Zebralight SC63 Owners: Still Loving It?

[KhazukX]

Hi all, I appreciate all the feedback/advice. I took the plunge and bought the cool white version. Looks and feels great so far. Does anyone know the official height drop rating for this? I've heard some feedback that their lights survived drops from moderate heights but I'd like to know the official "rating" if possible. I'm asking because I already managed to drop mine (from a height of less than a foot) on a wooden table top ugh. Thankfully no visible damage and light still works fine.

 

[ven]

They should be good as potted iirc. I have dropped my sc62d last week fumbling it from around 3ft onto a hard floor. Had to inspect it very very close to find a spec of ano missing(think pin prick). No flicker or issue after this.............

Although it gives a little confidence, i know it does not mean much. All it takes with any light is just that kind of drop=unlucky

 

[marinemaster]

Not the Zebrallight SC63 but the SC 62W. Awesome light. Using it all the time. I say in the winter months here it gets used a lot. I salvaged some new 18650 runs great on it. Just great runtime.

 

[markr6]

Its been a few weeks now, and still happy with my SC63w. Great tint!!!

I've come to prefer at minimum 4500k, and for a ZL would rather go to 5000k rather than 4000k.

Same here. Even with a not-so-great tint, a 5000K seems to suck less than a 4000K.

 

[UnderPar]

Was it two years or more when it was first introdcued? Well its still my EDC until now and have no plans of replacing it. I do add my EDC lights but the SC63w remains to be a constant carry. Other lights will depend in my choice. So YES! I still love my SC63w!

 

[ven]

The sc63w will defo be a part of my winter EDC rotation................it would be not to, being so powerful yet tiny.

I still struggle now, getting to grips with how compact it is! Here is a typical AA light next to it, T10t NW


Convoy s2+ triple which many are use to the size, imo still a compact light for 18650.....................or was. The v11r is in 16340 guise, HDS 16340 and s2+ 18650


4 x 18650 lights, the crazy bit is the other 3 are not actually that large. These again are compact-ish 18650 lights


There is no reason not to carry an 18650 ZL imho, benefits of 18650 fuel tank in run time and output..............but in the size of a 16340 (typical) light.
I love ZL

 

[Keitho]

Great comparison, ven. So often, the spec sheet sizes seem to be very close, and don't reveal how much smaller the SC63 is from its competitors. When I pick up my S41 (same size as your E14), my first though is "wow, this is huge," since I'm so used to my SC63w in my pocket. And mine has some sort of spell on it that makes it last forever on one cell! I'm glad I got the SC63wm ("warm", "monkey-paw cursed")

 

[ven]

Thanks keitho, yes lights of past we thought compact(which they are really), ZL has shown the way. Great UI, compact and powerful............useful beams. Not tried the HI but dont think i need one, quite happy with the xhp35 beam being floody. Still a more defined hot spot...............oh well no doubt it will happen

I am impressed with the quality of ano, after a fall that usually puts a chip in most lights.................smallest of pin pricks. This is on a 62d, not the 63w though(other than shade, not sure if there would be any difference in holding up to dings n dents).

For me , its changed EDCing 18650 fed lights................light weight and compact.

 

[TCY]

I love ZL

Hehehe there's no going back, welcome to the club:devil:


Personally if I'm not into high CRI lights I could see myself carrying the trusty SC62w for another five years, after which I'll pre-order the SC68Fd and inevitably get bitten by the high CRI bug. I wish CREE or Nichia can come up with some thing that has gorgeous natural tint & crazy high CRI with 500 lm/w efficiency. Time will tell, we used to think 100lm is super bright. :thumbsup:

 

[ven]

:laughing: too true!

CRI is a funny one, as i have 80+ in 5000k 219c's=nice! 90+ in 219b's 4000/4500k. Depending on the colour temp depends how accurate colours are(generally) for my eyes. If one was 80cri and one 90cri and same CT, it would make for an interesting comparison. I dont mind exaggerated colours at night when my eyes want warmer CT's.

Out of the 3 ZL's i have, one is the 63w with 4500k xhp35=very nice for me. The other is a hi cri luxeon 5000k=similar in ways to the 219c 5000k yet less output=nice for my eyes during the day, even into evening/night its a nice CT. Then the warmer 4000k from the xp-l2 does give nice colours, just the edge is taken from it with the quite yellow beam. This is not too bad if its the only light i use for a bit(thats the problem when your spoilt for choice..............thats unlikely to happen regular). Also the sc5c mkII is a chunk, not a bad thing being more like my fav form 16340 than AA which I am not over struck on . But i think why carry a chunk of AA which is limited compared to an 18650 fed light...........Still i like it a lot, the UI is great and even more flexible to the sc63w etc. It has a floody bias beam of usefulness, great around the house/garden.

