Zebralights new battery tube design(SC600 MKII, SC63, SC5, exc.)

[Tachead]

Why not? The most reliable, most efficient production head lamp would be the best choice for caving.

A lot of caving involves swimming and submersion in water as well as a high chance of impact. Zebralights are not rated for shock(nor tough enough imo) and dont have an adequate waterproof rating(have frequent reports of leakage as well). There are many certified diving headlamps and caving specific overbuilt models that are much better suited. Dont get me wrong, Zebralights are great but, they have no place in a cave or cenote beyond maybe light amateur dry cave exploring in small caves.

Where did you get the most reliable and efficient production headlamp spec from? lol, There are a lot of high end headlamps out there beyond what is found on this site man.

 

[scs]

So much discussion about the need for cells that can sustain a high draw when it's near depleted...
So much focus on the draw of the cell...
What about the low voltage of the cell as it loses juice?
We're assuming the light will keep drawing to power the max mode, even when the cell is almost depleted.
Do we even know that the driver won't just drop the output to the lower levels, once the cell voltage is below a certain point, so that the high draw described never happens?

 

[eraursls1984]

A lot of caving involves swimming and submersion in water as well as a high chance of impact. Zebralights are not rated for shock(nor tough enough imo) and dont have an adequate waterproof rating(have frequent reports of leakage as well). There are many certified diving headlamps and caving specific overbuilt models that are much better suited. Dont get me wrong, Zebralights are great but, they have no place in a cave or cenote beyond maybe light amateur dry cave exploring in small caves.

Where did you get the most reliable and efficient production headlamp spec from? lol, There are a lot of high end headlamps out there beyond what is found on this site man.

I see Zebralights a lot, along with Fenix, LED Lenser, and Petzl as favorites among cavers. All of those brands have fairly inexpensive models, although LED Lenser and Petzl have some expensive ones as well. They are all durable for production lights. I've also seen some others that are very expensive and built for caving, but the under $100 lights are what I see/hear about the most. I'm not in the caving community, that's just what I see a lot on EDC forums.

 

[uofaengr]

From my understanding there are no unprotected cells that naturally are made with button tops so they use a button held down with a clear wrapper....

Yah - just (CAREFULLY) peel that stuff off.
If the button is soldered on I'm sure u can just unsolder it.
Try not to short the side strip and of course rewrap with new shrink. Done.

Meant to post a couple pics with the last post but photobucket wouldn't work for me. The unprotected button tops I have are from Mtn Electronics. I'm not sure if Richard adds the buttons himself, but first pic shows bare cell and other shows button held on with clear heat shrink. I'd think just a snip near the button and it'd peel right off not affecting the green wrap maybe?

 

[scout24]

My take? Stock up on sc62's while they're on sale, and vote on the new product with your wallet. They are what they are. Stop beating eachother up over them, too! I won't miss the few extra lumens or the slight bump in efficiency. Thread was about body design, not batteries, no?

 

[eraursls1984]

My take? Stock up on sc62's while they're on sale, and vote on the new product with your wallet. They are what they are. Stop beating eachother up over them, too! I won't miss the few extra lumens or the slight bump in efficiency. Thread was about body design, not batteries, no?

I thought the same thing and was going to vote no. I don't like the new design. I read the thread first and realized the OP was really asking about the battery requirments. I imagine some people voted based on the exterior design alone, while others voted based on the "The great battery issue of 2016."

 

[Lumencrazy]

And I thought Zebralights mission statement was to satisfy me personally. After all, I know whats best. Just ask me.

 

[scout24]

No, wait, it's me!!! On topic, I am not voting based on looks alone. I'll probably order one, and see how it is in hand before passing judgement...

 

[recDNA]

The reason I mentioned XP-L HI is the lower Vf would allow the existing driver and springs yet still upgrade the throw. 3.5 amps is plenty and would still allow springs and use of multiple types of batteries. In such a small light higher power is kind of silly. It all goes to PID in a couple of minutes anyway. The efficiency gained is ruined by the demand for higher voltage drawing more amps and lowering efficiency. The new led's are better suited to multi 18650 IMO. An sc62w with a little more throw wouldsuit me fine.

 

[Tachead]

I see Zebralights a lot, along with Fenix, LED Lenser, and Petzl as favorites among cavers. All of those brands have fairly inexpensive models, although LED Lenser and Petzl have some expensive ones as well. They are all durable for production lights. I've also seen some others that are very expensive and built for caving, but the under $100 lights are what I see/hear about the most. I'm not in the caving community, that's just what I see a lot on EDC forums.

What your talking about is probably more amateur small dry cave exploring. I have been caving a couple of times in cenotes in Mexico and no one was wearing anything like that(except high end waterproof Petzl). Even the rentals on one of the trips were waterproof polymer/lexan with large remote cell packs. You dont want glass lenses and thin aluminum bodies when your life depends on it and single cell lights dont generally offer enough run time. People who go for hours or more underground into cave systems dont usually skimp or be thrifty when it comes to lighting and almost always carry backups. I can tell you that I have never experienced dark like that before and it would be more then frightening as well as very life threatening to be lost in the dark in a cave system. I just couldnt stop thinking what about what it would be like if something happened to the guides. Just trying to find your way out with plenty of light would be terrifying.

 

[ozzie_c_cobblepot]

Voted "no", because I don't like the idea of "this battery goes in this light, that battery goes in that light". I prioritize simplicity and its cousin lendability.

