POLL - Zebralight H600 Mk II - Which version do you prefer?

If you were to have only one of the Zebralight H600 Mk II headlamps, which one would it be?

Flood or not?

Cool or neutral?

Feel free to elaborate why...

If you want to buy a bunch of lights there are qualities to appreciate about each variation, but the single most useful ZL light in my opinion is the H600w Mk II.
The best diffusion films have been identified by members here and by most accounts the results are virtually as good as the permanently frosted F models without the commitment.

To elaborate...
Floody (F) is really, really nice for use as a headlight, but the increased range of the regular is too useful to justify having a permanently clouded lense if it is your main light.
The regular version has a huge hot spot anyways that is only sometimes an issue to me at close range, while it is the additional range that makes the light so versatile.

The neutral (w) models eliminate much of the glare problem of "cool" white, while not losing much performance as compared to the higher CRI "c" & "d" variations, by the numbers.
While I've not seen an H600Fw or H600Fc, I have an H51Fc (floody, high cri) from 2012 as reference.


To me the H600w is too useful to keep in the headband, I permanently secured a clip to the light and it lives in my pocket as an all purpose 24/7 carry light.
It gets the most use by far compared to any light that I've had before, day and night, it gets used on full power and firefly and all in between, seems like every month or so I swap out the battery when is about half depleted.
It's great as a compact pocket light, and the utilitarian non"tactical" appearance is much appreciated. For being so light in construction it has held up beautifully to being dropped and bashed around since it got the clip last summer and became my main light. I've dropped it squarely on its head onto concrete multiple times (the mass of the 18650 being stopped by the circuit board) -which I'm not proud of but the light is no worse off for it.

The threads that have best helped me to decide have excellent comparison images shared by forum members, there are some great old ones back there, the current one floating around nearby is:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...s-H600F-(Floody)-vs-H602-(no-reflector)-beams

I I could only choose one it would be the H600w. The H600Fw would be more useful, but you can put scotch magic tape over the lens and get a similar beam, or get some diffuser and get the exact beam of the F model. With that you can always remove it if for some reason you needed the extra throw.

I'm an electrician and we are starting to trim and install lights on the job I'm working. I tthink I'm ready to step into a head lamp that will last awhile, better than the cheapy energizer headlamps from HD. I'm looking at this one and a couple others. Zebralight isn't a bad price either

I have the H600FW... Went through all the permutations of more throw if not frosted, can add scotch tape, etc.. But glad I just went for the frosted lens...it's a lovely smooth wall of light, it lights up a huge area compared with a normal petal style AA battery style lamp ...
The neutral tint just works for close up work...it isn't as harsh a tint which again works for a headlamp .... Literally the perfect headlamp for round a camp or work...
If I want over 100m distance then I use a handheld light... If I go on walks where I want to light up more then that is also when you notice insects flying at your face as with any headlamp... Hence I find a hand torch better in that situation [emoji2]
Let's face it, it justifies having multiple torches [emoji106]

For me a warmer/ neutral tint wins over the cool tints. So far my favorite tint color is my 4000k 80+ cri in my malkoff M61N and my 4500k in my zebra light H51fw.

I prefer a floody type beam- having the traditional hotspot+spill annoys me due to my gaze focusing on the hotspot. I like the DC-fix but I believe stefano posted that the frosted lens has a slight advantage over the DC-fix.

Chose H600Fw, even though I have two H600F for mountain biking. Also have a H600 for the helmet, with diffusion film from Phaserburn.

While the DC fix is great (have it on most of my clear lensed lights), it still doesn't give the perfect smoothness of the frosted lens. And I never take it off, so a frosted lens sits well with me.

The cool white tint, around here in Socal with our desert shrubs, looks better IME than the neutral tint. Hence using cool white tint lights for MTBR. But for overall use, neutral is best. Actually 5000K is best, but that was not an option for this poll.

If I didn't use these for mountain biking, I would sell them as ZL flood style headlights get 99% of my headlight usage. For around the house and hiking. I use to hike with a floody lens, now a flood sits on my belt and provides a perfect moon lite style to hike in.

Steve

eraursls1984 said:

I I could only choose one it would be the H600w. The H600Fw would be more useful, but you can put scotch magic tape over the lens and get a similar beam, or get some diffuser and get the exact beam of the F model. With that you can always remove it if for some reason you needed the extra throw.

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This is the same reason I voted for the H600w over the Fw model. The H600Fw is stuck as floody unless you bust the glass out the front lol. You asked which do you prefer and then asked which one if you could only have one and those are two different questions. If you could only have one I would go H600w without question. If you ask which do you prefer then I have to think a while on it and the Fw model can be argued to have a more useful beam overall, but since diffusing the H600 can be done easily I decided to vote for that. Both great lights though.

