Zebralight: Which submodes do you prefer?

I'm curious to hear what preferences people have for the submodes in their Zebralight, and what the reasoning is for that - especially how it's applied in real world situations. Of course you can always reprogram as the situation warrants, so I guess I'm just talking about your "EDC config".

I'm looking at the H52w, but I presume a similar scale applies to other lights with just different lumens.


I found a thread which discusses lumens for various real world tasks which is a good start, and it's generally accepted that you need to increase lumens 2-4 times for a useful/noticeable difference. I understand the lux/lumens distinction. So keeping that all in mind, and without having the light in my hands, my guess is something like this:

• H2b - because H2a is too close to H1 (except if you have 14500 500lm burst mode - then H2a might be a better choice so it's a bigger jump over M1)
• M2b - because M2a is too close to M1.
• L2a - Because L2b/c are just too low for EDC?
  • L2c is useful for locating the light itself, but not for seeing other things
  • L2b might be useful for up-close reading or walking indoors, but not for walking outdoors (?)
  • Another old thread discusses the usefulness of 0.2 lumens

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Since I'm looking at the H52w, I'll put those numbers below for reference:

• H1 280 Lm (0.9 hrs)
  • H2a 172 Lm (1.7 hrs)
  • H2b 108 Lm (3 hrs)
• M1 50 Lm (7.5 hrs)
  • M2a 25 Lm (12 hrs)
  • M2b 12 Lm (27 hrs)
• L1 2.7 Lm (4 days)
  • L2a 0.34 Lm (3 weeks)
  • L2b 0.06 Lm (2 months)
  • L2c 0.01 Lm (3 months)

Adam

H1 280 Lm (0.9 hrs)

• H2a 172 Lm (1.7 hrs)
• H2b 108 Lm (3 hrs)

M1 50 Lm (7.5 hrs)

• M2a 25 Lm (12 hrs)
• M2b 12 Lm (27 hrs)

L1 2.7 Lm (4 days)

• L2a 0.34 Lm (3 weeks)
• L2b 0.06 Lm (2 months)
• L2c 0.01 Lm (3 months)

I think my settings are H2b, M2a, L2a

Yeah, that's what I use most often, along with L1 when I want something a bit brighter than moonlight.

L2b is actually useful on dark moonless lights, when you want to see your way around the house without ruining your night vision. But L2a is more useful overall. L2c is all but useless.

BTW, those lumen numbers you got from ZL are way higher than they actually are in reality, especially the moonlight modes. The moonlights modes are more like:

L2a 0.1 lumens
L2b 0.01 lumens
L2c 0.001 lumens (maybe less).

H2a, M2b, L2a. I like to have each mode step up by a factor of 3-4x lumens, so these levels work well.

I usually run mine on 14500 Li-Ion for the higher H1 output. If I were running Eneloop most of the time, I would consider programming H2b in.

Well, currently I'm using an SC62d:

L2b
M2b
H2a

In a dark house and when extreme dark adapted eyes are a priority in the field, the second lowest low (L2b) works best. Usually though, L2a can be easily programmed in the field but L1 most often works most conveniently for navigation. The lowest low (L2c) is actually decent on one of my SC62 lights and the other SC62 on L2c CAN be used, but not versatile enough for me.

The lowest medium (M2b) is never changed and is good for some kinds of navigation and around the house. Highest alternate medium is too close to M1.

I use the second highest high (H2a) because it is almost as bright as H1 but does not get as hot, while still lighting things up pretty well.

When I had an SC52 (2013), H2a was always used with the 14500, and the lowest low (L2c) was just too low except as a locater in essentially total darkness. Never used it.

Good question Adam. It will be interesting to hear from others.

Etsu said:

BTW, those lumen numbers you got from ZL are way higher than they actually are in reality, especially the moonlight modes. The moonlights modes are more like:

L2a 0.1 lumens
L2b 0.01 lumens
L2c 0.001 lumens (maybe less).

Click to expand...

And that's being generous

SC600 MKII L2:
H2; 670
M2; 32
L2; 0.01

H600 MKII L2:
H2; 660
M2; 32
L2; 3.7

SC52w:

H2b 108 Lm (3 hrs)
M2a 25 Lm (12 hrs)
L2c 0.01 Lm (3 months)

SC600MkII L2
H2 - 356
M2 - 12
L2 - 0.43

SC52w L2
H2 - 108
M2 - 25
L2 - 0.34

H2b - 108 lumens
M2a - 25 lumens
L2b - 0.06 lumens
I also use L1 - 2.7 lumens

Here are the results so far - each X is a vote. For equal comparison, this is only for the 52w lights:

H1 280 Lm (0.9 hrs)
xx H2a 172 Lm (1.7 hrs)
xxxxx H2b 108 Lm (3 hrs)


M1 50 Lm (7.5 hrs)
xxxx M2a 25 Lm (12 hrs)
xxx M2b 12 Lm (27 hrs)


L1 2.7 Lm (4 days)
xxxxx L2a 0.34 Lm (3 weeks)
x L2b 0.06 Lm (2 months)
x L2c 0.01 Lm (3 months)

aberson said:

my guess is something like this:

• H2b - because H2a is too close to H1 (except if you have 14500 500lm burst mode - then H2a might be a better choice so it's a bigger jump over M1)
• M2b - because M2a is too close to M1.
• L2a - Because L2b/c are just too low for EDC?
  • L2c is useful for locating the light itself, but not for seeing other things
  • L2b might be useful for up-close reading or walking indoors, but not for walking outdoors (?)
  • Another old thread discusses the usefulness of 0.2 lumens

Click to expand...

After having my H52w in hand for a few days now, I think my initial thoughts were right-on: H2a (172lm), M2b (12lm), and L2a 0.34lm). If I didn't have the 14500, I'd use H2b.

I was surprised that so many people listed 25lm even though it's so close to 50lm. Maybe it's because 25 is a good all around brightness, when 12 is too dim, and the 25 lasts longer than 50.

The 2 lowest-low settings seem of very little use to me, as others have said, though some people do have them programmed in. For L2b (0.06lm), if I hold the light right up to a piece of paper really close to my eyes, I can read about a 2" section of the page, but L2a (0.34lm) is much more comfortable. The 0.34lm mode seems dimmer than my Quark's moonlight 0.2lm mode - which would confirm what Etsu and others said.


Other impressions on receiving my light:

• Way smaller than anticipated
• Finish isn't as perfect as I expected, but I don't really care
• The UI is pretty good, but when first turning on the light and ramping up, I'm soetimes unsure if I'm in the main level or the sub level, so I end up toggling once or twice. I might almost prefer a UI which just ramps through all levels in order - maybe long press to ramp up, double click to step down.

It doesn't matter to me whether I am in a sub level or not.
Been using the double click to medium a lot for tasks requiring more light but not real high. If it's too much or not enough light, a double click usually gets it where I need it.