liquidsunshine
Newly Enlightened
Hi everyone!
Just bought four Zebralight H30-Q5 directly from Zebralight themselves and did a little test because I wanted to know what I can count on with the particular ones I got. I couldn't find much RECENT info about the current potential issue-situation with these lights before I bought them myself, so if anyone's interested - here are my results:
Runtimes on max output with fresh Battery Station 123's: 2h27 to 2h38.
I was able to switch all four lights back on on max one minute after they had switched off. They ran for a handful more minutes on max then. Conclusion: If you run it on max until it switches off, there should probably be enough juice left for one or even several hours on medium, and certainly for many hours on low. Very reassuring to know.
After the runtime test on max - freestanding, without headband, at room temperature - all four lights were what I would call VERY warm - warm enough to think they're actually really hot and drop them if you wouldn't expect this warmth. You could hold them in your hand without being burnt, but instinctively you wouldn't want to; and if you would grip firmly, it might actually get painfully hot. The lights got to a temperature level which I personally would consider the absolute maximum that I'd want to have in a flashlight at room temperature. I certainly would strongly recommend to loosen the battery cap 1/2 turn to prevent burns, molten plastics or a miniature fire in your pocket or other storage place. In my opinion this is completely OK - it is always difficult to deal with heat in a small light, and Zebralight has found the perfect combination of compactness and output power. But the user should know about this and not just find out by chance, so I think this should be pointed out in the instructions.
On a white wall three metres away I was not able to see any difference between beams of the four lights - neither in beam quality, nor angle, nor brightness.
On a piece of paper 15 cm away one light was visibly brighter and had a visibly more even beam; two lights were a little bit less bright with a more apparent slightly brighter area in the center (far from being a "hotspot" though!); and one light was slightly less bright again, with the same brighter center. I swapped batteries around to rule out battery differences as cause for different brightnesses - same results.
I doubt that on anything but white paper anyone would be able to tell these differences, no matter how skilled your eyes may be.
One of the four clickie switches sounded somewhat "duller" than the others and had a less satisfying click-feel to it. I actually liked this one more, but as all other three clicked more clearly I suspect that this one might have a lower life expectancy for some reason. Time will tell.
Throughout the runtime test I repeatedly switched all four lights through their modes, and off and on, and even loosened and retightened the tailcap a few times, sometimes from "on", sometimes from "off" to see if any of the previously discussed switch / electronics / UI issues would be present. I am happy to say that I could not find any problems at all.
The design of the light requires the tailcap to be screwed on securely in order to make good contact - another thing to point out in the instructions. In one single occasion, the light would come on on low, go to med, go to high and then immediately switch off. I assume this was due to a loose tailcap which increased the resistance and thus lowered the voltage as seen by the electronics, triggering a switch-off due to perceived dead battery. After opening and closing the tailcap, this light worked normally again as all others, and as it had before loosening the cap.
The headband and accessories just work, I couldn't find anything wrong with them.
At this point, this is by far one of the most outstanding lights I've ever had in my hands. If the reliability proves to be high, the Zebralight H30-Q5 will probably be my only headlight, easily covering all my headlight needs.
My personal rating ****(*) - as for any model that still has to prove its reliablity, one star is in brackets which will be removed if it's still going strong without any issues in a year and a half.
Despite this one single reservation, from the bottom of my heart to everyone at Zebralight: WELL DONE ! ! !
Cheers,
Matthias
Just bought four Zebralight H30-Q5 directly from Zebralight themselves and did a little test because I wanted to know what I can count on with the particular ones I got. I couldn't find much RECENT info about the current potential issue-situation with these lights before I bought them myself, so if anyone's interested - here are my results:
Runtimes on max output with fresh Battery Station 123's: 2h27 to 2h38.
I was able to switch all four lights back on on max one minute after they had switched off. They ran for a handful more minutes on max then. Conclusion: If you run it on max until it switches off, there should probably be enough juice left for one or even several hours on medium, and certainly for many hours on low. Very reassuring to know.
After the runtime test on max - freestanding, without headband, at room temperature - all four lights were what I would call VERY warm - warm enough to think they're actually really hot and drop them if you wouldn't expect this warmth. You could hold them in your hand without being burnt, but instinctively you wouldn't want to; and if you would grip firmly, it might actually get painfully hot. The lights got to a temperature level which I personally would consider the absolute maximum that I'd want to have in a flashlight at room temperature. I certainly would strongly recommend to loosen the battery cap 1/2 turn to prevent burns, molten plastics or a miniature fire in your pocket or other storage place. In my opinion this is completely OK - it is always difficult to deal with heat in a small light, and Zebralight has found the perfect combination of compactness and output power. But the user should know about this and not just find out by chance, so I think this should be pointed out in the instructions.
On a white wall three metres away I was not able to see any difference between beams of the four lights - neither in beam quality, nor angle, nor brightness.
On a piece of paper 15 cm away one light was visibly brighter and had a visibly more even beam; two lights were a little bit less bright with a more apparent slightly brighter area in the center (far from being a "hotspot" though!); and one light was slightly less bright again, with the same brighter center. I swapped batteries around to rule out battery differences as cause for different brightnesses - same results.
I doubt that on anything but white paper anyone would be able to tell these differences, no matter how skilled your eyes may be.
One of the four clickie switches sounded somewhat "duller" than the others and had a less satisfying click-feel to it. I actually liked this one more, but as all other three clicked more clearly I suspect that this one might have a lower life expectancy for some reason. Time will tell.
Throughout the runtime test I repeatedly switched all four lights through their modes, and off and on, and even loosened and retightened the tailcap a few times, sometimes from "on", sometimes from "off" to see if any of the previously discussed switch / electronics / UI issues would be present. I am happy to say that I could not find any problems at all.
The design of the light requires the tailcap to be screwed on securely in order to make good contact - another thing to point out in the instructions. In one single occasion, the light would come on on low, go to med, go to high and then immediately switch off. I assume this was due to a loose tailcap which increased the resistance and thus lowered the voltage as seen by the electronics, triggering a switch-off due to perceived dead battery. After opening and closing the tailcap, this light worked normally again as all others, and as it had before loosening the cap.
The headband and accessories just work, I couldn't find anything wrong with them.
At this point, this is by far one of the most outstanding lights I've ever had in my hands. If the reliability proves to be high, the Zebralight H30-Q5 will probably be my only headlight, easily covering all my headlight needs.
My personal rating ****(*) - as for any model that still has to prove its reliablity, one star is in brackets which will be removed if it's still going strong without any issues in a year and a half.
Despite this one single reservation, from the bottom of my heart to everyone at Zebralight: WELL DONE ! ! !
Cheers,
Matthias
