The Official Zebralight Thread .

[ScottsoSmith]

I’ve noticed that 2 CR123s will not fit in my SC600 or SC64c LE even though both are rated up to 6V. I just received my first ZL headlamp (H600Fw) and I was pleased to find that 2 CR123s fit fine. Any comments, experience or opinions on using CR123s in an H600?

 

[ilikeguns40]

Zebralight sc64LE 519a 4500k DeDomed McBob 👍

519a 4500k DD left, 219b SW45K right

SC64c LE 519a 4500k DD — Sc53c 219b SW45K — Sc53c N 519a 4000k stock

 

[chillinn]

Crazy how much dedome drops the color temperature, looks like it's 1500K lower, ~3000K.

 

[ilikeguns40]

Crazy how much dedome drops the color temperature, looks like it's 1500K lower, ~3000K.

It is kinda crazy from just removing that dome

 

[RegularGuy81]

I fixed one problem I had coming from a mag tail cap 90* light.

The only other problem I’ve come across is lack of a lockout, other than twist the tail cap slightly.

 

[lampeDépêche]

More on comparing the new SC53c N to my old H52w.
When I first get a Hi Cri light, I don't see the difference right away. I think, "nice light", but it doesn't jump out at me. The H52w's old XML2 in neutral was a pretty good emitter -- much better than LEDs in the 2000's -- and when I scan both lights over a shelf full of colorful books, both of them give me decent color rendering.
But when I do side-by-side comparisons, what finally gets through to me are the earth tones, and the depth perception.
Earth tones: the color of rattan in a woven basket; the grain in a hardwood floor; the clay of a clay pot; the coat of a red Labrador. All of them go from flat and pale to rich and lustrous. Wood just looks more woody. The dog's coat goes from nondescript tan to a rich russet. To me, this is where Hi Cri really stands out, more than when looking at a box of Crayola crayons. Mediocre beams can make blue look blue and red look red. But getting earth tones in all of their infinite shades of umber, brown, golden, and ocher is where my eye really benefits from the better color rendition.
Depth perception: when I'm out at night, the quality of the light has a big effect on the three-dimensionality of the ground in front of me. With lo-Cri lights, esp. if they are bluish, the world gets flat and silvery. Objects don't have shadows, or their shadows are flat as well. With Hi Cri, the objects become rounded and have depth. The leaves on the ground stand out from the grass. This interacts with the earth-tone issue as well, since in the Northeast in spring the natural world has a lot of earth-tones. Quality Hi Cri beams bring back a lot more information.

 

[knucklegary]

Is the grainy appearing (bead blasted Al) anodize holding up under daily use better, worse, or about the same as HAIII nat from the past?

 

[ilikeguns40]

Is the grainy appearing (bead blasted Al) anodize holding up under daily use better, worse, or about the same as HAIII nat from the past?

I haven’t owned a Zebralight long enough (many years) to test the anodize, but after many uses at work scraping and bumping against metal and the occasional drops I’d say it’s some of the best anodizing I’ve encountered, hardly shows any signs of chipping or wear. Plus it feels fantastic in hand

 

[chillinn]

The only other problem I’ve come across is lack of a lockout, other than twist the tail cap slightly.

You're lucky. I can't even get a Zebralight to turn on until it has a battery loaded and the tail cap is tightened. And when I do finally jump through all these hoops and somehow get it to fire, pressing the button twice quickly in succession toggles between two brightnesses instead of turning off and on again. It won't turn off at all until I press the button once again. Except for nearly all, if not all, the others, it's probably one of the worst portable handheld light ever designed. Exactly what is anyone supposed to do with such a bright light with all that runtime? I have to run it with depleted cells to get it to die within a reasonable amount of time.

 

[RegularGuy81]

You're lucky. I can't even get a Zebralight to turn on until it has a battery loaded and the tail cap is tightened. And when I do finally jump through all these hoops and somehow get it to fire, pressing the button twice quickly in succession toggles between two brightnesses instead of turning off and on again. It won't turn off at all until I press the button once again. Except for nearly all, if not all, the others, it's probably one of the worst portable handheld light ever designed. Exactly what is anyone supposed to do with such a bright light with all that runtime? I have to run it with depleted cells to get it to die within a reasonable amount of time.

That sounds terrible! You better just box it up and send it to me for further diagnosis. lol

In all seriousness, I only mentioned the lockout thing because Ive had previous lights damage the oring with constant twisting and untwisting. Thankfully ZL uses a somewhat standard oring so a replacement should be easy to find.

 

[jon_slider]

The only other problem I’ve come across is lack of a lockout, other than twist the tail cap slightly.

Congrats and thanks for the nice photo

fwiw, the Zebra's deepset switch button is not prone to false activation.

You may not need to concern yourself with lockout.

I only mentioned the lockout thing because Ive had previous lights damage the oring with constant twisting and untwisting.

are you assuming your zebra needs lockout because it came on in your pocket, or are you just thinking about lockout because of other lights, with non Zebra switch designs, that are prone to false activation?

Lockout concerns may not actually apply to Zebras. Or, has anyone here ever had a Zebra come on unintentionally?

 

[Connor]

Lockout concerns may not actually apply to Zebras. Or, has anyone here ever had a Zebra come on unintentionally?

I haven't but then again it's just a numbers game. It's a button. It can be depressed.
Given enough opportunities in pockets someday, eventually, one will get activated.

 

[RegularGuy81]

Congrats and thanks for the nice photo

fwiw, the Zebra's deepset switch button is not prone to false activation.

