My headlamp buying mistake (for boating use)

I write this hoping I can help someone else keep from making the same mistake. After reading all of the glowing reviews here, I thought to replace my now 4-5 year old 150-lumen LED headlight and supplement my 240-lumen Cyclops LED handheld spotlight with a new 1020 lumen Zebralight H600w Mk II 18650 XM-L2. This will not be a negative review, just a wrong application (boating).

Shipping was amazingly fast and that was even with the cheapest shipping option so kudos to Zebralight for shipping time. My problem comes in because even though this is not the flood version, the beam is what I personally would expect from a flood version as there is no spot at all to my eyes (I guess I am used to spot type headlamps as a hunter). The beam seems to be pretty equal all the way around with a wide beam. Speaking subjectively, the highest setting (1020 lumens) on the Zebralight I received does not have any further throw than my old 150 lumen led headlamp much less the 240 lumen Cyclops spotlight (both of which have a spot type throw). The area around is of course lit up 10 times more than the old headlamp making it a much more suitable work type light for close work than my old headlamp, but for the purpose I bought it for not any better and possibly worse for two reasons: My intended use is for running the boat at night and light spread tends to bounce off the boat and blind me which is not good considering the only reason I was purchasing it was because I thought 1000 lumens would shine further than my old 150 lumen headlamp helping me see the far away banks of the bayous which get up to a mile wide in places. Running the boat alone using a hand-held spotlight becomes outright tiring when running an outboard and difficult if not dangerous running a mud type boat in bad territory so I wanted a brighter headlight. Obviously the best option is an led light bar mounted to the front of the boat, but often one still needs to be able to see what is to the side without turning the boat and to occasionally look at the engine to adjust trim level for mud running etc. To get the same throw as my old 150 lumen led spot type headlight, I have to run the Zebralight on the highest setting killing the battery life in comparison with my old light. On the positive side, the color temperature on the Zebralight is far superior and makes it is easier to navigate with a more warm light than blueish light. Another positive is that the additional spread vs the little spot will show debris in the water better than the one little bitty pinpoint spot.

I intend to keep this light because for applications other than boating the Zebralight H600W Mk II seems to be perfect. For the purpose I purchased it for, I may not use it at all because of having to run it on the super high power draining setting to be able to get a high enough throw to equal my old spot type headlamp which lasts a long time and the glare from the spread. I really had only intended for it to be a temporary stopgap until I got a big 10,000+ lumen lightbar installed on the front of the boat and it seems to be perfect for every other use I have.

Interesting - are you sure they didn't send u the flood by mistake? Still waiting for my H600W Mk II, but I know my h51w has a decent spot with some spill, but definitely more spotty.

MNDan said:

Interesting - are you sure they didn't send u the flood by mistake?

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My initial thought as well. I can't believe that since I put diffuser film over all my Zebralights and they're still pretty throwy, nowhere near flood.

Take a look at the Fenix HP25. It has two Leds/Reflectors. Four AA cells. One for flood and one for throw. I have one.

I'm sure he would know if it was the F version with the frosted lens.

But, muddywater, can you take a picture of it and post it to be sure?

Even the Fenix HP11 has good spot to it. Not as many lumens as the Zebralight is boasting, but good spot. I have 3.

For a good-quality headlamp with a throwier beam, my impression is that a lot of people on this board go for the Spark brand.

I don't own any myself, but they look good, and some of them have the larger reflectors that are needed for real throw.

Maybe an ST-6? That uses the same 18650 as the ZL H600 you now own.

You did the classic mistake thinking more lumens means more throw. Lots of lumens (big led) in a small reflector means it will lack lux (throw).

+1 on what Jorn said, lumens don't equal kcd/lux. Just pack it off to Wayne and he'll get you a better dedomed led and you'll be just fine on the water.
[h=1]Vinhnguyen54[/h]

RedfishBluefish said:

+1 on what Jorn said, lumens don't equal kcd/lux. Just pack it off to Wayne and he'll get you a better dedomed led and you'll be just fine on the water.
Vinhnguyen54

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I don't think that it is that easy in case of ZL headlamps/flashlights (it's hard to open and the led is integrated into driver) but I would like to be proven wrong - do you have any details about moding ZL?

I figured it was a newbie mistake. When I first tried it out, I went back and looked at the label on the box to make sure it was not the flood version. I can confirm there is no frosting on the lens. I also went out and did a few tests. Standing on my back porch the tree line is 123 feet away (41 yards). On a clear night, I can see the tree line pretty well with the new Zebra headlamp. With with my old headlamp I can see it, though with a much smaller spot, and with the Cyclops handheld spotlight it is like daytime. On a night after a rain with some moisture in the air which closely simulates the best of conditions I would have in the boat since there is always some mist if not fog, I could not see the treeline with the Zebra light. With the old headlamp, the mist eliminated any spread outside of the spot itself, but I could still see in the spot that there was a treeline but not pick out any details. With the Cyclops handheld it still lit up the treeline like daytime even with the mist. In the boat I will usually be dealing with much longer distances and much worse fog. I may try the Spark light at some point, but at this point, my next light purchase will probably be a either a Rigid 10" E series combo light bar with 568 meters of throw or a Baja Designs one in the same configuration mounted to the front of the boat.

Here is a pic of the Zebra light as requested.