I voted H600Fw but, only because you left the high CRI floody options off the list(H600Fc and H600Fd). I think the frosted lens models offer the most useful beam profile for general headlamp use. The perfect mix of flood and throw right in the middle of the H600 and 602.

I use the H600w with d-c-fix film over the lens. It's been like that for years and I never removed it. I find it softens up the hotspot without sacrificing too much throw while also giving a nice flood. I'm sure the H600Fw would also be good enough for me.

eh4 said:

If you want to buy a bunch of lights there are qualities to appreciate about each variation, but the single most useful ZL light in my opinion is the H600w Mk II.

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I am under the impression that this is the model I would want for cycling? ZL says that the MkIII would be released after the first of the year, so I am waiting for that. Unless there is something else I should consider? Talk about an absolutely confusing scheme for naming their lights...

It is confusing.
I'm waiting for the non floody (non "F") "c" version, (the warmer of the two high Color Rendering Index models, ... Vs the cooler "d")
-to come out. Of course they started with only the floody lense model.
From what I've read here on CPF, I'm not convinced that any more great innovations will appear for the H600 series in the next year or so.
I'd love to be wrong, am I wrong, anyone?

The "c" uses a quad die easy white. It may not work well with a clear lens. Hence the "f" models.

eh4 said:

It is confusing.
I'm waiting for the non floody (non "F") "c" version, (the warmer of the two high Color Rendering Index models, ... Vs the cooler "d")
-to come out. Of course they started with only the floody lense model.
From what I've read here on CPF, I'm not convinced that any more great innovations will appear for the H600 series in the next year or so.
I'd love to be wrong, am I wrong, anyone?

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Yep, as gunga said, you wont see a non-floody version of the "c" because of the quad die emitter that is used. But, the H600/H600w MKIII are supposed to come out later this year. They will likely use the same XHP35 emitters used in the SC600/SC63 series. So, 70 CRI at 5700K for the H600 MKIII and 80 CRI at 4500K for the H600w MKIII if that is the case.

CW non-flood...Our H600 II sees daily use, for atypical reasons. The focused/non-flood, blinding CW light stuns mosquitoes we find on walls and furniture, letting us get close-up to the little vampires before sending them back down to where they came from. It must **** their boss big time, because he seems to always send at least two more back up as reinforcements.-My assassin/predator partner also uses it on mid-power for her favorite hobby, spending hours manicuring and pedicuring her claws.

For me non-flood headlight is better.
You can see anything under your feet even on the lowest mode.
Also it's good to see something far away in the forest or mountains.
I've tried flood version and found them more comfortable in mid-distance, but in overall usage, for hiking, biking, or any other applications I'm prefer non-flood.
White or cool is a personal option, I've a cool white and like it.

snovatut said:

For me non-flood headlight is better.
You can see anything under your feet even on the lowest mode.
Also it's good to see something far away in the forest or mountains.
I've tried flood version and found them more comfortable in mid-distance, but in overall usage, for hiking, biking, or any other applications I'm prefer non-flood.
White or cool is a personal option, I've a cool white and like it.

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You say you tried flood. Did you try flood(no lens/mule) or floody(frosted lens)? Because there is a pretty big difference in throw. You only loose a little bit of throw with the frosted lens but gain a lot of field of view which I find really minimizes the tunnel vision effect of the standard reflector/lens. With the mule however, you loose a lot of throw, most really, and I only find they are good for up close type of tasks.

Here is a great video that shows the differences, Thanks Stefano:thumbsup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPU4-Z5t2h0

Tachead said:

You say you tried flood. Did you try flood(no lens/mule) or floody(frosted lens)? Because there is a pretty big difference in throw. You only loose a little bit of throw with the frosted lens but gain a lot of field of view which I find really minimizes the tunnel vision effect of the standard reflector/lens. With the mule however, you loose a lot of throw, most really, and I only find they are good for up close type of tasks.

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I hate the tunnel vision. With the H600 you have a weak spill...weak spill...then BOOM! 100% brightness in a fairly small spot. The frosted lens, or standard lens with diffuser tape is a nice compromise for many applications.

markr6 said:

I hate the tunnel vision. With the H600 you have a weak spill...weak spill...then BOOM! 100% brightness in a fairly small spot. The frosted lens, or standard lens with diffuser tape is a nice compromise for many applications.

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The H600 beam profile is nearly or is identical to that of the corresponding SC6x series. Do you dislike them as well?

markr6 said:

I hate the tunnel vision. With the H600 you have a weak spill...weak spill...then BOOM! 100% brightness in a fairly small spot. The frosted lens, or standard lens with diffuser tape is a nice compromise for many applications.

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I agree. I much prefer the frosted lens myself, it is a great compromise with only a minimal loss of throw. And, I always have a small flashlight on me if I need more throw(which isnt very often with an 800+ lumen frosted lens headlamp).