HDS or Zebralight? Battle of High CRIs, help me choose!

Hey all,

I never thought I'd be choosing between these two lights, but here goes.

Should I buy the Zebralight SC51c or HDS High CRI Rotary (when it comes out)? This light is for EDC and for use while hiking. (Yes, I already have a headlamp )
Please do not factor the cost into your comparison/recommendation, but please do understand that I can only buy one of these lights.

The main characteristics I am concerned about are:

-Weight AND Size
-Ease of carry (I love clips)
-Quality of light (I like warmer tints and higher CRI's)

Ultimately, does the Rotary's (significant?) added weight and size justify its advantages?

PS I already have a ZL SC51w, so is the SC51c significantly different?

Thanks,
Woodentsick

If price is no concern , but Quality is.
It's a very easy choise - HDS

Im no expert in lights but by quality of lights I suppose the OP didnot really mean build quality.
"-Quality of light (I like warmer tints and higher CRI's)"
It has more to do with the tint of the light And yes, tint wise, I'm also interested to know which is better!

Nobody knows what emitter Henry is going to use when he finally releases his High-CRI Rotary. This question cannot be answered until that information is available.

Sulyman, you are right, I mean the quality of the beam

Z-Tab, I'm pretty sure it was confirmed Henry's using the XP-G

However, my primary focus is the size, weight and ease of carry.

He's using the XP-G for the regular Rotary, but until the light is released or Henry makes a definitive statement, it's all rumors. Personally, I think the Hi-CRI XP-G is incredible. I had a Titan T1A modded with one and it is awesome. All of the Malkoff M61HCRIs that use it are great. I also have a Mac's Customs Tri-EDC with the Hi-CRI XP-G and it's amazing. I am a big fan of it, it has a much more consistent color temperature than the other Hi-CRI emitters I have seen. If Henry does use it, I will certainly get one.

I haven't seen the Rebel that Zebralight is using in action. It is cooler, but unless you plan on looking at them side-by-side, I doubt it would make much of a difference in use.

From what I've read, Zebralight uses LEDs that are technically high CRI but fall in the lower range (around 85 CRI) while HDS uses the highest CRI LEDs available (93 CRI). This led to some initial disappointment with Zebralight's high CRI offerings because colors didn't "pop" the way people were expecting. See the beam shots in this post and note that 85 CRI doesn't offer substantially better color rendering than a standard neutral white emitter while CRI in the 90+ range is very close to incandescent, the holy grail of CRI.

Everyone's already said what needs to be said.

Zebralight (85 CRI): 4000K+
HDS XP-G (90+ CRI): 2700-3200K

I've tried both emitters. The Rebel shouldn't really be marketed as High CRI - it's better than normal but nothing amazing. The Cree tint bin ranges all the way down to 2700K - at this point the light looks amber and you'll never shine it on a white object and see it as white.

Edit: since size/weight/ease are your main criteria, it's up to you. What kind of spare batteries are you already bringing with you while hiking? Makes sense to buy a light that can use them.

woodentsick said:

Hey all,
The main characteristics I am concerned about are:

-Weight AND Size
-Ease of carry (I love clips)
-Quality of light (I like warmer tints and higher CRI's)

Ultimately, does the Rotary's (significant?) added weight and size justify its advantages?

PS I already have a ZL SC51w, so is the SC51c significantly different?

Thanks,
Woodentsick

Click to expand...

The Rotary has no clip, so it's pocket carry or holster carry.

Hey guys,

Thanks for all your responses, I JUST ordered a H51fc and SC51c, can't wait till they get here!

Woodentsick