 

[snowlover91]

Voted "no", because I don't like the idea of "this battery goes in this light, that battery goes in that light". I prioritize simplicity and its cousin lendability.

Easy solution is to use all unprotected cells That's what I've switched too even converted my Nitecore protected cells to unprotected. Only have 1 protected cell left and it's for a Nitecore light that requires protected cells only.

 

[ozzie_c_cobblepot]

Well... easy is not the word I would use. I have two other 18650 lights, and I need batteries compatible with all.

 

[snowlover91]

Well... easy is not the word I would use. I have two other 18650 lights, and I need batteries compatible with all.

Are they protected cell only lights? I know Nitecore is protected only for most of their lights which is annoying it's the complete opposite of ZL.

 

[Tachead]

Are they protected cell only lights? I know Nitecore is protected only for most of their lights which is annoying it's the complete opposite of ZL.

Remember that with a lot of multi cell lights it is much safer(sometimes required) to use protected cells as well.

 

[snowlover91]

Remember that with most multi cell lights it is much safer(sometimes required) to use protected cells as well.

Yeah I could see it for lights using multiple cells because then you can run into cells getting unbalanced and all types of problems, protection circuits are good for those applications for sure. For single cell 18650 lights with built in over discharge protection I don't see much if any benefit. It's unfortunate that most of the Nitecore models using single 18650 require protected cells only, it's the exact opposite of ZL. Still though I have a protected cell I keep for that one light because I like the UI and overall quality of it.

 

[ozzie_c_cobblepot]

One is an inexpensive 1x18650 light, I do not know if protected cells are required. It seems prudent to use unprotected cells only if you are SURE that the light is okay with them. The other is a 4x18650 light. It is not inexpensive, but also I do not know whether using unprotected cells is okay.

I do not want to replace my protected cells with unprotected. It is wasteful and not inexpensive.

 

[Tachead]

Yeah I could see it for lights using multiple cells because then you can run into cells getting unbalanced and all types of problems, protection circuits are good for those applications for sure. For single cell 18650 lights with built in over discharge protection I don't see much if any benefit. It's unfortunate that most of the Nitecore models using single 18650 require protected cells only, it's the exact opposite of ZL. Still though I have a protected cell I keep for that one light because I like the UI and overall quality of it.

The same could be said about ZL and bare cells. Really, the bias comes from what you are invested in(bare or protected) or what you prefer. That is one of the main reasons I dont like either companies approach. I say make all flashlights take all cells, bare or protected, button top or flat top and include a list of acceptable cells or minimum required continuous amperage specs with the flashlight. That way everyone is happy and the customer gets to make the decision based on his/her preferences, or what they already have, or whats is most available to them, exc.

 

[snowlover91]

One is an inexpensive 1x18650 light, I do not know if protected cells are required. It seems prudent to use unprotected cells only if you are SURE that the light is okay with them. The other is a 4x18650 light. It is not inexpensive, but also I do not know whether using unprotected cells is okay.

I do not want to replace my protected cells with unprotected. It is wasteful and not inexpensive.

With both of those lights it is probably best to stick with protected cells. If you ever decide to go with only unprotected cells you don't have to throw the protected cells away, you can merely remove the wrapper and protection circuit. All the protected cells I've seen take a regular unprotected cell, add a protection circuit and put a wrapper over it. I had 2 Nitecore cells that I simply removed he outside wrapper and protection circuit to leave the bare unprotected Panasonic and Samsung cells.

Tac, the problem with Nitecore is that most of their lights are cool white and have high parasitic drain while restricting the battery to protected only due to liability and safety concerns. If the restriction placed by the cell type comes with the benefit of added CRI, higher output, smaller and lighter, etc I don't mind being limited to one cell type (like ZL has done). It's lights like Nitecore where the primary reason for protected only is liability/safety (low CRI and mostly cool white too) that I have a problem with since I lose out on too many features.

 

[Tachead]

With both of those lights it is probably best to stick with protected cells. If you ever decide to go with only unprotected cells you don't have to throw the protected cells away, you can merely remove the wrapper and protection circuit. All the protected cells I've seen take a regular unprotected cell, add a protection circuit and put a wrapper over it. I had 2 Nitecore cells that I simply removed he outside wrapper and protection circuit to leave the bare unprotected Panasonic and Samsung cells.

Tac, the problem with Nitecore is that most of their lights are cool white and have high parasitic drain while restricting the battery to protected only due to liability and safety concerns. If the restriction placed by the cell type comes with the benefit of added CRI, higher output, smaller and lighter, etc I don't mind being limited to one cell type (like ZL has done). It's lights like Nitecore where the primary reason for protected only is liability/safety (low CRI and mostly cool white too) that I have a problem with since I lose out on too many features.

We already went over this and it is being proven in the batteries thread right now; ZL could have achieved the same result while keeping the battery compatibility and low contact resistance with a different design(or possibly same old design) and a warning about minimum cell continuous amperage requirements. The tiny bit smaller and lighter features arent enough to warrant the other loses including the battery restriction imo and about half of the other voters in this poll opinions either.

From batteries thread: "Fact: my SC600 MK III has longer and more consistent runtime on max with a "springed" SC62 tailcap instead of the "pogo pinned" original. This translates to: spring has better contact and less resistance than pogo. At least in my example."

So, it is basically the same thing between ZL and Nitecore.

O, and my Nitecore MH20-NW has a very nice NW tint(aside for the usual XM-L2 tint shift) with very low parasitic drain even with the button beacon on.

Not trying to argue, just pointing that out.