Zebralight SC600 Mk II L2 Neutral White initial impressions

This torch is my first foray into the world of more advanced, high lumen flashlights, so take that into consideration... The LED torches that I have had, while served me well, are nowhere in the same league as this one.
I have also used HUGE flashlights in the past that blast light directionally which is fantastic for boating at night. However, putting these lights in a pocket is obviously an effort in futility. The shoulder straps for them were a godsend however to not have to heft the huge suckers up for prolonged periods of time.
...and yes, I almost did purchase a surplus tank spotlight at one time. :naughty:

Thanks to the wonderful advice of this forum, I decided on a Zebralight SC600 Mk II L2 Neutral White torch for an EDC type light that could be used in a variety of ways. Unfortunately for my wallet, I know now that I need to get a second light that will be specialized in projecting the light beam, with a larger body and reflector, as well as not being very pocket friendly size wise.

Initially, when I received the package in the mail, I thought I got the wrong light. This package looks way too small for the advertised lumens and runtime. Opening the box, I was very impressed at the small size of the torch, and thought again that I received the wrong one. I was pleasantly surprised that this was indeed, what I had ordered. It was much smaller than anticipated, even after watching review videos. After charging up an 18650 cell, it was out at night to test out this new purchase.

Boy, is this thing bright! It actually hurts your eyes when shining it at full power at a wall close to you. Much more so than the huge boating lights that I have used in the past. Expecting a pure flood light, I was surprised at the distance that the beam traveled at full blast as well. Switching to different brightness settings and getting into the L2 brightness modes was a treat. The lowest low mode is very low, and perfect for preserving some of your acclimated night vision when needed. The highest low mode was perfect for looking around a pitch black shed or garage. The medium modes were great for walking along dark trails, with plenty of flood to show your surroundings. Between the medium and highest low mode, those settings are perfect for crawling behind un-illuminated server racks to find cryptic serial numbers.

I recently used the torch for lighting up a shed that did not have power to it one evening while looking for some old board games with friends. On the high medium mode, it illuminated the whole shed (20x10 foot) without a hitch or dark corner. I then learned about a feature that I thought I would never use... tailstanding! We soon discovered that putting a bottle of water on top of the light turned it into a fantastic lamp. My friends and I then decided to play the board game in the shed on a table in there, with just the flashlight as an illumination source. Worked perfectly. I am a lot more confident about power outages now with this new torch! ...not that I needed to be though with a generator that I can plug into the electrical mains of the house if need be.

Another feature that I found was pretty useful was reversing the clip, and clipping it onto the brim of a baseball cap to have a headlamp. It worked flawlessly for this purpose, and the added distance between the head of the flashlight and my eyeballs made viewing things in the dark even more comfortable than utilizing my other head lamps that use an elastic band.

I carry this torch now in my front pocket, and it works with jeans or cargo shorts. It is in the same pocket as my wallet, and with the clip being used, it hovers above my wallet perfectly, on the inside of my pocket.

I find the neutral white much more pleasing to the eyeball than the cool white varieties of lights that I have had in the past. It portrays colours more accurately when using the light in the darkness. It is not perfect for colour representation, but much closer than the cool white varieties that I have previously used.

One last note: The Olight 18650 3400mAh protected battery fits much too snugly in the torch, and requires a good amount of centrifugal force to get the battery out. Luckily I read on this forum the technique of a shirt sleeve to catch the battery when it decides to leave the torch and enter orbit. However, the 18650 Orbtronic 3400mAh protected battery fits perfectly, and does not require any special ways to remove the battery when charging or replacing.

Now I am finding myself excuses to use the flashlight. "That light switch is sooooo far away! I'll just tailstand this torch instead on medium". Or "I could use my desk lamp, but I have a baseball cap handy, and a battery that needs draining". I guess I have been swayed to the "light" side! :laughing:

I've been EDCing this light or the similar previous generation for a couple of years now at work (commercial electrician) and I think just might be the perfect light. No stupid strobes or other nonsense, perfect super small size for 18650. I also have an 18650 head lamp and always keep a couple of spare batteries on charge in the van. It's the perfect setup for real world everyday flashlight/headlamp use. You can't beat the economics of the 18650 cell, I use the Orbitronic brand.

Hey bluesteel, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on the new light. Tail standing is highly under rated, and one of the main features I look for in a light. Enjoy!~

bluesteel said:

…………...One last note: The Olight 18650 3400mAh protected battery fits much too snugly in the torch, and requires a good amount of centrifugal force to get the battery out…………...

Click to expand...

Shine a light into the battery tube, and you may find, as I did, an errant strip of gray epoxy that is interfering with the battery fit.

SubLGT said:

Shine a light into the battery tube, and you may find, as I did, an errant strip of gray epoxy that is interfering with the battery fit.

Click to expand...

Nope. No epoxy in the battery chamber. Just a super tight fit for the Olight battery.


After reading a bunch on the forum about the switch feel and "clickiness" or lack thereof on the Mk II models, I have some observations regarding my switch:
The switch on my iteration of the torch has an audible click to it, as well as some stiffness, and does not feel mushy at all. It is very easy to perform double clicks with the switch, as well as the 3 double clicks to get into the programming mode.

Anodizing: The tail cap is indeed a darker colour compared to the body of the torch, several shades darker. Also, the anodizing around the switch had a few imperfections/chips in it from the get go.

LED centering: The LED is not perfectly centered in the torch. It is about 3 to 4 hair widths off center. While this might have bothered me in a throw type beam, it does not seem to hinder the flood type beam nor the projection distance for this torch.

Lens and cleanliness inside: There seems to be several dust particles on the inside of the lens, which can obviously not be removed due to the nature of this light. I guess they don't use "clean rooms" like hard drive manufacturers to assemble these torches.


After a couple weeks of use of this light, I would give it a 4 out of 5 star rating.
There are some quality control issues that need to be addressed, such as the anodizing, LED centering, and dust on the inside lens assembly. However, I am pretty darn satisfied with the performance of this torch after many uses. It serves very well to light up a room tail standing on the medium setting. The high settings give off a tremendous amount of light, with a pretty descent amount of throw for the type of reflector contained in the torch. It isn't a "throw king" (as some of you might describe the type), by any standards.
For usefullness throughout all the settings, I give it a 5+ stars out of 5. The different settings in this light are outstanding. I thoroughly enjoy the "moonlight" settings of very low lumen output for preserving night vision and seeing what is directly in front of you. The highest low setting is more than enough for most uses when looking at something in a dark server rack, and/or reading some strange serial or model # off of something that has low accessibility. The medium setting I can use for looking around a descent sized pitch black room, and find exactly what I am looking for.

This torch is also, in my opinion, since I don't wear skinny jeans or pants/shorts with tiny pockets, very easy to carry around with you. I have a fat wallet that I keep in my front pocket, and the torch fits perfectly on the inside of the same pocket using the provided clip, resting just above the wallet. No issues with bending my legs, sitting down, etcetera with the torch in the pocket.

Only time will tell now the longevity of this torch.