So back on high CRI, its not the be all and end all for me, preferences would be 80 and up. Not too sure how many lights and p60's i have with hi cri, quite a few and do enjoy them all. On high output and throw types, CRI does not matter as much to me, but EDC/close up and work uses...............its a bonus and preferred.

One of my brightest hi cri is the end quad in this pic, 219c 5000k(if classed as hi cri). #2 219c 5000k 80+, #3 219b 4000k(love this and maybe a fav) #5 219c 5000k 80+ mule=super bright flood(#1 is xpg2 5000k and #4 xpl HI 5000k)


To end on a ZL, on the rocks

 

[TCY]

It's a shame that the 83 CRI 5000K 219Cs in the stock D4 is just a tad bit coolish for me that I had to order the D4vn. I prefer a slight relaxing touch from my lights and unfortunately 5000K seems like a hit or miss.. the 5000K SC600Fd Plus is fine in this regard. My eyes are quirky at times, the 219C was bluish for me but somehow the even cooler ~5500K 219B (pure cool white , no rosy/pinkish whatsoever) is OK. While The 4000K 219C D4vn has better rendition, I prefer the slightly yellowish 4000K H53Fc at night.

 

[ven]

Although I don't have the 219c 4000k in a D4(very nice and good choice!) I do have a couple of sportac triples with them in and really like them. Very close to the 219b 4500k in the well liked CT/tint category. My fav right now is the 219b 4000k, a touch of warmth just makes my eyes so happy

Out of all the different 219c 5000k's I have, there are subtle differences between . One of my fav 219c 5k is from vinh ,in a quad mule......stunning! The 219c in my D4 is pretty much a pure white, no blue to my eyes. However comparing it with a warmer beam can certainly change my eyes to seeing "tints" that were not there before.

Its certainly good to have choices TCY, still not tried the 319 yet........can just imagine a ZL with a triple 319a in.....well just one would do! But ZL seem to prefer CREE over nichia..

I am happy with the 4500k xhp35 in the sc63w, that is a perfect balance for me,bang in the middle of my CT preference(4-5k).

Today I will be using the sc62d 5000k, really enjoying this little light.......5000k ish works well in work with the artificial light. My work lights tend to be from 4500k up(oveready 219b mule/sportac triple)

 

[TCY]

Unfortunately ZL won't be doing a triple/quad AFAIK. They put every single component on one PCB and place the thermal sensor right next to the LED so PID can go as precise as 0.1 degree C after fine tuning and it sounds like they manually fine tune every single light after the manufacturing process. I recall ZL staff saying that triple/quad would render this meaningless but he wouldn't elaborate. It's minor details like this that make ZL gooooood:nana:

 

[TCY]

I went to my email and found the original quote by ZL, they also mentioned possible use of Nichia LEDs in the future: "We started to use 'w' for all of our (warmer tint) neutral white lights about 7 years ago and reserved the 'n' for Nichia LEDs but somehow never found any Nichia LEDs that are bright enough for any of our single LED lights. Sourcing production quantity Nichia LEDs is another PITA process. That said, we are keeping an eye on all of their product offerings all the time, including their recent high power ones. "Single LED" is important to us because we put all components (LED, switch, driver electronics, etc.) into a single PCB to make sure that the temperature sensor for the PID thermal regulation works properly and potting can be done effectively."


I found the 0.1 degree C on a Chinese flashlight forum. Believe it or not, ZL has an official account over there and occasionally answers some very specific/technical questions. I learned a lot just by reading his replies.

 

[TCY]

Further more ZL and Nichia info: "From what we have measured, light from Cree high CRI LEDs in general stays closer to the black body radiation line, compared to Nichia LEDs (one of several reasons that we are not using any Nichia LEDs in our lights). Most Nichia LEDs that we could manage to source tend to have a pinkish tint. While we do understand that some of our customers don't mind a pinkish tint, but my boss, George, would rather stick to something that can be measured and quantifiable. Closer to the black body radiation line is the ultimate goal for all of our lights."

Although we all love Nichia more for their lovely colour rendition and relatively cleaner tint, I agree with him there. That pinkish tint is actually a bit annoying for me at times and there's no way I can "unsee" it.

 

[ven]

Great info there, thanks for sharing I definitely think there is room for an n in their range. Granted lumens are not as high, it did not stop them with the sc62d. There is the 219c 4000k which can be pushed a bit more along with the 5000k. So far I have been really happy with the beams on mine, useful mix of throw and spill. Still would not say no to a triple!

I hope george reconsiders one day, I am sure the n model would sell out instantly(pink tint or not as my 4000 and some 4500k are not). Ironically their choice of XP-L2 easywhite 4000k is very yellow, wonder how that won over the slightly rosy B. Maybe there is more to it, and it's all subjective anyway.......oh and it's up to George :laughing: