Zebralight question

Help me decide whether to purchase the H30-Q5 or wait for the AA version. I have to carry spare AA's with me hunting because my GPS and 2 way radio take AA's, so the AA would be more convenient.
AA is 1.2 volts and the CR123A is 3 volts I believe.
How do you think the run times and outputs will compare between the two versions?
How hard is it to find CR123A batteries?
How expensive are they?
I don't really want to go with the H50 because I like the tighter beam pattern and the built in anti glare shield of the H30, and I think I would like the push button better.
Thanks,
Chris

H30 is a better light IMO but both the ones I have have the problem (which was supposedly fixed before I got the second one) where it seems dead after a battery change. OTOH both the AA models I have completely died - one right out of the package. Both had no drops or abuse of any kind. While I've read a huge amount of happy Z' customers my own experience has been 5 Zebralights and 5 problems. It's a light I'd like to like but so far if it doesn't work right I don't have a lot to like about it. It may be I've just had the worst luck on this light. I would go for the H30 though if you want one as it's much easier to use and I think less prone to failure. CR123's are easy to find online for around $1 each or the better choice is to get RCR123's and a charger so you have rechargeables. Cost is about $7 for a high quality AW version and you can get chargers for around $10 or so. CR123's in stores like Walmart can be expensive but not much reason to buy them there if you have Internet access or go with rechargeables.

I have the regular H50, and like you, I try to standardize my gear to use easily available AA batteries, particularly rechargeable ones.

All of the Zebralights are flood lights. Yes the H30 has a tighter beam, but it is still all flood. The twist mechanism is easy to use on the standard H50. I routinely use it while wearing gloves while caving, so operating it is not an issue. If you must have a button, then wait for the AA version to come out.

CR123 batteries cost about $2 each if mail ordered and about $5 each if bought in the stores. I cannot justify paying even $2 for a one time use battery in a device I use very frequently when I can buy a very high quality rechargeable battery for the same price.

ironhorse said:

How do you think the run times and outputs will compare between the two versions?

Click to expand...

There is a good chance that the CR123A version has a better runtime (then rechargable AA - Alkalines will perform very poorly). The electronics is just more efficient dealing with 3 V instead of having to crank up the voltage from 1.3 V. Brightness depends heavily on the driver used - there might be a difference. But most likely the difference will only be for the first few minutes, when the LED is direct driven by the lithium battery. As I said, this depends strongly on the driver.

An other factor is temperature. Lithium (CR123A or LR91 AA) perform better in the cold.

If you're talking about gear in the wilderness, standardising on one type of batteries is in my opinion an important issue. In an emergency it is crucial to keep you're life simple and your options open. The more versatile a piece of equipement (in this case batteries) the better. Stick with AA.

The H50 has a glare shield as well. The runtimes and brightness are listed on 4sevens.com
https://www.4sevens.com/index.php?cPath=89