He probably means the best light he owns. Otherwise, saying some flashlight is best light in all of the light universe without testing them all side-by-side is a huge stretch of the imagination.
Zebralight SC50w first impressions
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He probably means the best light he owns. Otherwise, saying some flashlight is best light in all of the light universe without testing them all side-by-side is a huge stretch of the imagination.
Hello all!:wave:
First post, been reading them for a while though. So here goes. I first came across these post here and there on bpl or edc, seen a pic of an L0d and saw a thread on petzl xp mods. After following those two topics of research I came across the zebralight H501. Wow! Single AA cell headllamp! Ordered one as soon as I could find it. I got the "brightest one". After using it one night doing farm work I ordered the neutral. Before I ordered the first one I had called Todd at illuminationgear who was very helpful answering my questions about tints and batteries. Sure enough the neutral was more useful for depth and color rendition outdoors. Seeing is believing! I tried to wait for the H51 but reading the reviews on the H31 series I realized that despite my new found fondness for neutral tints I would probally end up getting the xp-g. So I ordered the SC50W. I was already having no luck trying to find neutral from other manufactures. Besides I'm impressed with zebralight's in so many ways. Runtimes, output, the spacing between levels and their presence on the forums answering questions and inqueries. As someone who is just beginning to discover modern lighting technology the SC50W is outstanding! It has an easy side click no hamster wheel interface. The light doesn't make everything ghost out and it cuts through north coast fog better than the cooler tints I'm used to. It even has a nice bit of style compared to the pipe and lugnut cash register specials. Thank you to everyone on these forum for being a great source of information and to Illuminationgear for being lightning fast. Now just need a high cri p4 for the xp mod ;a 2aa pack light, a cr123x2 pocket torch, penlight, aaa keychain.........
First post, been reading them for a while though. So here goes. I first came across these post here and there on bpl or edc, seen a pic of an L0d and saw a thread on petzl xp mods. After following those two topics of research I came across the zebralight H501. Wow! Single AA cell headllamp! Ordered one as soon as I could find it. I got the "brightest one". After using it one night doing farm work I ordered the neutral. Before I ordered the first one I had called Todd at illuminationgear who was very helpful answering my questions about tints and batteries. Sure enough the neutral was more useful for depth and color rendition outdoors. Seeing is believing! I tried to wait for the H51 but reading the reviews on the H31 series I realized that despite my new found fondness for neutral tints I would probally end up getting the xp-g. So I ordered the SC50W. I was already having no luck trying to find neutral from other manufactures. Besides I'm impressed with zebralight's in so many ways. Runtimes, output, the spacing between levels and their presence on the forums answering questions and inqueries. As someone who is just beginning to discover modern lighting technology the SC50W is outstanding! It has an easy side click no hamster wheel interface. The light doesn't make everything ghost out and it cuts through north coast fog better than the cooler tints I'm used to. It even has a nice bit of style compared to the pipe and lugnut cash register specials. Thank you to everyone on these forum for being a great source of information and to Illuminationgear for being lightning fast. Now just need a high cri p4 for the xp mod ;a 2aa pack light, a cr123x2 pocket torch, penlight, aaa keychain.........
jblackwood
Enlightened
:welcome:
pae77
Enlightened
I just received an SC50w today. Like most others, I'm very impressed with the light overall. I'm one who prefers the neutral/warm tints and I really like the way, for an AA light, this light is pretty small, especially compared to my aging L1D. Just the smaller size alone makes it a nice upgrade, but of course there is so much more to like about it, as has already been well pointed out by others in this thread.
But I have a few minor criticisms. Mine came with the memory bug which I thought had been fixed by now and therefore did not expect to get a new one with that, but I guess it's not really that big a deal. Also there is some quite noticeable dust inside on the reflector on my example, although I don't think it is noticeably affecting the beam, but it kind of bugs me.
One thing I don't mind at all is the tail cap being darker in color than the body. In fact I kind of like the way (on mine at least) the tail cap is so dark it almost matches the rubber switch cover so it looks intentional and kind of balanced and quite nice, imo.
But I'm very disappointed that the clip is chromed and not solid stainless steel, although I knew about that before I ordered the light. I would have liked the clip to be stainless, like the clips on most of the Spyderco pocket knives, whether it was painted over or not. The chrome coated clip gives the light somewhat of a cheap aspect that detracts from what is otherwise a very high quality light, imo.
But, as I said, these are all fairly minor things. The important stuff is very nice and I'm pretty sure this (or a replacement, if I bother getting it swapped for one w/o the memory bug and dust in the reflector) will become my new AA EDC.
But I have a few minor criticisms. Mine came with the memory bug which I thought had been fixed by now and therefore did not expect to get a new one with that, but I guess it's not really that big a deal. Also there is some quite noticeable dust inside on the reflector on my example, although I don't think it is noticeably affecting the beam, but it kind of bugs me.
One thing I don't mind at all is the tail cap being darker in color than the body. In fact I kind of like the way (on mine at least) the tail cap is so dark it almost matches the rubber switch cover so it looks intentional and kind of balanced and quite nice, imo.
But I'm very disappointed that the clip is chromed and not solid stainless steel, although I knew about that before I ordered the light. I would have liked the clip to be stainless, like the clips on most of the Spyderco pocket knives, whether it was painted over or not. The chrome coated clip gives the light somewhat of a cheap aspect that detracts from what is otherwise a very high quality light, imo.
But, as I said, these are all fairly minor things. The important stuff is very nice and I'm pretty sure this (or a replacement, if I bother getting it swapped for one w/o the memory bug and dust in the reflector) will become my new AA EDC.
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Is the clip chrome or just stainless steel with a mirror/polish finish (opposed to stainless steel with a brushed finish)? I have the light and I assumed the clip was stainless steel with a polished finish but I don't know that for sure.
If the clip is polished/mirrored stainless steel, it can be pretty easily converted to brushed stainless steel by using a green scotch brite pad...I've done this conversion with a couple of my stainless steel watches (changing the bracelet and/or case from polished to brushed).
NonSenCe
Flashlight Enthusiast
quick update of mine:
i still like it.
but i have quit using li-ions as the runtime seems to be too weak. (had to source spare out of my backup light.. quark mini or tactical.. three times or so by now.)
so now i use eneloops. (it feels like i have double the runtime with them)
i still like it.
but i have quit using li-ions as the runtime seems to be too weak. (had to source spare out of my backup light.. quark mini or tactical.. three times or so by now.)
so now i use eneloops. (it feels like i have double the runtime with them)
Which li-ons where you using? There was noticeable difference in capacity between my AW 14500 vs. my Trustfire blue label 14500. After 30 minutes of runtime on high, the AW read 3.79v fresh out of the light while the trustfire only read 3.64v.
I'm pleased with the runtime/performance using the AW 14500. Also, I personally don't like the drop in output on high when using NIMH
NonSenCe
Flashlight Enthusiast
yeah AW runs longest of the 14500s. then the black trustfire, then the blue (rough guess-timate)
-side note: black trustfires, only one of mine fits and works.. others are too long.
to me the drop is tolearable.. (i mostly need the low and medium settings anyways. and i still carry a li-ion quark tactical for the throw and high output.)
-side note: black trustfires, only one of mine fits and works.. others are too long.
to me the drop is tolearable.. (i mostly need the low and medium settings anyways. and i still carry a li-ion quark tactical for the throw and high output.)
AW is the brand/seller. Here's a link:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=200812
I've also bought them from Lighthound and 4Sevens.
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Re: Bug in ZebraLight SC50w?
I talked to the folks at one of the retailers over the phone today and the light he tried for me has this bug where it won't memorize. I ordered yesterday and managed to cancel my order before it shipped. I'm a bit bumed, but at least I found out before it arrived. 🙁
I talked to the folks at one of the retailers over the phone today and the light he tried for me has this bug where it won't memorize. I ordered yesterday and managed to cancel my order before it shipped. I'm a bit bumed, but at least I found out before it arrived. 🙁
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Re: Bug in ZebraLight SC50w?