You may not need to concern yourself with lockout.

are you assuming your zebra needs lockout because it came on in your pocket, or are you just thinking about lockout because of other lights, with non Zebra switch designs, that are prone to false activation?

Lockout concerns may not actually apply to Zebras. Or, has anyone here ever had a Zebra come on unintentionally?

I guess its a feature Ive had in other non Zebra lights that Ive gotten accustom to. Like you mentioned, it might not be necessary for Zebras. I have to do further testing

 

[AstroTurf]

watch pocket in my jeans while at the laundromat...

had it come on of its own accord, prolly persuaded by my movements.

it can happen.

 

[Lips]

Anodizing Pics
SC50 -like new, SC53c N - new, SC53w -17 months edc, SC32w - slightly used, SC31w - 9 year edc / anodizing worn off - JB weld anti pocket ripper, SC30w - 1 year edc / JB weld anti pocket ripper, SC31w & SC31w - new - old stock - never carried, H50 Q5 - light use 13 years old.

Zebralight 3600 sqft office in Irving, TX

 

[ilikeguns40]

Nice collection. I’d love to own an SC30W

 

[knucklegary]

It's nice to see well used flashlights, and clever use of JB weld

 

[defloyd77]

I just did my first attempt at programming a Zebra beyond just changing the sub-levels. Didn't seem as complicated as reading some of the posts on here made me think. I'm pretty accustomed to how Zebras function from the factory, so I don't see myself reprogramming myself and the light, so I just made G6 a power outage orientated mode group with the same sort of UI, but with the lower 6 outputs set to each level. I'll probably never need to use it and when and if I do have a need for extended runtime, I'll probably forget about it lol.

 

[radellaf]

I just did my first attempt at programming a Zebra beyond just changing the sub-levels. Didn't seem as complicated as reading some of the posts on here made me think.

Yeah, it sounds worse than it is. The main advantage of their method, I think, is that I remember how to do it after a year. The Anduril (and HDS) stuff is perfectly good, but I can't remember how to, say, set the temperature limit, without referring to the manual and figuring out, with practice, how that whole click - buzz - click thing works. Compare to: click a bunch until the brightness changes, then double or triple click to adjust.

My biggest complaint about the whole interface, that programming doesn't fix, is that click (turn on) followed by click-click (switch level) is WAY too often interpreted as triple-click strobe. I never want strobe. Shouldn't require so long a pause between click and click-click to avoid it. But, whatever. I also hate deep-carry clips with a passion, yet others seem to love them... no light is perfect.

Brand loyalty is definitely a thing, but I think a lot of critics of loyalty are equating their different preferences in design compromises, with actual flaws. That's certainly the case with the Apple/Android eternal debate. Sure, ZL isn't perfect, but I'll generally take their compromises over the choices of other companies, if asked to name a favorite brand.


I'm a fan of the current clip on the SC53. IDK if it is "professional", but it looks good, and doesn't wear out my pockets, given my non-professional amount of usage (a couple of clip cycles a day, on the 10% of days I carry it vs something else, and when I clip it vs having it just in a pocket). I'm also used to pens with metal clips, where if you want to be nice to your shirt pocket, you kind of lift the tip of the clip while un-clipping (can be two handed depending on dexterity, nail length, and fabric). It's just natural, after years of fountain pens, and a combo of knitted and woven shirt fabrics of different thicknesses.

---

Just got my new SC53cNs in! Wow, these are nice. Way better tint than the (perfectly OK) LH351s. In comparison, the 519 4k is a nice ivory (so a tiny bit of yellow, no green?) vs a greenish tint (only visible in direct comparison) on the SC31 Pro LH351 that I also just got.

This is my third 519 light, and I've tried 3k, 3.5k, and 4k. 3k is a bit warm, even for me, though I have a couple of even warmer lights that I enjoy (esp. for power outages). Somewhere 3.5-4k I do think is a perfect: warm enough to look good at night, cool enough to look good during the day. I would have ordered the Emisar as a dual-tint 3k,4k but wasn't an option at the time. I'd probably lean to 4k being "perfect". 3 is clearly too warm, and 5 is clearly too cool (for looking good in all common conditions).

The 53 isn't nearly as bright, of course, and I have to agree that, unless the NiMH cell is like 80-100% charged, H1 and H2 are as identical as makes any difference. I programmed G6 to be H4-M1,M2-M3,M4-L1 and G7 as an "alkaline friendly" M1-M2, M3-M4, L1-L2. G5 if I need it as bright as possible.
Given the fit issues I'm hearing about 14500s, I'm just not inclined to bother. I don't want a crushed 14500, just too dangerous. That, and the spring grinds the bottom of the battery more than I really like for the thinner metal of lithiums. I'm more comfortable using alkalines, also, since the spring tailcap is easy to clean, should a leak ever happen. The pogo pins would probably be destroyed. (I know, I know, but I just like alkalines sometimes)

I do wish the circuit was as efficient as the sc5, but, hey, I love the size and the smooth, curved, un-knurled finish of the SC53. It's still, AFAIK, a good bit more efficient than my second favorite, the Lumintop Tool AA. Haven't measured efficiency percentages, but the specs from reviews seem to show more lumens for more minutes.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Very interesting perspective about programming, user interface, design, efficiency and color temperature/tint.

Compromises? Deep carry can be a hassle getting it out I guess but the design of the Tool is such that when I crouch down, the tail switch would get activated sometimes. Wonderfully, a Zebralight will never do that.