Zebralight SC600 (1x18650, XM-L) Review: RUNTIME, BEAMSHOTS, comparisons & more!

[varuscelli]

I'm planning to grind the lanyard bump off mine with my dremel. The pocket clip will hide the unfinished area after I'm done.

You'll probably be grinding off some of the resale value, though -- that is, if for any reason you decide to part with it at some future point via CPF Marketplace or the like. Just putting that out there for consideration.

[stickydoorknob]

thanks, good review, not sure if i actually need it though still. Impulse buy

[sdr]

My only gripe is the lanyard bump... I hate lanyards, and I hate that the bump for it on the SC600 prevents you from locating the pocket clip perfectly opposite the switch(hope this makes sense). I'm planning to grind the lanyard bump off mine with my dremel.

Ouch!

I actually find the "bump" to be quite useful. As you will see in the pics below the lanyard that I use on mine, in conjunction with the clip, suits my needs perfectly!

The light and the lanyard...




As you can see in the pics above I have placed the clip right next to my 2.75" paracord lanyard.

The SC600 in my cargo pocket...




The light rides comfortably in this position, daily. The clip and lanyard are positioned perfectly to allow easy access.

The light secured in my hand...




By placing my little finger into the loop of the paracord and then cinching the bead up, the light fits my hand like the proverbial glove. It is also very secure!

Oops! Whew! This light is not going anywhere...


So you see, I like the bump and I love the SC600!

[MikeWilson]

My SC600 (standard) is being posted tomorrow :-)

Yay. Hopefully it will be a good upgrade from a NiteCore EZAA R5.

[yifu]

My SC600 (standard) is being posted tomorrow :-)

Yay. Hopefully it will be a good upgrade from a NiteCore EZAA R5.

Yep, should be a 8 times upgrade in output and much better runtimes on lower modes. Make sure you use quality cells though, Redilast/AW/Callies' Kustoms or genuine Panasonic/Sanyo/LG OEM 18650s are fine.

[Chip]

I think this is my next light. I'm just not sure if neutral is best for me. I like the idea of neutral, I understand the pros. But my D10 Tribute R2 is cool blue (i've read on here around 6k color temp) and I love the tint inside and out. I also have a Klarus XT10 and that looks very green to me, even outside. On the zebra light site, for the SC600 XML 750 it says "LED: Cree XM-L Cool White (Norminal CCT 6300K) " and for the SC600 XML Neutral White it says, "LED: Cree XM-L Neutral White (Norminal CCT 4200K)" How is Norminal CCT different from normal color temp? So, if the temp is lower, at 4200k, that would look "cooler" or more "blue" right? Why does this sound backwards to me. I think I want to go for the cool white at 6300k temp, but I've always thought "pure / neutral white" would give me the best color. I just don't want it to look "orange" or yellowish (incandescent) too much.

http://www.zebralight.com/SC600w-XM-...hite_p_74.html

http://www.zebralight.com/SC600-Cree...8650_p_55.html

[js82]

I think this is my next light. I'm just not sure if neutral is best for me. I like the idea of neutral, I understand the pros. But my D10 Tribute R2 is cool blue (i've read on here around 6k color temp) and I love the tint inside and out. I also have a Klarus XT10 and that looks very green to me, even outside. On the zebra light site, for the SC600 XML 750 it says "LED: Cree XM-L Cool White (Norminal CCT 6300K) " and for the SC600 XML Neutral White it says, "LED: Cree XM-L Neutral White (Norminal CCT 4200K)" How is Norminal CCT different from normal color temp? So, if the temp is lower, at 4200k, that would look "cooler" or more "blue" right? Why does this sound backwards to me. I think I want to go for the cool white at 6300k temp, but I've always thought "pure / neutral white" would give me the best color. I just don't want it to look "orange" or yellowish (incandescent) too much.

http://www.zebralight.com/SC600w-XM-...hite_p_74.html

http://www.zebralight.com/SC600-Cree...8650_p_55.html

It sounds like you think that higher temperatures mean a shift towards red. Higher temperatures actually mean it looks more blue. 4200K will be very slightly yellow in color whereas 6300K will be slightly blue in color.

[exim13]

Thank you for the great review! I am new to this forum and have been looking through tons of posts looking for my first flashlight and I think this is the one. I will probably order one today. Thank you everyone for their input!

[ssmyth]

SDR where did you get that paracord lanyard ?

Thank you for the pics! more pls

Ouch!

I actually find the "bump" to be quite useful. As you will see in the pics below the lanyard that I use on mine, in conjunction with the clip, suits my needs perfectly!

The light and the lanyard...




As you can see in the pics above I have placed the clip right next to my 2.75" paracord lanyard.

The SC600 in my cargo pocket...




The light rides comfortably in this position, daily. The clip and lanyard are positioned perfectly to allow easy access.

The light secured in my hand...




By placing my little finger into the loop of the paracord and then cinching the bead up, the light fits my hand like the proverbial glove. It is also very secure!

Oops! Whew! This light is not going anywhere...


So you see, I like the bump and I love the SC600!

[Chip]

It sounds like you think that higher temperatures mean a shift towards red. Higher temperatures actually mean it looks more blue. 4200K will be very slightly yellow in color whereas 6300K will be slightly blue in color.

