About a month with my Zebralight sc52w-L2

I have been using this light daily now for about a month. All in all I am quite impressed.
The sc52w-L2 is so small for the amount of light it puts out. I will say this though, if you get one of these lights buy yourself some Eneloops. When I first got it I was using Durracell rechargeable batteries. It ran ok with them but I thought it should be brighter. I picked up some Panasonic Eneloop Pro batteries and you can really tell the difference!
The interface takes a little time to get used to but it is not complicated.
I highly recommend this light if you are in the market for a small EDC light.

I ordered one of these directly from Zebralight on Jan 31. It shipped the next business day but just yesterday tracking showed it has finally landed in Canada. This is good because that's where I live. Hopefully I'll get it before the end of the month. I've got some eneloops and some Sanyo UR14500P cells charged up and waiting for it. Really looking forward to trying it out.

It's also very bright with 14500 battery, giving you 500lm in 1 minute burst mode. with 14500 battery you get the power of bigger lights in SC52 size.

davidt1 said:

It's also very bright with 14500 battery, giving you 500lm in 1 minute burst mode. with 14500 battery you get the power of bigger lights in SC52 size.

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I have yet to try the 14500 batteries in it. I need to pick a few up.

sarge1967 said:

I have been using this light daily now for about a month. All in all I am quite impressed.
The sc52w-L2 is so small for the amount of light it puts out. I will say this though, if you get one of these lights buy yourself some Eneloops. When I first got it I was using Durracell rechargeable batteries. It ran ok with them but I thought it should be brighter. I picked up some Panasonic Eneloop Pro batteries and you can really tell the difference!
The interface takes a little time to get used to but it is not complicated.
I highly recommend this light if you are in the market for a small EDC light.

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I've had the first run of the SC52CW ever since it came out, and I agree its an awesome EDC. Your Duracell rechargeables? Are they dark coloured on the tops or white? I only ask before the Duracell Pre-charged with White top is effectively an Eneloop and I'd be surprised if the performance was limited at all by that cell.

Wiggle said:

I've had the first run of the SC52CW ever since it came out, and I agree its an awesome EDC. Your Duracell rechargeables? Are they dark coloured on the tops or white? I only ask before the Duracell Pre-charged with White top is effectively an Eneloop and I'd be surprised if the performance was limited at all by that cell.

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They are dark on top. So that may be why they don't run as good with them.

14500s are nice, but I don't get too excited about the 500lm mode. Apples to oranges comparison to larger 18650 lights. Running it just a few minutes really eats up the battery and can leave you in the dark when you don't expect it. Unless you can resist the urge to run 500lm for more than a few bursts here and there. I can't

It's nice to have options though. A 14500 plus an Eneloop backup is a nice setup.

Glad you are liking it. I picked up ZL headlamp last fall on the Marketplace and really liked it. The choice of different hi med & low settings is just great. Liked it so much in fact that I just bought a sc62d. I would have gone with the sc52wl2, but they were out of stock, and since I wanted the hi cri light as well, I got that one first. The sc52 is my next ZL purhcase. I've got a house full of Eneloops, and some Eneloop Pro's on the way, so I should be all set.

How do you like the tint on your ZL? The only thing that worries me is that there might be some green in the beam, which I don't care for.

BigBluefish said:

How do you like the tint on your ZL? The only thing that worries me is that there might be some green in the beam, which I don't care for.

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My last purchases (52wL2, 62w, 52Hfw) has all been really nice! No green, no yellow at all. More towards rose and gold. Perfect IMO. Only down fall in direct comparison to Nichia, a little bit of purple spill. This sentence says it all = I am not looking for new EDC ligths anymore... I will buy these lights again, again and again :twothumbs

BigBluefish said:

How do you like the tint on your ZL? The only thing that worries me is that there might be some green in the beam, which I don't care for.

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I concur with Martin L. I have a sc52wl2 a sc600w mk2, h32w,and a few older ZL's in neutral and the tint is really nice. I see no green what so ever on the newer models just a tiny bit in the rosey direction. The neutral is definetly more neutral than other neutrals which seem to be closer to warm in my opinion. I don't think you can go wrong lately with the W Zebralights. I'm just awaiting the sc32w now and I expect it will be just like my others.

Received my SC62d last night. Wow, what a great tint. High of 320 lumens seems entirely adequate for my needs.
Funny thing though, when I double click to toggle through the 2 alternate modes on H, M & L, it only seems to go to the first, then back to the main H, M, or L level. Not trying to derail the thread, but I think the sc62 and sc52 have the same UI. So, what am I doing wrong?

And just noticed on the ZL website that they have an SC52d, with the same Hi CRI emitter as my -62d. Now I'm going to have to choose between that and the -52w-L2.

On top of that, my 10 year old took one look at my new ZL and said "wow, I want a flashlight like that!" He's got a few older Peaks and Inova lights, and loves my A2s, but this is the first time he's really wanted a particular light. He's got a birthday coming up so I think he's going to find a ZL52- of one form or another all wrapped up for him.

Glad you're liking your Zebralight. This year I've gone "higher tier" with some custom American and dedomed lights -- I like them, but they actually make me appreciate my ZL's more rather than less.

Re: the high/low thing, if I understand your issue correctly -- you can reprogram the light to choose among the possible outputs for the alternate settings, but when operating the light you only have access to one alternate output at a time. Basically you have Low 1/ low2, med 1/ med2, and high1/high2. Did I understand your question correctly? If so, I hope that provides the answer

Charles L. said:

Glad you're liking your Zebralight. This year I've gone "higher tier" with some custom American and dedomed lights -- I like them, but they actually make me appreciate my ZL's more rather than less.

Re: the high/low thing, if I understand your issue correctly -- you can reprogram the light to choose among the possible outputs for the alternate settings, but when operating the light you only have access to one alternate output at a time. Basically you have Low 1/ low2, med 1/ med2, and high1/high2. Did I understand your question correctly? If so, I hope that provides the answer

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Yes, that is the correct question. Funny thing is though, I worked with the light last night, and on low, I have 3 output levels accessible by the double click. Two options at teach level is just fine for me, so I'm happy. Thanks.

I have a question please, does the SC52 L2 has 2 springs ? One in the tail which I know it does and the other at the head ? meaning at the other end of the tube ? one would have to look inside. Appreciated.

marinemaster said:

I have a question please, does the SC52 L2 has 2 springs ? One in the tail which I know it does and the other at the head ? meaning at the other end of the tube ? one would have to look inside. Appreciated.

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I have the SC52w L2. It does not have a spring on the head end.

velocityboy said:

I have the SC52w L2. It does not have a spring on the head end.

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Same here. No springs on the head end but rather on the tailcap only.

Thanks for checking. [emoji2]

BigBluefish said:

And just noticed on the ZL website that they have an SC52d, with the same Hi CRI emitter as my -62d. Now I'm going to have to choose between that and the -52w-L2.

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Although the SC52d is nowhere near as popular as the SC52w L2, it's a fine light nevertheless. The tint is actually a REALLY pure white. And although it is not as bright as the L2, 205 lumens (with a 300 lumen burst with a 14500) is still brighter than most every 1xAA light out there. It's DEFINITELY worth a look. Of course, one downside is that not alot of vendors carry it. You might have no choice but to go through Zebralight. As far as whether to get the SC52d or SC52wL2, get both!

I'm going to do just that. My 10 (soon to be 11) year old took one look at my -62d and said he wanted one. Got to encourage the little guy, so I'm getting him a -52d for his birthday and I'll grab a 52w-L2. Or vice-versa...

BigBlue +1