tail-cap, providing contact for the battery. This spring is gold-coated to prevent oxidation.
At the other end of the battery tube is the positive contact, in this case achieved with a small post made of what appears to be brass. It's possible that it's coated, but it's hard to tell.
The fit of the battery tube to the 18650 battery that it uses is pretty snug. This obviously prevents most battery rattle, but it does pose a problem with some batteries.
I received the H60 as a package deal from an online vendor, who supplied it with a charger and two Tenergy brand batteries.
Now, apparently Tenergy have changed how they make the protection circuit in their batteries sometime in the recent past, because while these new batteries are almost entirely too tight to really fit well in the H60, several older batteries of the same brand that I have, fit just fine.
Luckily I have other lights with battery tubes that aren't quite so snug!
I have yet to try other batteries, as I do, I will add a post script to this review, detailing my findings.
Overall however, I'd say that the H60 is a very well thought out light, and the quality of design and manufacture speaks well to illustrate this.
Accessories
The H60 is supplied with a comprehensive set of accessories.
In the box you get an extra glow-in-the-dark button cover (the factory installed one is black), 2 extra O-rings and an extra set of screws for the retaining ring.
Other accessories included are two headband brackets made from silicone rubber, one black and one glow-in-the-dark. The headband itself, a wide, comfortable elastic cloth band in subdued colors, with low-profile buckles for adjustment and an additional bracket that lets you clip the H60 to a belt, a packstrap etc.
All in all a pretty complete little package.
Generally speaking, the headband and brackets work quite well. The silicone rubber seems durable and is soft against your skin. The wide headband is also pretty soft and seems to breathe just fine, while providing even distribution of pressure around your head.
The brackets hold the H60 firmly, although not so firmly that you can't adjust the angle of the light. There has been some concerns voiced by other users that the H60 could potentially rotate during vigorous activity like running, but it's not something I've had issues with myself.
Currently, I have the headband and light mounted on my Pro-Tec Assault helmet, which is what I use for head protection while exploring mines and caves. It is entirely unobtrusive when carried this way and stays in place just fine. I will add however, that for a bit of extra insurance, I've added a couple of strips of duct tape towards the front of the helmet to further hold the head band in place.
Conclusions
I'm very happy with the H60 overall.
It's a fantastically useful little light and for the kinds of things I like to use lights for, it's nigh perfect. I've had it with me in old, abandoned mines on two separate occasions and it's been flawless both times. The multiple levels mean that you're almost guaranteed to have a level of light that fits what you're trying to do. And the smooth, floody beam makes navigating tricky terrain in the dark a cinch. I've clambered over huge rock piles inside a cathedral like room with the H60 and it was so much easier than to use a traditional hand-held flashlight or even a typical headlamp. I had a far easier time navigating in those deep, dark places in the earth than my companions did.
The H60 is the kind of light that I can see easily finding it's place attached to the body armor of a soldier or a cop. The wide even light, the multiple levels etc, all add up to a very versatile package that provides an outstanding light for delicate tasks. It is also small and light enough to not get in the way of your other gear.
The build-quality is outstanding in my view, and while there are some niggling details like the snug-fit of the battery tube and the ease with which you can accidentally turn the light on, these are minor "problems" in my estimation and don't detract from my overall positive experience with the H60.
If you need a headlamp, a tasklight, something that can put out a substantial amount of light and is still lighter weight than almost all of the competition, then the H60 is the light for you.
Highly recommended.
Pictures to follow.
The GITD button cover. Note the stainless steel retaining ring. Very easy to swap out button covers if it gets damaged.
The cooling/traction ribs on the body tube. Note the generally high quality of machining and finish.
The LED itself. You can see the stainless steel bezel ring, which appears to be press-fit. There is a Lexan lens covering the LED.
The tail cap. You can see the knurling and the rather well-done threads on this. Perhaps a future version could utilize two O-rings for additional water-resistance.
http://specialcircumstancesinc.blogspot.com/2009/03/zebralight-h60-headlamp-review.html
The H50 ran on a single AA battery. Since the release of the H50, Zebralight has released two other products, the H30 that runs on a single CR123 battery; and the light we'll be looking at today, the H60, which runs on a rechargeable lithium ion battery, a single 18650.
The H60 is a fairly large overall light, compared to many headlamps, but the size doesn't make it unwieldy, nor is the weight substantial.
The light with battery installed weighs right under what some of the more popular headlamps weigh and they don't provide nearly as powerful a light. I'll list the specifications from Zebralight and I'll continue from there.
Main Features and Specifications
- LED: Cree XLamp XR-E Q5
- 3 modes, each can be set to one of the two levels for that mode
- High: 190 lm (2 hrs) or 110 lm (4 hrs)
- Med: 45 lm (10 hrs) or 15 lm (50 hrs)
- Low: 0.5 lm (26 days) or 3 lm (9 days)
- Battery
- One 18650 size rechargeable within the 2.8v to 4.5v range, including 3.6v/3.7v Li-ion or 3.0v LiFeP04 chemistries.
- Reverse polarity protection circuit. Works with batteries that have flat positive terminals.
- Discharging protection circuit turns off the light when the battery voltage drops below 2.8v.
- Out of the six levels, four (190, 110, 15, and 3 lm) are current regulated and two (45 and 0.5 lm) are PWM derived.
- Electrically conductive aluminum body provides inherent EMI/RFI shielding characteristics
- Standby power consumption when the light is off: <1>
- Weight
- 33 gram (1.2 oz)
- 77 gram (2.7 oz) with battery
- 100 gram (3.5 oz) with battery and headband
- Dimensions
- Length 91mm (3.6 inch)
- Diameter (body) 21.5 mm (0.85 inch)
- Diameter (head and tail) 23.5 mm (0.92 inch)
- 80 degree flood beam, with no hotspot.
Construction
- CNC machined casing from Alcoa premium grade aluminum alloy billet, light weight with superior structural strength
- Durable natural hard anodized finish
- Impact resistant LEXAN polycarbonate lens
Ok, that was quite a mouthful. As you can see from the features description, despite appearing to be a quite simple light at first glance, the H60 has a plethora of features.
6 individual levels of light, all of them quite distinct.
Waterproof rated for 30 minutes of continuous immersion down to 1 meter, Up to a 190 lumens of light output!
Output
I'll go into detail about the output. The H60 and the other Zebralight products, differ from most headlamps on the market by using neither a reflector nor an optic to focus the light. Instead they provide you with a beam that is entirely a flood beam with a roughly 80 degree spread. There are some rings at the very edge of the beam, but they're minimal and I find them unobtrusive. The color temperature is on the cool side, which is to be expected with the Cree Q5 binning, but is very nice and white with no ugly discolorations.
It's a very natural light and it makes for very easy and natural navigation in the dark. There is never that sensation of looking down a tunnel that you often get when using a focused-beam flashlight.
It's especially useful for caving and other such environments and for use as a tasklight.
It's almost perfect for reading at night, looking at maps, navigating around a campsite and crawling through abandoned mine tunnels. It has very quickly become one of my favorite lights for a variety of things.
There are a total of 6 available levels. 3 defaults and each level has an additional setting that is accessed with a rapid double click. Each setting is distinct from the others and there is a quite nice spread here for a variety of purposes.
Build Quality and Design
Because of the form factor and the lack of a reflector, the H60 is barely bigger than the battery that it uses.
The light itself is extremely well-machined, with nice crisp lines, and a very well done hard anodized coating. The body is ribbed and the tailcap has very well-done knurling. Grippy, but not too abrasive. The entire light, including the threads and the inside of the battery tube is hard-anodized in a nice, uniform olive drab color. The finish doesn't appear to have any chips, blotches or other defects.
The threads are smooth, but came from the factory a bit on the dry side. O-rings appear well-seated and provide a good seal.
The button is covered with a smooth, yet grippy silicone rubber cover that only protrudes from the top of the light a little. I will say that I would probably have preferred a more recessed button as it's somewhat easy to turn the light on accidentally. There is a stainless steel retaining ring holding the button cover in place, secured with three phillips head screws.