Okay, thanks.

[sdr]

SDR where did you get that paracord lanyard ?

Thank you for the pics! more pls

i made it myself. quite simple, actually. paracord, bead, and closure. the bead is what really makes this lanyard functional. it has become automatic to insert my little finger and cinch the bead up. it's very comfortable and i hope the pictures indicated how perfectly this light fits into the palm of my hand. i really like this light! as far as tint is concerned, i have the sc600 and the colors look very accurate to my eye. i cannot imagine that the sc600w would render a discernible improvement to my perception. i guess color, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder?

[selfbuilt]

It sounds like you think that higher temperatures mean a shift towards red. Higher temperatures actually mean it looks more blue. 4200K will be very slightly yellow in color whereas 6300K will be slightly blue in color.

For those wanting to know more, this will help: CPF-Wiki entry on ANSI white tint bins. It has an excellent chart from DFiorentino, showing all the Cree tint bins (and color temperatures).

[iron potato]

Would it take Panasonic 3100mAh cell ? Since it got built in over-discharging protection with 2.7V cutoff feature, so using non protected or protected cell is kinda self preference right ?

[varuscelli]

Would it take Panasonic 3100mAh cell ? Since it got built in over-discharging protection with 2.7V cutoff feature, so using non protected or protected cell is kinda self preference right ?

At one point, one of the forum moderators separated out a bunch of SC600 battery discussion posts from another SC600 thread and started the following thread (a pretty good reference thread):

Battery considerations - Zebralight SC600

[iron potato]

ok, thx for the link varuscelli, seems the more I read, the more confusing but its fine, at least one of the post stated it can use panasonic 3100mAh 18650

[fvdk]

ok, thx for the link varuscelli, seems the more I read, the more confusing but its fine, at least one of the post stated it can use panasonic 3100mAh 18650

Yes, both the protected versions (at least the Redilast which are the only 3100 protected that I have) as well as the plain unprotected versions will work.

[iron potato]

Yes, both the protected versions (at least the Redilast which are the only 3100 protected that I have) as well as the plain unprotected versions will work.

Thanks for yet another confirmation SC600 ordered, also patiently waiting for H602w & 3x XM-L's S6330, see how well when it compete with other competitors

[dieselducy]

what would be a good thrower light in its class then again, i only need to throw about 100 yards.

[selfbuilt]

what would be a good thrower light in its class then again, i only need to throw about 100 yards.

The SC600 can certainly throw that far, but it wouldn't be very bright (i.e., less than 1 lux at 100 yards). But there are tons of lights in this class than will throw well that far, hard to recommend just one. Look for something with a bigger and deeper reflector.

[Average Joe]

Thank you for the great review! I am new to this forum and have been looking through tons of posts looking for my first flashlight and I think this is the one. I will probably order one today. Thank you everyone for their input!

Hi exim13. I've owned a lot of flashlights and I can tell you.... the SC600 is the one I use most often. I have no doubts you'll love it too

[JB]

My SC600 arrived today. My first thought was "what a tiny light"... which is precisely what I wanted in a 1x 18650 light. So now I have a truly pocketable 18650 powerhouse.

It's smaller yet brighter than my last generation 18650 lights... Kudos to Zebralight for coming up with such a great light.

[rasnum]

thank you for taking the time to take detailed pictures. the clip looks weak, don't you think? clips that do this sort of half clip around the body never inspire confidence-otherwise great looking light. zebralight ranks high on the must have list for good reason i suppose.

[malocchio]

I am assuming the light ships with the clip pre-attached.Can it be removed without scratching the body ?

[Humminbird]

I've taken it off and put it on several times, no scratches so far.

[malocchio]

Is there another torch this size,with this power,but a better thrower ?

[selfbuilt]

Is there another torch this size,with this power,but a better thrower ?

There is not much in this size that throws better (i.e., the SC600 is extremely petite for a 18650 light). The Spark SL6 has similar power and slightly more throw, with the same emitter.

If you want to consider larger lights (especially larger heads), there there are certainly ones with more throw for equivalent output. Or go for lights with smaller emitters, where heads of this size can translate to better throw (but with less relative output). Check out some of my other reviews for comparisons of size, output and throw.

[VIET PRIDE BULLIES]

This gotta be on top of my to buy list

[eebowler]

selfbuilt hi. Does the light turn off at the end of a runtime test or does it step down to moonlight mode first? If it turns off, is this because of protection circuit in the battery or because of the light itself? Thanks dude. :thumbsup

[peterharvey73]

As the battery depletes, the voltage drops, so the brightness steps down.
At a certain low voltage level, the protection circuitry inside the battery kick in, so the light will switch off, but normally this has occurred well above the moonlight mode...

[selfbuilt]

selfbuilt hi. Does the light turn off at the end of a runtime test or does it step down to moonlight mode first? If it turns off, is this because of protection circuit in the battery or because of the light itself? Thanks dude. :thumbsup

It's been awhile since this review was done, so I don't recall directly. But looking at the runtime data, it looks like the light shut-off once the protection circuits were tripped.

It's pretty rare that a light would jump to moon mode rather than just shut-off. My Thrunte TN31 is only recent example I can think of that does that.