Zebralights - do you love 'em? If not, take a look here!

Not so much a review - perhaps this is more of a "photo essay." MANY were aware long before I - aware of the amazing value the little Zebralights are. Funky, retro design, reasonable prices, both direct distribution and through quality dealers. One day I took notice and found that I had accumulated 7 of these little buggers!

But I'm not done. More to come for sure - and I can't wait to try out their US made T30 and T50 later this year / early next year.

But for now, I thought I'd share some beam shots of a few oldies, and a couple of newer lights - so here are the SC50+, SC51W, SC30W, H31W, SC60W and SC600. But a word of warning - I humbly submit that these little lights are among the best beams going, and the interface (once you get used to it) is one of the most useful I've seen.

So here you go. First up is a link to a YouTube video of the 6 reviewed lights - all on high setting. Following that are beam shots of each light using what I call, "settings 3 - 6." Zebralight users know that most lights have 3 distinct positions with 2 settings within each position. Position 1 has LOW low and low (I call that 1 and 2), Position 2 has 2 levels of medium (3 and 4), and position 3 has 2 levels of high (or a strobe), i.e., 5 and 6. There is very little to see in levels 1 and 2 on each light in these outdoor beamshots, but they are VERY useful indoors and late at night. So no further adieu -

http://youtu.be/7m8E7O9-i98

Now LOTS of photos - hope you enjoy!





Running on an AW14500 IMR






















One of my favorite EDCs when I am wearing a suit - light, bright, useful. Rides in my pocket with my car keys and rarely takes any scratches. Love it. This light is now discontinued - I recommend you pick one up if one is ever available anywhere! UPDATE - THIS IS THE ACTUAL LIGHT THAT WENT THROUGH THE 'TORTURE TEST', HERE

















































Wait for it....:devil:















:thumbsup:

Thanks for looking!

Nice beamshots!
My SC51w comes today, by the looks of it I am starting to think I should have got the SC51.
The SC51w looks really dim to the point the color rendering is kinda hard because of it being so dim. We'll see when I get mine.

I think you'll be very happy with the "w". In real world use the tint is sooo nice!! It's all relative, but the fact that the 51w is lighting up the entire yard over 75 feet is impressive! (just buy 'em both...) = )


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.141846,-76.514493

Thank you for taking the time to do this, Im waiting for their new AA light, but the SC600 is a real monster, I like the flood of the beam but I'm trying to stay away from Li-ons as much as I can.

I have 3 CW Zebras and after looking at the warm tints, I'm thinking I need one. Thanks for the great post.

Wow! Those are nice beamshots. Thanks for the post run4jc.

I will surely take into consideration buying a zebra light, never saw it that way. :twothumbs

Animalmother said:

Nice beamshots!
My SC51w comes today, by the looks of it I am starting to think I should have got the SC51.
The SC51w looks really dim to the point the color rendering is kinda hard because of it being so dim. We'll see when I get mine.

Click to expand...

run4jc said:

I think you'll be very happy with the "w". In real world use the tint is sooo nice!! It's all relative, but the fact that the 51w is lighting up the entire yard over 75 feet is impressive! (just buy 'em both...) = )

Click to expand...

Yeah just from pics of beamshots its really hard decision, as I plan on buying one soon too. I do like the look of the W tint better but going just off the pics I cant see other than 'looks' that it is any better - I tried comparing them side by side and looked for tiny details throughout the pics and I can easily make out colors and details as well with either, and in many cases easier with the 51 since it is noticably brighter.:thinking: I might feel different seeing both in person but based on beam shots I'm slightly leaning towards the 51 (cw). I cant decide! :sweat:

DIΩDΣ;3735728 said:

I might feel different seeing both in person but based on beam shots I'm slightly leaning towards the 51 (cw). I cant decide! :sweat:

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This is for certain - the CW is a very nice tint, and if you like whiter tints you'll love it. Each individual has their own preferences, and thankfully they make choices available for us that will likely satisfy most tastes. The CW is very 'clean', but a bit 'flat' dimensionally - the W is easier on the eyes (to me) and shows a bit more depth.

Another nice thing is the consistency of the tints...it seems there's no lottery with these. If you like the tint on the W variants, then you'll like all of the W's. If you like the CW, same thing. Others may have different experiences, but this is how it has been for me and other friends/members I know on the forum.

The good news? They are inexpensive! I have 2 CW and 5 (I have 2 SC30Ws) W, and I like 'em all.

Thanks for the great beamshots there R4JC!!! Very nice to see the difference between the SC60 and SC600. I've been jonesing for an SC51c as an upgrade from my SC50w+, but I'm seriously considering getting an SC60w instead. (I don't want to wait for the neutral version of the 600, and it's too big for pocket EDC anyway in my opinion...)

Animalmother said:

Nice beamshots!
My SC51w comes today, by the looks of it I am starting to think I should have got the SC51.
The SC51w looks really dim to the point the color rendering is kinda hard because of it being so dim. We'll see when I get mine.

Click to expand...

