18650 Zebralight thower in the works

Hi all,

My first post here and I thought I'd inform you of some communication I have had with Zebralight....

I own several Zebralights and they have all been perfect to me with no issues whatsoever. I've really been spoilt by their UI and I dont think I can go back to other brands where you have to loosen the head to access different modes etc... so I sent Zebralight an email asking if they had any plans for an 18650 thrower in the future in the hopes of nicely rounding out my collection.

This is the reply I received back...

We do have a plan for a (bit more) throwy version of the SC600 (smooth reflector and XP-G2), SC600g and SC600gw. I don't know the final specs, but knowing that the reflectors in the SC600g(w) are still relatively small, the throw distance won't match lights with a 40mm range head

Click to expand...

For me, this is great news!! It probably wont be a thrower like the Armytek Predator (39.5mm head), but if they can get in the same ballpark then I'll be one happy camper/tramper/hunter! With my SC600II L2 for flood and a H51/52 on my head my collection will be complete [optimism]

I will repeat myself from few other threads but just voicing my opinion to show that there is some market demand - flood to throw optics please...

SC600gw would be perfect!

Curious. I wonder how much of a difference the smooth reflector and smaller LED would be.

stp said:

I will repeat myself from few other threads but just voicing my opinion to show that there is some market demand - flood to throw optics please...

Click to expand...

I would also love to see Zebralight try something with optics. This company gets so many things right, it would be exciting to see them create their own proprietary optic.

This way you would still have the small size of the the MK II and (theoretically) extremely impressive throw/flood.

Having a light that throws well is pretty much win-win, since it's easy to diffuse a throwy light to make it a flood monster. However making a proprietary floody light into a throwy one... well, when someone figures that one out let me know.

Either way I have been wanting a ZL that could throw decently for a long time now, glad they are going to be offering some! :twothumbs

LeukTech said:

Having a light that throws well is pretty much win-win, since it's easy to diffuse a throwy light to make it a flood monster. However making a proprietary floody light into a throwy one... well, when someone figures that one out let me know.

Click to expand...

I agree but when I was in unexpected need for more throw I used telephoto lens from my Canon to get a lot more throw from my flashlight. I had to get close to a led to focus it properly so first I converted flashlight to a mule by taking off lets say optics/reflector (its little more complicated it was cheap camping flashlight/lantern with matte plastic lens/diffuser upfront) So it's possible but not practical at all

I would be interested in this light if it is ever released.

I am sad to say though that since it is Zebralight we are talking about, that is a pretty big if.

For perspective, as long as you're referring to the Armytec Pred, etc...that comes in a XML2 and a XPG2 version.

So, with the same sized reflector, and the smaller XPG2 led... the throw is about doubled with ~ 1/2 the total lumens.

TEEJ said:

For perspective, as long as you're referring to the Armytec Pred, etc...that comes in a XML2 and a XPG2 version.

So, with the same sized reflector, and the smaller XPG2 led... the throw is about doubled with ~ 1/2 the total lumens.

Click to expand...

That would be a worthwhile amount.

Seems like an easy variation for Zebralight to include too.

For me it would be really nice if they could do some work with the reflector and make it into a 30k+ lux thrower. Really make it a different tool to the regular SC600 beam

CrazyM said:

For me it would be really nice if they could do some work with the reflector and make it into a 30k+ lux thrower. Really make it a different tool to the regular SC600 beam

Click to expand...

It's just my guesstimate, but I believe an SC600
with a smooth reflector and an XPG2 will get less than 10k lux.
The SC600 head is small and has a switch in it,
there is no room to make a bigger, deeper reflector in the same size head.


The Nitecore EC2 is an XPG 18650 light
with a somewhat large smooth 1" reflector designed for throw.
You can see it is nearly the same size as the SC600 in this pic.
It gets 400 lumens and 6k lux.


I'd like to see ZL start with a fresh design for a compact thrower like the Eagletac TX25C2.
In Selfbuilt's video review starting at 2 minutes, he shows how deep the reflector is
and how big the head is compared to the body of the light.
This light gets 1000 lumens with 20k lux.
So ZL needs to do something along these same lines.
I think it not so much a coincidence SB put the SC600 right next to the TX.

CrazyM said:

It probably wont be a thrower like the Armytek Predator (39.5mm head), but if they can get in the same ballpark then I'll be one happy camper/tramper/hunter!

Click to expand...

It will not be anywhere in the same ballpark as the Predator.
It won't even be out in the parking lot.
The reflector on the Predator is extremely deep.

It definitely won't throw like the Predator but for a marked improvement in throw compared to the original SC600's floody beam profile, it is still worth having one.

Thanks for the SC600/Predator comparison pictures, i never realised the Predator was that much larger.

So realistically unless Zebra goes for an aspheric or makes a significant change to the body size then it won't be breaking 15k lux