Zebralight Torture Test

(Note to skeptics - I do not own stock or have any personal or business interests in Zebralight. I've just found these lights to be an amazing value - great beam quality, good construction, great values. And of course I realize that there are MANY great products out there that likely can withstand similar abuse. Those who know me here would support my statement that my postings are true and unbiased - yet to support the timeline of the photos you can visit the full photo album HERE and see the time and date of each photo.)

After posting a beam shot thread on Zebralights as well as singing their praises in another thread, one of my friends asked "are they bullet proof? Do they hold up? Well, mine certainly have...but I thought it might be fun to abuse one and see just what it could take. So here you go.

We have 1 Zebralight SC30W - an EDC for me - and it's already been abused, having been through 2 complete cycles of the washer and dryer. Our washer is a front loader, so it got tossed around pretty well in both the washer and dryer. Worked fine both times.

So, let's start out with a submersion test. Sunk it in a jar of water on the lowest level and left it alone for 90 minutes - took photos every 30 minutes - you can check the properties of the photos to see the times they were taken. I normally run an AW RCR in this little light, but chose to 'sacrifice' a fresh Surefire primary.





[video]https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Uhl6GSFBQ2tSVxi9F1hzbw?feat=directlink[/video]










Now it's time for the 'concrete drop' - Sassy, our tortie cat, decided to help!


Here's a video of the drops from about 3-4 feet, until I got brave and threw it down from 5 feet

Video

And here's what she looked like - still worked perfectly!





Next I put it in a zip top bag, filled that bag with a combination of beach sand, small pebbles and larger 'slag' type rocks, then threw that down a bunch of times...





Here's a video of the abuse
[video]https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0F3MXAMRpC57ncHzxLcm5g?feat=directlink[/video]

Still workin' just fine...:thumbsup: - looking a bit worse for wear...














Finally, I took it and threw against the wall you see - it hit and fell to the ground. video follows the photo.



[video]https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/86gOVfhj7Acs_UKKfUlCgw?feat=directlink[/video]

Little light still works...and I dare say that this is far worse abuse than any of us 'normally' put one through. I may freeze it this evening and report back again tomorrow!

Great value, great beam, great interface, and tough as nails!! Way to go, Zebralight!:twothumbs:twothumbs

WOW, that is way more abuse than I'll ever do to one, I'm SOLD! Thanks for the torture test! :thumbsup:
Oh my goodness, that video cracked me up. At first the cat is like, what the heck? Then by the third drop the cat is like, don't drop it on me!

the water test isnt very impressive id like to see it submerged in 3 feet of water for 24 hours

Dan- I think you may have voided your warranty there, buddy... :nana: Cool tests, thanks for taking one for the team! Good to see they hold up so well. :thumbsup:

Shooter21 said:

the water test isnt very impressive id like to see it submerged in 3 feet of water for 24 hours

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Great idea! Be my guest!:devil: (I don't have a 3 feet deep container handy...)

Reasonable abuse for daily life. Glad to know the Zebra held well. Now can confidently carry it daily.


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pl. excuse brevity & possible typos - sent from a tiny device.

What the heck - it's in the freezer! Report back tomorrow

I always liked my zebras but now i like them even more...Thanks, Dan....Robert.

I admire your restraint... :shakehead

scout24 said:

I admire your restraint... :shakehead

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Lmao

That was an excellent set of tests. Thanks for carrying it out. I am impressed with my Zebralights even more than I already was. That won't stop me 'babying' them though, lol!

Impressive... I do love torture tests... but what about boiling water or freezing it in ice... have you tried those?

Did the cell survive undamaged?

I was uncomfortable throughout videos and cringed on every drop, thanks for the sacrifice.

Hurts me just watching the pics. Dunno if I can take the video...

shao.fu.tzer said:

Impressive... I do love torture tests... but what about boiling water or freezing it in ice... have you tried those?

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Hey Shao! Freezing in ice - :devil: - yet to come, although it did stay in the freezer all night... see below! Boiling in water? Trying to imagine how that might reflect real world abuse? Not saying it isn't possible, but I contend that it would be highly unlikely. NOW, staying in an enclosed vehicle (car/truck) all day in the hot summer sun? THAT I can see....so maybe the 'oven test' can simulate that?

BBL said:

Did the cell survive undamaged?

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BBL - I haven't taken the cap off yet, but as you can see the light is functioning. I'm not going to remove the tail cap until the last test is complete. My guess is that the cell is unscathed - so far!

jhc37013 said:

I was uncomfortable throughout videos and cringed on every drop, thanks for the sacrifice.

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You are welcome! Anything for this community:thumbsup:.

guiri said:

Hurts me just watching the pics. Dunno if I can take the video...

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Oh, you just gotta watch the video! That's where all the 'fun' is shown!

Well, this morning marks a new day - first thing I went to the freezer to extract the little test subject, and a smile came to my face

There it sat in an 8 degree F environment, where it had been for 9 hours, right next to the Blue Bunny, chopped spinach and frozen banana...


Looking a bit 'frosty...'


In the time it took me to remove it, set up for this shot and take the photo, the temperature increased to 17 degrees F


And the REAL frost started to form....


Does it work? YOU BET!


Warmth of the light 'defrosted' the lens...oo:


So now it's time for the hot car - oven reads 200 degrees (after slow cooking a pork shoulder all night )


Actually, I'd just dropped the temp from 225, so the oven hasn't adjusted inside yet - let's put the little test subject in while it's still a toasty 228 inside...:devil:


That'll thaw 'er out! Going to let it bake for a couple of hours. Went in at 7 AM Eastern - will extract it at 9 AM or so. Sure, conceivably one could stay in a hot car all day, but we're going to give the subject a small break!

Back soon! Then maybe, just maybe, it's "back into the cooler" in a cup of water to freeze into a nice ice block.

thanks for the torture test. I'm also keen to see a bit more water tests... perhaps leaving it in a pool overnight? Maybe put it in a jar and shake it around a bit more?

Sorry - no pool. And I think that 2 full runs through a front loading washer then dryer are more abusive (and more likely to occur) than the "shaking water jar." No, with the exception of the ice test, I believe that the water portions of the testing are done. Some may argue, but this little light has proven itself IMHO. Always open to consider ideas, though, and I thank you for yours. I encourage anyone to put their lights to the same tests - strength in numbers!!

Thanks for the torture test, I really didn't think the Zibralight could handle much abuse. How about a drop from over 8ft on concrete ? To simulate a drop off a ladder.

Calcustom said:

Thanks for the torture test, I really didn't think the Zibralight could handle much abuse. How about a drop from over 8ft on concrete ? To simulate a drop off a ladder.

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Probably gonna pass on that one - sorry. I literally THREW it 10 feet against a wooden fence then it fell (see videos.) I also force-ably threw it from around 5 feet, and I guarantee you the velocity was higher when it hit the ground than would occur in an 8 foot drop. (Again, see video https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink - last 10 seconds or so - you'll see me THROW it down after removing it from the gravel bag.)

I appreciate all the ideas - but I think the little guy has proven itself! Next post - results from the oven (hot car) test!