Zebralight reliability (the poll)

[Speedball]

Mine is between 2-3 years old and has never failed.

Will one of the newer models running on alkaline batteries be brighter than mine?

 

[Zendude]

Apologies to those offended!

:grouphug:

 

[layzieyez]

H30. I use mine to skateboard at night (mostly). One year of use and still running great. Last night, ordered the H60. Between my dereelights that I use when I need something with more distance, my zebralight is the most used light in my collection of 20+ lights.

 

[leukos]

This poll is completely meaningless in terms of establishing any kind of failure rate. Most people who own a Zebralight will never see it.
Besides, if I got a Zebralight yesterday, and it was DOA, and I voted "yes, I've had a failure", there would be no mention of my three perfect ones.
By the same token, if all three of mine had failed, they would only count as one failure.
It's obvious that the incidence of failure, whatever it may actually be, is way to freaking high, regardless, but let's not try to make this into something it isn't.

+1 This poll is not sophisticated enough to determine any type of statistic.

 

[paulr]

I've had an H50-Q5 for a while, haven't used it very hard or heavily, but no failures so far. It does have the known flakiness of the occasional bright pulse when you activate low mode, etc. Hmm, maybe it has a tiny bit of flicker sometimes, that some de-oxit is likely to fix. I will say that I like its light weight and compactness, but one consequence is that it doesn't feel like a very durable light.

 

[PsychRN]

Despite having 'lurked' here for ages, I'm still a rookie poster here....not sure my opinion matters much.

And I gotta confess: a lot of the terminology used here is 'way over my head.

And I'm skeptical of polls.Any polls.

To top it off,I've only owned my 501 for a week.Not really a fair test,I'll admit.

Have been using it daily,and I love it.Thanx,Tod!

Most unusual use so far? I wedged it into the corner of a overdosed teenager's mouth,so the ER doctor could visualize to intubate the patient,who was seizing.

100% reliability,so far.Slight teethmarks,but unaffected by saliva.The patient stabilized in ICU,after weaning off the ventilator.

The ER doc is ordering one,too.

----Gnarly :devil:

Moderators: if this post is too far off topic,please delete.

 

[Launch Mini]

I've been very satisfied with mine, even though it did have that quirk I mentioned.
I am considering picking up another 1 or two for the cabin use. Love the light placement. Great for sitting on a table to light you playing cards, when we have limited other lighting.
J

 

[crizyal]

Most unusual use so far? I wedged it into the corner of a overdosed teenager's mouth,so the ER doctor could visualize to intubate the patient,who was seizing.

100% reliability,so far.Slight teethmarks,but unaffected by saliva.The patient stabilized in ICU,after weaning off the ventilator.

The ER doc is ordering one,too.

VERY COOL story! :thumbsup:

and
:welcome:

 

[Machine154]

I've only had mine a few days. I wouldn't say I have a failure, but I have had the following:

• Finicky end cap for good connection
• Light sometimes goes into medium on 1 fast click
• Quick flash a few seconds after turning it off - sometimes

 

[bagman]

The switch on my H30 has now completely failed. I think I must have bought it through the classifieds as I cant find it on my 4sevens account.

I emailed Zebralight and they have not got back to me, that was several weeks ago :shakehead

 

[lebox97]

this day of 24/7 internet and iphone/blackberry - after a couple days of no response (from anyone) I'd consider lost in eMail...
:shrug:

pls email them again - slowest response I have ever experienced was a couple of days... (PS: they have had email server issues from time to time as well)

I have had several exchanges with them this week (RE: new stuff coming!)
😗

...
I emailed Zebralight and they have not got back to me, that was several weeks ago :shakehead

 

[uk_caver]

I don't put any real faith in polls either.

My H50 (20 months old) seems to be behaving itself, though I don't use it a huge amount.

 

[senorsam21]

My H30 died after only a few months. I've heard good things and bad things about them but my experience wasn't the best. I really like the little guy though. I'll probably pick up another one some day... but I'm still not over the hurt:mecry:

Sam
www.ledheadlamp.org

 

[NutSAK]

I have an early H50 that has been 100% reliable.

 

[Hugo2x]

I ordered a H501 about 4 months ago and it did me real well till recently. It has intermittent problems with the high and medium output settings. some times it works great but when I really need it to perform, it never fails to let me down.

EDIT UPDATE: Zebralight has sent me a replacement and its working well, maybe my vendor sent me a first production or something.

 

[Barrie]

my first H30 died after a few days it was replaced by the dealer here in the UK the replacement has worked for a year with on faults

 

[Kindle]

Another H50 owner without any problems.

 

[FlashInThePan]

I just found this thread, and I'm afraid I have to echo the problems people have mentioned with Zebralight clickies. I've owned four zebralights so far - two H501ws, one H30, and one H501 - and every one of the clickies has failed.

On the other hand, my H501 twisty has been absolutely rock solid: it's been dropped, dunked, and otherwise subjected to a lot of wear and tear. This sucker's like a Timex: it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. I absolutely love it!

I feel a little bad that I'd previously recommended Zebralights without explaining that it's he twisties I find so reliable. Two clickies died after being dropped (one of them from less than a foot), and one of them failed while it was literally just sitting on my desk changing levels. I'm not sure what's wrong with Zebralight's switching mechanisms, but I just can't trust them because they haven't been reliable for me. (And I hate that, because I really love both the design and the concept of the Zebralights: so elegant! So small! So darn useful!)

Of course, the failure of so many clickies can't help but cast a little doubt on the reliability of the twisties, but for now - based on my own experiences and the reports of others - I'll continue to recommend the twisties. 🙂

Hope this helps!

- FITP

 

[liketotallyrandom]

I've been using an H60 and an H501w for caving for about three months now. This will put a hex on my future use for sure, but so far I've not had any problems with them. I haven't submerged them, but I clean the switch with a toothbrush under running water after every trip, and no leaks so far (knocking heavily on wood as I type).

I like using a 14500 in the 501w for the approx. 32 lumens "secret level". It's usually perfect for caving.

I DO wish, though, that the tolerances for the battery compartments weren't quite so tight. Even with the upgraded H60 (longer battery tube), I still dented the positive terminal of my AW 2600 18650, and had to take the label off to fit it in the tube without jamming. That's just too tight. I'm OK with a couple of extra grams of aluminum to create some Lebensraum for the battery (note: innocent literal meaning of "Lebensraum" intended here).

Edit: the dent on the 18650 might actually be from the charger. Unsure.

 

[sledhead]

I've had 2 H30's and have been using a H60 for a long time with no problems at all. Fantastic lights- looking forward to the flashlights!