ZL: Inexplicable breakage of frosted lens

Hey all, I have about a dozen Zebralights and all three of my frosted lenses are cracked and none of my clear lenses are cracked. Without exaggeration, I have probably used my clear lens lights 50 times more than the flood lensed versions and the clear lensed versions have definitely been put through more cringe worthy moments. I have EDC'd a ZL at work for about five years.

Here are a couple of pics.





I bought an SC52Fw L2 about four months ago and used it at work for a couple of weeks when I noticed the lens was cracked. I couldn't remember a particular moment when the damage might have occurred. I just thought "dang, I need to be more careful.":shrug:


I bought my H600Fw about a year ago and it has never left the house. I keep it stashed behind my entertainment system and use it as needed. I noticed a month or so ago that it had a cracked lens. This one was weird because it has had very little use compared to my work lights.


I special ordered an SC62Fw about a month ago and have been EDCing it at work and yesterday I noticed it too had a cracked lens. I really can't recall any particular time when this might have happened. When I grab it in the morning before work, I always look at the lens to make sure it is the frosted version and I think it cracked while rattling around in my pocket. I am now beginning to wonder if this is just a coincident or if for some reason the frosted version is easier to crack.


Has any one else had any problems with the frosted lens cracking for no particular reason?


I might add that about two or three years ago I had an SC600 that I cracked the lens, but I carried it every day for well over a year before this happened and it was used and abused at work. It is never good for something like this to happen but I just chalked it up to one too many drops to a hard surface. About a week later it quit working and I don't have it any more. This is the only ZL that has quit working on me. All my current ZLs work flawlessly.


To tell you the truth, I am not too uptight about my cracked frosted lenses. I am mostly just curious if any one else has had similar experiences.

Interested as well. Wanting to get a frosted ZL.

For any given type of glass, a piece that is frosted by etching the surface will normally break more easily than a plain piece. The etching is microscopic scratches in the surface of the glass, creating potential stress points. Consider how you cut glass ... you scratch it and stress it at the scratch.

Glass that is frosted using a coating will not be as prone to break but such coatings often wear.

keithallenlaw said:

Interested as well. Wanting to get a frosted ZL.

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The frosted lenses are awesome in use. Especially indoors or during the day when throw isn't necessary. I have lights that are described as putting out a wall of light. My SC62Fw puts out a ball of light with virtually no hotspot. Identical profile of the H600Fw. All my frosted lenses(neutral) also have a slight rose tint to them compared to my other neutral Zebralights. I figure it has to do with the frost affect on the AR coated lens.

Yamabushi said:

For any given type of glass, a piece that is frosted by etching the surface will normally break more easily than a plain piece. The etching is microscopic scratches in the surface of the glass, creating potential stress points. Consider how you cut glass ... you scratch it and stress it at the scratch.

Glass that is frosted using a coating will not be as prone to break but such coatings often wear.

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Thanks for the comments. That makes a ton of sense. I guess I need to just look at it as the nature of the beast if I want this beam profile. The cracked lens doesn't affect the output as far as I can tell. It is already a floody beam. It probably does affect the IPX7 rating though. Hopefully they can handle a little rain.


I am sure Zebralight can replace the lens. I am trying to decide if it is worth the time and money to do so. I may just wait and see if any of the lights have any more problems. I would then send them to ZL.

This seems like a pretty big defect....a drop, or water ingress, or the lens just falling out. I''d definatley contact them with photos to see what they say. Bad batch.

This is the first I've ever heard of the frosted lenses breaking so easily. Are you sure, you don't know what happened to your lights? I suspect shenanigans.

ForrestChump said:

This seems like a pretty big defect....a drop, or water ingress, or the lens just falling out. I''d definatley contact them with photos to see what they say. Bad batch.

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Yeah, I haven't decided what to do at the moment. One of them is out of warranty, so it would fall under the fifteen dollar repair category. The other two have at least eight months of warranty left. So I don't have to make an immediate decision. They are work lights and they work perfectly fine and if there is some inherent problem with the frosted lenses integrity, they would probably replace them with the same thing.


I could ask them to put a clear lens back in them but I already have a clear lens version of the frosted lens lights in question.


I will ponder my situation.

insanefred said:

This is the first I've ever heard of the frosted lenses breaking so easily. Are you sure, you don't know what happened to your lights? I suspect shenanigans.

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I haven't read anything about frosted lenses cracking either. They may just not be up to what I want to use them for.

I really can't think of anything in particular that has happened to them. I will tell you though that I don't baby them. I epoxy a magnet to the tail cap and use them in the service and repair field.


I added it up and I have carried a clear lens Zebralight every day for about five years with one lens crack. These lights have exceeded my expectations and I can't see any thing else out there that I would replace them with. IMO, they are small, powerful and durable. Over the years, using them at work, things happen and my clear lensed lights take a licking and keep on ticking.