I also don't think you'll notice too much of a difference compared to the regular 51. The actual lumen difference won't look as much because the neutral tint is closer in its output wavelengths to what our eyes see best compared to a cool tint. So while you might notice some difference, it will be very small. IMO, the added color rendering and depth perception you get from the neutral tint more than makes up for the loss of sheer output.

:bow: Thank you for taking the time to do these! I have an idea of how much work goes into these comparisons, and I appreciate it! Re-confirms my liking the "w" tints personally, but that sc600 is an animal on high!!! :thumbsup:

I just got the light.

It was so tiny I didn't notice it fall out of the box, far more tiny then I thought.
Also, it came with a headband and I got the SC51w not the H51w.

Ok just tested it. Zebralight, you win. I am a believer. The tint is nice. I tested it next to my cool white P100A2 and it seemed the color rendering was making up for it a bit.
I like these lights.

I had no idea Zebralight had that big 18650 XML light! In the zillion XML comparison threads, either no one has ever mentioned the Zebralight, or I just kept blanking over it! Are there comparison shots anywhere versus the 18650/XML "usual suspects"?

DIΩDΣ;3735728 said:

Yeah just from pics of beamshots its really hard decision, as I plan on buying one soon too. I do like the look of the W tint better but going just off the pics I cant see other than 'looks' that it is any better - I tried comparing them side by side and looked for tiny details throughout the pics and I can easily make out colors and details as well with either, and in many cases easier with the 51 since it is noticably brighter.:thinking: I might feel different seeing both in person but based on beam shots I'm slightly leaning towards the 51 (cw). I cant decide! :sweat:

Click to expand...

Your not comparing apples to apples. Your comparing the SC50+ to the SC51w (there is no SC51 in the comparison photos). The SC50+ is an XPE emitter with a more intense beam than the XPG in the SC51w. The SC50+ has a really good tint for a cool emitter (the best I've seen).

The SC51 tint (not pictured) is much cooler than the SC50+ tint.

tre said:

Your not comparing apples to apples. Your comparing the SC50+ to the SC51w (there is no SC51 in the comparison photos). The SC50+ is an XPE emitter with a more intense beam than the XPG in the SC51w. The SC50+ has a really good tint for a cool emitter (the best I've seen).

The SC51 tint (not pictured) is much cooler than the SC50+ tint.

Click to expand...

This is all correct -sorry, all -I don't own a SC51. I had an SC31 once but sold it. I am fond of the XPE emitters but my favorite remains the XPG warm ones - thus the make up of my collection. The XML is a nice tint, but I really can't wait for the SC600w!

B0wz3r said:

Thanks for the great beamshots there R4JC!!! Very nice to see the difference between the SC60 and SC600. I've been jonesing for an SC51c as an upgrade from my SC50w+, but I'm seriously considering getting an SC60w instead. (I don't want to wait for the neutral version of the 600, and it's too big for pocket EDC anyway in my opinion...)

Click to expand...

FYI
I received email notification today that IlluminationGear has placed the ZL SC60 & SC60W on sale for $59.99 w/ free shipping!
http://www.illuminationgear.com/14301/273303.html :wow:

Thanks a ton for these. It gives a great idea of the differences between the zebra's for those of us on the fence of which one to get.
For the SC50+, I just want to confirm that you were driving the SC50+ with a 14500 battery. Correct? (As the 50+ does not have a 2nd high with AA batteries.)

Well you didn't have to convince me, but I still liked looking at all the beam shots. I think I own most ZebraLights because they are just such high quality lights with great beams and a really good interface. The fact that the interface is fairly standard between all their lights (and "really" close for latest models) should also be more emphasized; I don't think this aspect is fully appreciated yet. It's really nice to be able to pick different lights for different situations and to have the interface second nature.

My EDC light is officially the SC60w which has just a wicked beam and tint for both indoors and outdoors. If you can make the move to 18650 (the best rechargeable out there), then ZebraLight has to be tried. My keychain EDC light is the xp-g Fenix LD-01-SS. I also recommend the Sunwayman V10R as a good EDC for many purposes. The Klarus Mi X6 Ti wants to have a run on the keychain, but the Fenix has proved itself for years in an earlier incarnation and the latest is a big step up which didn't seem possible. The Klarus though is so light weight in Ti, I may put it on my backup keychain which currently only has a dead fauxton on it (probably turned on by accident) for minimal weight and size.

Edro said:

Thanks a ton for these. It gives a great idea of the differences between the zebra's for those of us on the fence of which one to get.
For the SC50+, I just want to confirm that you were driving the SC50+ with a 14500 battery. Correct? (As the 50+ does not have a 2nd high with AA batteries.)

Click to expand...

You are welcome! Yes, an AW14500 IMR. Other than the tint, I love the battery versatility. $49 at Zebralight.com, too!

I still cant decide I want a H31 or H31F. I think it is very possible I'll end up own both.

run4jc said:

You are welcome! Yes, an AW14500 IMR. Other than the tint, I love the battery versatility. $49 at Zebralight.com, too!

Click to expand...

So that explains it. Really like the tint of my SC50+ as it is leaning towards Neutral compared to my H51 coolwhite.