Internally, the H60 is again well-made.
There is a single spring in the tail-cap, providing contact for the battery. This spring is gold-coated to prevent oxidation.
At the other end of the battery tube is the positive contact, in this case achieved with a small post made of what appears to be brass. It's possible that it's coated, but it's hard to tell.
The fit of the battery tube to the 18650 battery that it uses is pretty snug. This obviously prevents most battery rattle, but it does pose a problem with some batteries.
I received the H60 as a package deal from an online vendor, who supplied it with a charger and two Tenergy brand batteries.
Now, apparently Tenergy have changed how they make the protection circuit in their batteries sometime in the recent past, because while these new batteries are almost entirely too tight to really fit well in the H60, several older batteries of the same brand that I have, fit just fine.
Luckily I have other lights with battery tubes that aren't quite so snug!
I have yet to try other batteries, as I do, I will add a post script to this review, detailing my findings.
Overall however, I'd say that the H60 is a very well thought out light, and the quality of design and manufacture speaks well to illustrate this.
Accessories
The H60 is supplied with a comprehensive set of accessories.
In the box you get an extra glow-in-the-dark button cover (the factory installed one is black), 2 extra O-rings and an extra set of screws for the retaining ring.
Other accessories included are two headband brackets made from silicone rubber, one black and one glow-in-the-dark. The headband itself, a wide, comfortable elastic cloth band in subdued colors, with low-profile buckles for adjustment and an additional bracket that lets you clip the H60 to a belt, a packstrap etc.
All in all a pretty complete little package.
Generally speaking, the headband and brackets work quite well. The silicone rubber seems durable and is soft against your skin. The wide headband is also pretty soft and seems to breathe just fine, while providing even distribution of pressure around your head.
The brackets hold the H60 firmly, although not so firmly that you can't adjust the angle of the light. There has been some concerns voiced by other users that the H60 could potentially rotate during vigorous activity like running, but it's not something I've had issues with myself.
Currently, I have the headband and light mounted on my Pro-Tec Assault helmet, which is what I use for head protection while exploring mines and caves. It is entirely unobtrusive when carried this way and stays in place just fine. I will add however, that for a bit of extra insurance, I've added a couple of strips of duct tape towards the front of the helmet to further hold the head band in place.
Conclusions
I'm very happy with the H60 overall.
It's a fantastically useful little light and for the kinds of things I like to use lights for, it's nigh perfect. I've had it with me in old, abandoned mines on two separate occasions and it's been flawless both times. The multiple levels mean that you're almost guaranteed to have a level of light that fits what you're trying to do. And the smooth, floody beam makes navigating tricky terrain in the dark a cinch. I've clambered over huge rock piles inside a cathedral like room with the H60 and it was so much easier than to use a traditional hand-held flashlight or even a typical headlamp. I had a far easier time navigating in those deep, dark places in the earth than my companions did.
The H60 is the kind of light that I can see easily finding it's place attached to the body armor of a soldier or a cop. The wide even light, the multiple levels etc, all add up to a very versatile package that provides an outstanding light for delicate tasks. It is also small and light enough to not get in the way of your other gear.
The build-quality is outstanding in my view, and while there are some niggling details like the snug-fit of the battery tube and the ease with which you can accidentally turn the light on, these are minor "problems" in my estimation and don't detract from my overall positive experience with the H60.
If you need a headlamp, a tasklight, something that can put out a substantial amount of light and is still lighter weight than almost all of the competition, then the H60 is the light for you.
Highly recommended.
Pictures to follow.
The GITD button cover. Note the stainless steel retaining ring. Very easy to swap out button covers if it gets damaged.
The cooling/traction ribs on the body tube. Note the generally high quality of machining and finish.
The LED itself. You can see the stainless steel bezel ring, which appears to be press-fit. There is a Lexan lens covering the LED.
The tail cap. You can see the knurling and the rather well-done threads on this. Perhaps a future version could utilize two O-rings for additional water-resistance.
http://specialcircumstancesinc.blogspot.com/2009/03/zebralight-h60-headlamp-review.html
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