Zebralight SC600 MKIII HI BUY IT!

Just got it yesterday no I dont have any pics yet I just felt the need to post my initial reaction which is HOLY CR*P!!! This thing is astonishing!! Will post pics here when the weather clears up

Nice! What do you like about it? How is the tint? Mine has excellent tint and being my first MK3 series light I like how well it can handle the turbo mode.

snowlover91 said:

Nice! What do you like about it? How is the tint? Mine has excellent tint and being my first MK3 series light I like how well it can handle the turbo mode.

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Its feed back like this that makes me prefer to get the SC600 MKIII vs SC63w. I know SC63w is smaller and lighter, but personally it won't replace my Olight S1 for EDC purposes. And it feels like a slight "waste" to get a higher power light if the PID kicks in pretty quickly. I'm totally trying to wait till the high CRI version comes out but tempted to just pick up the SC600w MKIII now..

tops2 said:

Its feed back like this that makes me prefer to get the SC600 MKIII vs SC63w. I know SC63w is smaller and lighter, but personally it won't replace my Olight S1 for EDC purposes. And it feels like a slight "waste" to get a higher power light if the PID kicks in pretty quickly. I'm totally trying to wait till the high CRI version comes out but tempted to just pick up the SC600w MKIII now..

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Even when it kicks in I would say the output maintains at 700-800 lumens so it's still plenty bright, but yeah I agree the 63w seems to drop output quicker than my 62w did. I'm sure it is a result of the lighter weight and less thermal mass along with the more aggressive PID it seems to have. After adjusting mine now it stays in turbo about 20-30 seconds before the PID begins kicking in. My MK3 HI is great for maintaining turbo, I've not tested it for a long time but 2 minutes straight and it wasn't very warm and didn't seem like it had stepped down at all. The HI is quickly becoming my favorite 18650 Zebralight and if debating between the MK3 or HI version I would recommend the HI version since it seems to have a better tint and a little extra throw. I believe ZL has them in stock also.

LOL this is the second "BUY IT NOW" thread for this light. The last one pushed me over the fence so I bought one and it will arrive Monday. Can't wait!!

Thanks for the confirmation and looking forward to more feedback Celtic.

Vote for celtics beam pics! or i will get cross

Is there any way to justify getting this even if I already have a Nitecore MH20?

Beckler said:

Is there any way to justify getting this even if I already have a Nitecore MH20?

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I did...justified it by telling myself I would compare the beams and keep one. Reality is I'll probably find enough reason to keep both. MH20 is much more throwy when compared to the ZL's. Agree though that S1 is best for EDC but then again I EDC four lights anyhow so I'll find a way to justify new lights!

Beckler said:

Is there any way to justify getting this even if I already have a Nitecore MH20?

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Well if you need a reason to justify buying a new light, you may not be quite as far gone as some of the rest of us So I'm not sure if my comments will help or not.

Personally, I think the SC600mk3 HI is better than the MH20 in every way (well, the MH20 has a better built-in charger...). So for me that's good enough. The Zebra is brighter, more intense, has a much cleaner tint, better regulation, better UI, and its much smaller. Here's a comparison photo for you:


Te be fair though, I never loved the MH20. When I need a "throwy" edc-able light with built-in charging I reach for that Manker. When I don't need the built-in charging I'll definitely be reaching for the new Zebra. The MH20 is just taking up room on the shelf.

What do I like about it? Its astonishingly bright, smaller than the MkII, has a more defined hot spot and throws a touch farther. Oh and its very light as well. As for the MH20 that light stays in rotation for its beam quality and throw. Tint is pretty much just like my NW MkII.

emarkd said:

Well if you need a reason to justify buying a new light, you may not be quite as far gone as some of the rest of us So I'm not sure if my comments will help or not.

Personally, I think the SC600mk3 HI is better than the MH20 in every way (well, the MH20 has a better built-in charger...). So for me that's good enough. The Zebra is brighter, more intense, has a much cleaner tint, better regulation, better UI, and its much smaller. Here's a comparison photo for you:

Te be fair though, I never loved the MH20. When I need a "throwy" edc-able light with built-in charging I reach for that Manker. When I don't need the built-in charging I'll definitely be reaching for the new Zebra. The MH20 is just taking up room on the shelf.

