Reply from Zebralight over anodizing quality issues

[Mr Floppy]

Will these savings be passed on to their customers? I doubt it! It seems that recently customers are well down on ZL's
priority list.

Did Zebralight absorb the rise in cost when they switched to using US bar stock last year? As far as I can tell they did.

 

[lyyyghtey]

Regarding the existence of ripoff/knockoff models: I already know Zebralight products are (almost always!) excellent. I have no idea what quality I'd be getting from a different supplier. Guess which one I'm going to keep purchasing? That said I doubt this would still hold true if Zebralight quality took a general plunge.

Natural anodizing is what I'm used to but I could see black being interesting as well. Perhaps they could release a couple products in black while also offering natural? Certainly float the new color around for awhile to see how it goes before completely phasing out the natural. Of course this assumes hard anodizing on both colors.

Regarding threaded bezels, I too would like to see this from a modder's perspective (Nichia 219!), though I can see how measures such as press-fit bezels and having the LED on the same PCB as other components make for a smaller size product. And that is very important as I often wear my H51Fc for hours at a time. Plus it would be convenient to be able to swap floody and non-floody lenses. I have no experience with press-fit bezels leaking moisture so I can't comment on that angle.

Pre-edit: just learned the 51 series does NOT have other components on the emitter board while the 52 series does. I think I'll just go order me up another H51 headlamp. Oh dang, nobody has them anymore. :hairpull:

 

[Phry]

I currently own an S6330, SC600 II, SC60 and H602. They are all fantastic. I have owned many other Zebralights and if they ever actually do produce new lights that I can buy, I probably will. I constantly sing their praises.

There is a limit though. The service/supply and lack of communication can only go on so long before even keen loyal customers like me start getting fed up.

 

[leggera16]

I just got a sc600 l2 from flashaholics uk. It has matt grey down one side and an almost see through bronze colour down the other. It looks like someone took some of it off with a wire brush. Is this going to be prone to corroding now? Bit pants for £90 asking price.

 

[Derek Dean]

leggera16, it's hard to tell without seeing a photo, but from your description it sounds like bad quality control and should be returned. For that price you deserve a proper anodizing job.

 

[kj2]

I just got a sc600 l2 from flashaholics uk. It has matt grey down one side and an almost see through bronze colour down the other. It looks like someone took some of it off with a wire brush. Is this going to be prone to corroding now? Bit pants for £90 asking price.

Could you post a photo?

 

[leggera16]

Could you post a photo?

My phones camera isnt very good at picking up detail but where the light catches you can get an idea. Its like the plating is half as thick on one side and looks grey from the left and kinda brown/bronze from the right.

It also has a few light scratches in the paint and a little chip down to the metal on the front lip as if the plating is really soft/not set. If this happened in a padded cardboard box it will be a fuzzy lump of corroded aluminium after a year of walks by the sea.

Hopefully the website supplier will sort it out somehow when I hear back. If this was a £40 light I wouldnt be too fussed but over 80 quid seems a bit high for an item that looks used from day one.

Press Ctrl and - to zoom out and see two sides in one screen for easier comparison.

 

[fnsooner]

The news about Zebralight going to a black, less durable(I think this is correct) anodizing makes me want to get an extra SC62w in the gray/green. I notice they are on back order from the usual vendors I deal with. I wonder if the next batch will be black. Decisions, decisions.


I am not saying that I would dislike black, though.

 

[Gaffle]

This is helping me with my decision to forgo the Zebralight purchase and try out a Armytek Wizard Pro.

Although, if I knew that aluminum blocks came from Kalamazoo MI I would have had to make a Zebra purchase....

As to the cost of Zebra materials possible going down and the price staying the same, we have no idea what kind of profit margin Zebra makes on these lights. A company is crap if it isn't profitable. Hopefully this helps Zebra out.

 

[burntoshine]

So BLACK Zebralights coming soon? I think those will look pretty slick!

I agree, especially if they can make the press-fit rings and clip black, as well. Then they'd be totally blacked out, or "murdered out", as some say. I do love the green anodizing they have always used, but I've never had a problem with the color black.

I drive a black car and used to have every window tinted black. Even the windshield was tinted. The windshield had a thick strip across the top that was 5% and the rest of the windshield was 35%. All the other windows were 5%. And let me tell you, that 35% looked just as dark as the rest of the tinting because almost no light was coming in the car. Sure it was illegal, and driving around sharp corners at night required special attention and care, but it was pretty darned awesome.

I wonder how much cost would be added to color those silver rings (around the button and lens) to black...? If they're going black, they should do it right. My 3700k HDS rotary is all black since it's got the black bezel; and I just got an all black Spyderco manix 2 xl. Black is just a great, classic color; in my opinion.

Zebralight's designs are pretty distinctive and this won't change anything for me, as far as I can tell at the moment. They've always had a lot going for them: Their famous user interface, minimal-size designs, great selection of levels, instant access to multiple levels and neutral-tint availability. And I remember them as being among the first to offer a true low/moonlight mode; which they continue to offer. Now there will just be obvious "old school" Zebras, which will just be even more special and revered.

H600w mkII - mountain biking at night - enough said

 

[Norm]

I know. I said it was not allowed in my first reply.

No one is arguing with you about that cpf rule, relax.

But it's done now, in the public domain and backed up.

I wonder if Zebralight are going to come in here?

Do Zebralight ever post on here anymore?

This thread could have been posted and stayed entirely within the rules, WHY you Phry feel it it was necessary to to break rule 12?

Nothing has been achieved that couldn't have been achieved by you paraphrasing the email as requested in rule 12.

You leave me no choice but to close your thread, what a shame looks like some productive chat going on here - I'm very disappointed that you didn't see fit to follow the rules but instead thought the didn't apply to you.

Should any other member wish to continue the conversation, please start a new thread.

Norm