Zebralight H50 Q5 1AA - BEAMSHOTS, RUNTIMES & more

[Lite_me]

I didn't think it supported 14500 originally either, but then I saw Mev's report on lightreviews.info, and confirmed it on the Zebralight site.

But there is one major difference between what Zebralight claims (and Mev confirmed) and my sample: they report the light is dimmer on Hi on 14500 than it is on Med/Lo (which are identical in intensity). Med/Lo are indeed the same on mine, but Hi on 14500 is insanely bright (so bright in fact that I don't believe it is safe to do runtimes at this level, even with a cooling fan).

Maybe anyone else out there with one of these could chime in with their experience? I wonder if mine is an unusual phenomenon. :thinking:

My hilite...
I just received my 2 H50 Q5 Zebralights from the Fenix-Store. These must be from the second batch fer sure. I tried them with an AW protected 14500 and here's what I found.

Both lights acted the same. Each had a Low, Med and High just like when using a AA, NiMh etc. But each mode appeared slightly dimmer (but very close) on the 14500 when compared to the other one running a AA. At least to my eye it did. So, these newer ones (2d batch) do have the Low mode on 3.7v. I think that's a good thing, and good to know.

So it's looking like you have a rare bird there with high being so bright on a 14500. I haven't seen any other posts with someone testing theirs from the early release. Interesting tho... I'm wondering. :thinking:

Oh, and great review as always. I can't express how much it's appreciated.

 

[selfbuilt]

I tried them with an AW protected 14500 and here's what I found. ... Each had a Low, Med and High just like when using a AA, NiMh etc. But each mode appeared slightly dimmer (but very close) on the 14500 when compared to the other one running a AA.

Glad to hear the batch David is selling are behaving properly. Not a big deal for me, as this is one light I won't be running on 14500, but I did find its behaviour odd. Thanks for sharing!

BTW, I've been running my Zebralight on low on a Sanyo Eneloop for about 52 hours now, and it is still going strong with no loss of output. We'll see how much longer it lasts, but no signs of the low runtime BackBlast was seeing.

:wave:

 

[selfbuilt]

Mind you I'm eyeballing the runtime, but after I use it as a nightlight for my boy. ~8 hours or so on a fresh cell, I'll throw the eneloop in the Maha-C9000 in the morning and it'll charge up ~800 mah, which is over 1/3rd the cell. I realize there is some overhead in the charge process, but it projects a runtime at around 20-30 hours - which is about the same as what I think I've observed in completely depleted cells (left on and forgotten about in my son's room).

My Zebralight eneloop low run died sometime overnight, which places it between 58 and 67 hours of runtime (i.e. ~2.5+ days runtime)

I wonder if part of the issue BackBlast has isn't how the eneloop discharges (or how the Maya reports top-ups). I have the same Maya-C9000 charger, so I'll do a ~8hr runtime and see how much the charger reports to top it up, to allow us to directly compare.

 

[ZebraLight]

My Zebralight eneloop low run died sometime overnight, which places it between 58 and 67 hours of runtime (i.e. ~2.5+ days runtime)

I wonder if part of the issue isn't how the eneloop discharges. I have the same Maya-C9000 charger, so I'll do a ~8 runtime and see how much the charger tops it up to directly compare.

The H50 runtime specs are based on Sanyo 2700 NiMH batteries. With eneloops (at 2000 mAh), the runtime on Low should be around 63 hours. However, we've never tested the H50 with eneloops (they are not widely available here).

 

[selfbuilt]

The H50 runtime specs are based on Sanyo 2700 NiMH batteries. With eneloops (at 2000 mAh), the runtime on Low should be around 63 hours. However, we've never tested the H50 with eneloops (they are not widely available here).

Thanks for the info Zebralight, appreciate you joining in on my thread.

If a ~2700mAh battery gives 3.5+ days, then 2.5+ sounds about right for ~2000mAh eneloop.

I'm going to sacrifice a couple of L91s to low and med mode runtimes, and will update this review once they are done. Of course, it's likely to be a few days

 

[nerdgineer]

Nice review. Thanks.

Also, a very nice and innovative light. The Zebralight looks to be the biggest "out of the box" breakthrough design since the original Fenix L1P (and the original Arc AAA before that...).

Expect a lot of clones starting in about 6 months.

 

[Illum]

Does anyone know if you can get this thing wet?? I have read a few reviews and even went to both the zebra and fenix site... neither mention anything about water resistance... or proofing? any ideas?

lights that typically don't see water [as in submerged] only has one O-ring for weatherproofing. Twisting the tailcap of a light with only one o-ring underwater will cause water to seep into the body.

the H50 has two o-rings, implying that the switch can be turned underwater. I've dunked my H50 in the toylet cistern with no issues*

I'm planning one of these days fasten a couple fisherman's lead weights and toss it in the campus's pool for kicks...thats 10 ft deep of chlorinated/bleached/stained pool of water-like liquid:devil:


*[that is of course proper lubrication to the thread and o-rings have been observed prior to the dunking ]

 

[selfbuilt]

The run on low on L91 lithium just ended, at about 4 days exactly, give or take an hour or two.

Although that's a bit better than the 3.5+ days I got on standard alkaline, it's not really worth the extra expense for lithium. I think I'll save my remaining L91s for my high-drain lights.

Cheers!

 

[BackBlast]

Maybe it's a maha issue, I think I'm going to try an 8 hour night and then a discharge instead of a recharge.

 

[selfbuilt]

Maybe it's a maha issue, I think I'm going to try an 8 hour night and then a discharge instead of a recharge.

Good idea - let me know how it works out. I had planned to do the same, but forgot to check the status in my Maha charger.

Too many other reviews going on at the same time ...

 

[FsTop]

+1 on a nice review of a very useful light. Perfect for moving around with dark-adapted eyes of for close-up use, like working on a computer.

 

[ps000000]

Great Runtime on MEdium mode

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

EXCELLENT review!!!

It has pushed me over the edge and one of these WILL be my next light purchase!

As a reading light before bed there may not ever be anything better!

That it would allow bike riding or even make a pretty decent EDC light is just icing on the cake!!!

 

[selfbuilt]

As a reading light before bed there may not ever be anything better!
That it would allow bike riding or even make a pretty decent EDC light is just icing on the cake!!!

Definitely agree on the reading light use - that's how I use mine when in low-light conditions. It's a great traveling light. :thumbsup:

Not sure about bike riding though - lack of throw limits usefulness as a headlight. Unless the idea is to increase visibility, in which case it should work fine.

 

[Long RunTime]

+1 on a nice review of a very useful light. Perfect for moving around with dark-adapted eyes of for close-up use, like working on a computer.

:thumbsup:+1. How about H30 review?