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I gave away my MH20 to a brother, but kept the MH20 clip and put it on the ZebraLight Mklll. The clip keeps the light about .125 inch below pocket. The MH20 clip will prevent tail standing, but I rarely need this function.

man! Been using the MkIII HI as much as I can and well....I have no excuse to buy another light for a long long time. Talk about a high pressure light hose the beam on high out of this thing is so strong it near looks like you could touch and feel it. Range out of it I am finding to be amazingly close to or even with the MH20 which is saying a lot. I got the 3500mah unprotected cell ZL sells off their site for it and it works great. The increase in output vs my MkII to my eyes is clear and obvious. The MkIII does not get hot nearly as fast as my MkII does which is simply amazing. The amount of tech packed into this little light weight light is truly incredible. I dont see myself needing the billion extra modes and features etc Im fine with the High mid low. I can double click any level down a gear just like the MkII which is cool but dont see myself adjust the PID etc.

The weather here just threw a sudden cold snap we are expecting snow. I dont have the best camera but it is set to the best settings it is capable of for beam shots. I will do what I can when I can. The MkIII HI is the best light purchase I have made this year.

How much flood do you lose by going with the HI version ? I am looking to upgrade to a light for my night hikes , mostly in wooded areas. Is the SC600 MKIII HI a good option for covered areas ? I don't want to sacrifice food for a little more throw.

I can't wait for mine!!!

The MkIII HI is NOT the flooder the MkII is. That being said the beam profile out of the MkIII HI is amazingly wide coming out of such a small reflector. If its a ZL flooder you are after the MkII is still amazing. The new HI very clearly throws further and has far more definition to the hot spot. Still it is incredibly bright. I never thought I would ever see such a tiny light weight light this well made that cranks 1300 lumens. Just a couple of years ago this was the stuff people thought was 10 years off. So...no the HI is not a flooder but it is just SO bright the spill alone lights up a surprisingly wide area very well.

But when it comes down to it you loose a LOT of flood with the HI. My MkII NW is still the best most convenient flooder I have its wall of light is wide bright and near evenly bright all the way across with a large diffuse hot spot that can be hard to tell apart from the rest of the beam profile. The HI is like ZL took the MH20 shrank it, jacked up the output to 1300 lumens, improved the UI etc. The HI profile has depth and solid definition to the hot spot I am still amazed at how closely it throws compared to my MH20. Tint out of the MkIII is to my eyes the same as the NW MkII.

If I prefer more flood than throw, would you recommend the normal MKIII instead of the HI version? I like my SC5w in the smoothness of the hotspot to spill. I'm starting to not prefer well defined hotspot that much nowadays...

tops2 said:

If I prefer more flood than throw, would you recommend the normal MKIII instead of the HI version? I like my SC5w in the smoothness of the hotspot to spill. I'm starting to not prefer well defined hotspot that much nowadays...

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If I remember correctly people who had the MK3 and MK2 said the regular MK3 actually seems to have a slightly smaller hotspot but for all purposes they would probably be fairly similar. The main difference is the extra output the MK3 would provide, 1300 lumens for neutral versus around 1000-1100 for the MK2 neutral. If you don't like a dedicated hotspot the MK3 HI wouldn't be a good option and even the MK3 since the deeper reflector will have a tighter hotspot than the SC5 would. The SC62/63 series would provide a beam profile similar to your SC5 though.

Ahh! Thanks for the feedback. Decisions decisions..

I still shake my head when you guys call the SC600 (non-HI) series "floody". I always consider it a small thrower. Maybe that's just due to my other lights that I can compare it to.

I sold my ZL headlamp and got an MH20 and i miss the zebra interface so much. I'm adjusting though. I had the H600 Mk2 18650 headlamp. And i HATED how fast it would kick down into a much lower brightness, but i think that happened because i used it for night time winter bicycle commutes. So not a heat/PID thing, I think it was just a cold 3.6v battery not keeping up with the drain. At home it would stay on, but in a sub-freezing wind it stayed on high for about 8 seconds.
For cycling use, im not into this trend towards neutral white floody. I need throw, and the ability to really leave a lasting ache in the eyeballs of drivers.
If ZL ever makes a headlamp with the XHP35, i'm in, and it better have a 10 degree spotty.