Armytek Wizard Pro vs. Zebralight H600 Mk II -- which is more rugged?

Looking for a new headlamp and I have narrowed it down to these two. I know ZL claims higher runtimes at higher output, but I am more interested in which one is more durable and reliable. They both claim to be fully submersible, but I have read a few reports of ZL models leaking. The warranty on the Armytek is also a plus, but at the end of the day, I want the one that won't need a warranty.

Without a head-to-head trial, there's no good answer to this. But the Armytek's specs for the Wizard Pros say that they can be dropped 10 meters and submersed 10 meters, and I don't see that Zebralight tries to match this claim.

Well if it's anything like the Predator, I wouldn't be surprised if the Wizard Pro could survive that. I saw a Predator torture test video that was very impressive.

Zebra has better run times and way more adjust-ability with their modes. Weatherproofing is kinda a LOL - 2 meters seems like enough to me.

I picked up a wizard pro wide for deer hunting and love it.
It is very well made comfortable to wear with a nice beam and lots of features. Best headlamp I ever owned. I looked at the Zebra too but the 10 year warranty from armytek sold me.

Rugged? As far as durability goes, I would say Wizard hands down. It even looks like the Juggernaut. Okay perhaps that is a bit of a stretch, but the Wizard is definitely heavier, clunkier, and bulkier than the H600 series. However, both of these lights are not uncomfortable to wear in my opinion (and it is only an opinion. YMMV.) Warranty differences have been stated. There are other varying arguments about other aspects of each light.

Wizard & Juggernaut

In case you were wondering what I was comparing.

I was stuck in the same spot as you are just a couple of weeks ago.(Choosing from the same pair of lights) I needed something really quite rugged for work on construction sites where it will be exposed to the elements especially low temperatures, snow and rain. I finally settled for the Wizard because of its seemingly rugged design and because of the optics which in my mind had some great looks going for them. I have not had the chance to test it out in the field yet as I picked it up today and just got the battery fully charged. I took a few minutes to play around with the UI as well as took it outside for a short moment to let the beam pattern develop over some distance, and I must say that I am very happy with it so far. The one i bought was the wide angle version, and the beam is very uniformly spread with no hotspots prevalent, and the UI seems to be quite simple after a couple of minutes of playing around with the manual close at hand. As for ruggedness, it really seems to fit the bill. The non slip coating on the light seems very rugged and has a very nice almost ceramic feel to it. The optics feel very sturdy and are quite deeply recessed in the front, say a quarter of an inch (6mm) or so, and they are surrounded by what i think is a stainless steel bezel for extra protection, as for water proofing, the double O rings and very long threads seem to be up to the claims of he manufacturer.
I don't know if this info has been of any use to you since it isn't a head to head comparison, but I can safely say that this was money well spent.

yeah I think you folks have sold me on the Wizard. Obviously only time will tell which one takes the cake for durability, but it does seem like it's leaning toward the Wizard.

Lets see if I can help you pull the trigger on the wizard.
I just finished a days work where the wizard got a chance to prove itself, and it really met my expectations, and then some. The one i bought was the wide angle version, which has a very uniform beam pattern. One of my colleagues likened it to having a large compact fluorescent bulb attached to my forehead, but of course more directional than a simple bulb. Even though it is a very floody light, it manages to throw quite some distance through brute force. The UI is very straightforward when you get used to it, which shouldn't take too long, and the button is very easy to operate even with medium thickness gloves. It is quite stiff, which I feel adds to the feeling of quality. The only downside to the stiffness is that the double clicks needed to activate the maximum brightness mode might be a bit harder to get right with gloved hands, but it is a very small issue. As for the main point at question in this thread. The ruggedness does seem to be very good. The ceramic like coating seems to be so hard that it actually is abrasive to some materials.(you could use it as one of the most flashy nail files in history if you want to) I even managed to hit my head on a steel beam, and of course the light was the thing that took the blow. At first i saw some white lines on the finish on the light, but after closer inspection they turned out to be from the powdercoating from the beam, which is quite impressive since that coating is extremely hard. Once I got the paint scraped of, there were no scratches on the finish of the light, so I am very happy with the results of the first day that I got to use the light. And another plus is the rubber fixture that comes with the light. It provides for very easy and smooth adjustment of the angle of the headlight, and is firm enough not to slip. I can however not comment on the headband since I chose to attach the rubber fixture to my helmet with a couple of cable ties through a couple of holes that I drilled through the front of the helmet, but it will probably not hold any nasty surprises for you. One last thing; there has been some talk about a version 1.5 of the wizard, but I have not really started to research if this is true or not, but it might be worth knowing about. The guys on this thread might know about it http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Wizard-Pro-Prototype-Long-Term-Testing/page24

I hope this info was of some use to you.

Thank you guys for your help with this. I'm considering getting one of these around the holidays but we'll see whether I actually do it. I'm leaning toward the Armytek, but maybe I'll wait a while for the new UI to come out.

I don't own the Zebralight, but I do own the Armytek Wizard

I have not yet tested it for ruggedness, although it appears rugged

I just wish the rubber band was not so tight making it hard to rotate and it had a red light mode

I'm not so sure version 1.5 is going to be an upgrade. I like the UI the way it is. If they change anything, they might make it worse. I wouldn't hold off buying one for a possible 'upgrade' to a light that is good already. If you want one, get one. It's a good light and not outdated or anything. There will always be an upgrade to everything around the corner, it no reason to hold off on buying something.

My brother held off on buying a new TV for like 10 years because he kept saying how there were going to be these amazing advances and lower prices. He was kind of right but in the meantime he suffered through life with a total piece of junk TV.

I did pick up an Armytek Wizard Pro Warm. I am super happy with the light, and I think it is honestly the most useful light I have. I've been doing all sorts of stuff with it just to play with it (waiting until it's dark to put air in my tires, doing the dishes in the dark, sharpening my knife in the dark, etc.). I absolutely love the warm tint as well as the nice floody beam characteristics. I don't mind the user interface at all for what I use it for.

So thank you guys again for sharing your opinions. I am very satisfied, and I now am surprised that I waited so long to get a headlamp.