I have about six weeks of EDC use on my SC52Fw and SC62Fw combined, using them at work, and I can't think of any drops or excessive banging around that they have endured. Throw in the H600Fw that I use around the house that has a cracked lens and I start thinking it is more than a coincidence. That's why I started this thread, to see if any one else has had similar experience. It could be a complete and total fluke though. I truly think that the lenses cracked while floating around in my pocket with my keys, etc.


I love my Zebralights. I am just trying to learn their limits.

I have a SC5fd that should be shipping soon with a frosted lens.. I'll let you know if I experience anything similar. My clear lens Zebralights are super tough no issues whatsoever with any of them.

Thanks snowlover91, I would appreciate any updates on the subject.


I really haven't had time to slow down and think about it. Starting this thread makes me think and lean towards the idea that this cracking is happening in my pants pocket. I stay pretty active while at work. I climb things, crouch, crawl etc and maybe a key or coin puts pressure on the lens, and combined with Yamabushi's comments about etching of the glass making the lens more susceptible to cracking, it cracks. My clear lensed lights, not being etched, handle this pressure.


Mmm, could be.

Mine will likewise be an EDC light that will get bumped, knocked, jarred, dropped, etc so we will see how well mine holds up under that. How soon did you notice the cracks after use?

This is nice thing to be known.
Seems a few have had it happen to different lights,
not that it can't happen to any light, though this is noteworthy.
I'd send all three in at once myself.
Jmtc.

I also have an early batch SC52Fw L2 with a cracked lens. Haven't used it a lot TBH and it hasn't seen any noticeable abuse. I just discovered it had cracked some month ago. Hasn't happened to any of my other ZLs. I don't expose it to water etc and do have so many other lights so I choose not to bother with a return etc. I just won't buy another frosted lens ZL in the future.

I wonder if the press-fit bezel causes different stresses on a frosted lens. Is the glass not smooth, like a clear lens?

WalkIntoTheLight said:

I wonder if the press-fit bezel causes different stresses on a frosted lens. Is the glass not smooth, like a clear lens?

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It is smooth on the outside. I am not for sure that the lens is frosted from an etched process. It was mentioned and I ran with it. I bet it is though. If you turn the light on in moonlight mode and look at the lens, it appears etched by some sort of sandblasting type procedure on the inside.

JKolmo said:

I also have an early batch SC52Fw L2 with a cracked lens. Haven't used it a lot TBH and it hasn't seen any noticeable abuse. I just discovered it had cracked some month ago. Hasn't happened to any of my other ZLs. I don't expose it to water etc and do have so many other lights so I choose not to bother with a return etc. I just won't buy another frosted lens ZL in the future.

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Thanks for the response. A trend?

I haven't decided if I am going to send mine in yet. My favorite coffee cup has a crack down the side of it. Maybe that is just how I roll.:wave:


My biggest concern about the cracked lens is that I have been known to accidentally run a light through the washing machine. That would probably prove deadly to the light.



To tell you the truth, it pains me to be the one to bring this subject to light considering Zebralight is my favorite flashlight company. There is another thread going on right now where the manufacturer of one of the toughest lights(Malkoff) talks about how it changed its lenses from glass to acrylic due to the glass lenses breaking. Maybe it is time for Zebralight to look into this. At least for their floody beams. Maybe for all of them.

fnsooner said:

To tell you the truth, it pains me to be the one to bring this subject to light considering Zebralight is my favorite flashlight company. There is another thread going on right now where the manufacturer of one of the toughest lights(Malkoff) talks about how it changed its lenses from glass to acrylic due to the glass lenses breaking. Maybe it is time for Zebralight to look into this. At least for their floody beams. Maybe for all of them.

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I wouldn't be a fan of acrylic lenses on Zebralights. The lens isn't protected, and it is subject to scratching and knocks. Acrylic scratches too easily.

I have two watches I wear quite a bit. One has an acrylic crystal, the other has a mineral (glass) crystal. Guess which one has some scuffs/scratches on it, and which one still looks like new?

WalkIntoTheLight said:

I wouldn't be a fan of acrylic lenses on Zebralights. The lens isn't protected, and it is subject to scratching and knocks. Acrylic scratches too easily.

I have two watches I wear quite a bit. One has an acrylic crystal, the other has a mineral (glass) crystal. Guess which one has some scuffs/scratches on it, and which one still looks like new?

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As long as it is only aesthetic, it wouldn't bother me for a work light. If it diminished the quality of output significantly (when scuffed), I would mind. I wonder what the cost of using Gorilla Glass would be.


I really don't have a strong opinion on the subject either way at the moment. I probably won't be buying any more ZL frosted lens lights but I do like them and will be using the ones I have.

Have send ZL the question, how they make the frosted lens. Am currently looking at the SC5Fc and don't want to end up with a easy to crack lens.

Any pictures as wondering what it looks like?

Woods Walker said:

Any pictures as wondering what it looks like?

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+1