I completely understand not wanting this light because of the memory anomaly but I have to tell you that there is not a useful variance between the 2 Medium modes...they are so similar that I don't bother flipping between them as I dont find it worth while. So for me the memory anomaly is a non factor as it works perfectly for my use since I never program/flip to the lowest medium.
So if I were to criticize my SC50 as is, I would list the lack of spacing between the 2 mediums as a point against.
I completely understand not wanting this light because of the memory anomaly but I have to tell you that there is not a useful variance between the 2 Medium modes...they are so similar that I don't bother flipping between them as I dont find it worth while. So for me the memory anomaly is a non factor as it works perfectly for my use since I never program/flip to the lowest medium.
So if I were to criticize my SC50 as is, I would list the lack of spacing between the 2 mediums as a point against.
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Re: Bug in ZebraLight SC50w?
I agree it's really not a big deal you can just program the low-low and leave the medium alone, like already said the difference is really nothing on med but their is a good amount of difference on low.
I agree it's really not a big deal you can just program the low-low and leave the medium alone, like already said the difference is really nothing on med but their is a good amount of difference on low.
Re: Bug in ZebraLight SC50w?
I agree totally with jhc37013. That's exactly what I do.
I had emailed zebralight.com directly and they had excellent service and offered an exchange. I am assuming the new one was fixed. I thought about it and declined the exchange. I could live with the bug as it's really not a big deal. Besides, the modes are so easy to access and change if needed.
I agree totally with jhc37013. That's exactly what I do.
I had emailed zebralight.com directly and they had excellent service and offered an exchange. I am assuming the new one was fixed. I thought about it and declined the exchange. I could live with the bug as it's really not a big deal. Besides, the modes are so easy to access and change if needed.
swxb12
Flashlight Enthusiast
I ordered my SC50 a couple weeks ago direct from Zebra. Unfortunately mine has the bug as well, but as long as my low-low saves it's not a deal breaker for me. Tbh I use medium as my high or go straight to high when my finger is feeling lazy, heh.
A little detailed feedback from Zebralight documenting this issue would have been nice, however. Maybe an email blast to owners and dealers of this batch of lights? I can imagine that there may still be SC50 owners out there that haven't quite figured out that their lights are not functioning as advertised. Maybe that's asking for too much *shrug*
A little detailed feedback from Zebralight documenting this issue would have been nice, however. Maybe an email blast to owners and dealers of this batch of lights? I can imagine that there may still be SC50 owners out there that haven't quite figured out that their lights are not functioning as advertised. Maybe that's asking for too much *shrug*
I am pleased to report that the clip finish can be converted from the mirrored finish to a brushed finish. I changed mine over today and it took all of about 10 minutes to do. I'll post pics later but I do prefer the clip not being shiny. I forget the name of the sanding block I used but this can also easily be done with a scotchbrite green pad which can be bought at your local store for a $1.
vtunderground
Enlightened
I bought an SC50w to replace my Surefire L1 Cree. I was looking for a light with 100+ lumens, 2+ levels, a head-down clip, and that takes a single AA battery. I had it narrowed down to the Quark Tactical AA & the Zebralight. I prefer the UI of the Quark, but the Zebralight won out because of it's (in my experience) superior anodizing.
As it turns out, I really like the UI of the Zebralight. Once you figure out all of the quirks & tricks, it's pretty easy to use. I LOVE how I can go straight to high or low (from "off") by using either a short or long click of the switch. I could live without the alternate levels that you can double-click to, but I can see the attraction to some users, especially with the super-low-level.
And of course, the design is fantastic. Zebralight makes slight improvements with every light they release, based on feedback from previous models, and it shows!
As it turns out, I really like the UI of the Zebralight. Once you figure out all of the quirks & tricks, it's pretty easy to use. I LOVE how I can go straight to high or low (from "off") by using either a short or long click of the switch. I could live without the alternate levels that you can double-click to, but I can see the attraction to some users, especially with the super-low-level.
And of course, the design is fantastic. Zebralight makes slight improvements with every light they release, based on feedback from previous models, and it shows!
When you access the medium mode with the flashlight off, I fast double click. But it seems like that it first flashes high and goes to medium. It is quite annoying. I take it that this normal??? Would have been nice to be able to go to medium without going through high or low mode.
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