Zebralight quality??
- Thread starter dcycleman
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mbassoc2003
Newly Enlightened
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- Mar 4, 2009
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I have two, one I use, the other in my BoB. I think they are great. Very floody with no hotspot. I am very pleased with both the size and build quality also, although there is a difference between the two I have. The one I decided to use every day has an almost silent button operation. The only reason you knwo it's presed is because of the visual and tactile feedback. The one in BoB has a distinctly 'clicky' button which which I find annoying (although the sound is the only annoyance really. The differing tactile response I can live with). I put these down to the company not being consistant with where they manufacture and source components, and this sort of production lottery is only to be expected if you're goint to buy cheap flashlights.
On the whole, it's cheap and cheerful, and does what you'd expect it to do in an acceptable manner. Let's face it, if you wanted quality, and that was you're over riding concern, you wouldn't have asked about Zebralights in the first place.
Shorty66
Enlightened
I own three Zebralights and am very impressed by their quality.
Well anodized, close fit of everything.
One of my zebralights were dead on arrival though - but this could be due to the transport from china...
Well anodized, close fit of everything.
One of my zebralights were dead on arrival though - but this could be due to the transport from china...
Marduke
Flashaholic
Excellent quality, excellent service.
actually I kind of thought that 60 - 90 bucks for a headlamp was kinda steep, when you can get a petzyl for like 20-30 and those are bulletproof. I thought with a pricepoint that high, quality was exactly what they were selling. mabe I'll wait for the saint.
Snow
Enlightened
They are very well made I don't know what that dude is talking about. Look around the forums and you will find many happy owners, including me. Go ahead and buy one to try out. If you don't like it, you should have no problem selling it.
ScubaSnyder
Enlightened
Best headlamp, use it every day, it is for close range though. Go with the 18650 light because the CR123 and AA model last about an hour on hi. Lights work better in the cold on hi.
Flying Turtle
Flashaholic
Very happy with my old H50. Nice anodizing and smooth threads. My only precaution would be that it might dent, if hit on the side of the battery tube, a bit easier than other lights due to its thin walls. I've not dropped mine, so it's only speculation.
Geoff
Geoff
I think the early H30 model had some bugs that they have since worked out. The other models were pretty much bug free from the reports on CPF.
I would buy from 4sevens.com, he has free shipping and rock solid customer service if you do have problems. I would recomend the H501 instead of the H30. It uses an AA battery (Nimh preferred) and I think the perfomance is better. ZL has improved the efficiency of the circuit.
From ZL website:
H501: 96 Lumens (2.3 hr) on High
H30: 80 Lumens (2.5hr ) on High
Petzl headlamps are most certainly not bulletproof. Heck their version of a recall was sending you a sticker saying not to use Li or Nimh in their lights that used an external battery pack. :doh:
I would buy from 4sevens.com, he has free shipping and rock solid customer service if you do have problems. I would recomend the H501 instead of the H30. It uses an AA battery (Nimh preferred) and I think the perfomance is better. ZL has improved the efficiency of the circuit.
From ZL website:
H501: 96 Lumens (2.3 hr) on High
H30: 80 Lumens (2.5hr ) on High
Petzl headlamps are most certainly not bulletproof. Heck their version of a recall was sending you a sticker saying not to use Li or Nimh in their lights that used an external battery pack. :doh:
bray
Newly Enlightened
love my zebralight h501w, works great, looks great, feels great, never liked a headlamp as much as the zebralight
photonhoer
Newly Enlightened
I have been using Zebralights since they first appeared. My review of the first ones (50s) is
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178839
dated a year and a half ago.
Since then we have used them extensively in the US, camping, and on a recent trip driving from the US to Panama City, Panama. This was a RUGGED trip, and the lights performed flawlessly in three months of constant (several hours each day) use.
I'm just about to tumble for a 501 to have easy clicky switching in civilized places, reserving my 50s for more remote places where we cannot afford complexity (=possib. of failure) as the switch on the latter is bullet proof.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178839
dated a year and a half ago.
Since then we have used them extensively in the US, camping, and on a recent trip driving from the US to Panama City, Panama. This was a RUGGED trip, and the lights performed flawlessly in three months of constant (several hours each day) use.
I'm just about to tumble for a 501 to have easy clicky switching in civilized places, reserving my 50s for more remote places where we cannot afford complexity (=possib. of failure) as the switch on the latter is bullet proof.
Last edited:
drmaxx
Enlightened
Zebralight is fairly new in the market - so, it is a little early to claim that they are durable.
I think that their headlamps are pricey, but looking at the technology you get the price is reasonable. They use high quality elements and are pieced together in a very innovative way.
If this fairly new technology acutally is mature is an other question. Buying from a good dealer that will take care of his products is certainly an intelligent thing to do.
So, if durability is a MUST because you are sitting the next few years in the middle of nowhere you might want to go with an older, but proven headlamp model / manufacturer.
Other then that, Zebralight is worth the money.
thanks folks, mabe I'll give one a try. the I just searched and found all these horror stories about H30s malfunctioning, mabe that was just the first batch. the reason I was attracted to the H30 was because all my lights are 123's and when I go do stuff., camping night hiking, night snoshoeing, night dives, Itsa huge benefit to me to only have to worry about spares of one type. I grab my SF spares carrier and good to go.
Katdaddy
Enlightened
I just bought an h30 off B/S/T about a month back. I love it!! I have used it on the headband and the necklace. I used it for work where I had to ride in the cargo compartment of a truck for around 6 hours. I used the medium setting with no problems. It has performed without a hitch.
Marduke
Flashaholic
Well, they hold up to caving well, which is the single most abusive task you can put a headlamp through.
YuccaPatrol
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2008
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- 36
Yes, I have abused my H50 while caving and it has come through each and every time just fine. I only have to use a toothbrush and running water to remove the caked on mud.
If you want a bright, lightweight, floody headlamp, any of the Zebralight models will do the job quite well. I love my H50 for its small size and universal AA battery, and also really like my H60 for its wide range of brightness levels and powerful 18650 battery. . .
Lite_me
Flashlight Enthusiast
I just received 2 H501's. I think they are an improvement over my H50. Even tho they don't get 'heavy' use, they are a godsend when you need one. I've had no issues with my older H50.
HKJ
Flashaholic
Zebralight had a problem with the switch on the first batch of H30 and had to replace all of these, but later H30 and and all other models after that has worked flawless.
jzmtl
Flashlight Enthusiast
My H60 has finicky switches especially when battery isn't freshly charged, doesn't always do what it's suppose to do. Seems some others have similar problems as well.
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