New Zebralight H31

[Beacon of Light]

I think he may be stating the H31 is the best simply from the ZL UI which everyone seems to love.

 

[datiLED]

Just a dumb question, if the H31 is the best headlamp you have ever used, why buy another H30?

Variety is the spice of life. The H31 does 85% of what I want a headlamp for, but the pure flood of an H30 is nice when I am working on electrical wiring, or close tasks where the spot beam would be a nuisance. I wouldn't use the H30 for my walks with the family at night, but I would use it when I am completing a project in the dark, camping, etc.

 

[davidt1]

Variety is the spice of life. The H31 does 85% of what I want a headlamp for, but the pure flood of an H30 is nice when I am working on electrical wiring, or close tasks where the spot beam would be a nuisance. I wouldn't use the H30 for my walks with the family at night, but I would use it when I am completing a project in the dark, camping, etc.

I hear you. I already have the amazing H501, but will also buy the h51. However, I think the reflectored lights with XP-G will be more versatile than the all-flood lights.

 

[candlelight001]

The high mode on my H31 won't come on. Is this a battery running out, step down kind of issue? Anyone else have it? Hadn't really used the light that much... At what point in batter life do you lose the high beam?

 

[Shorty66]

i dont own a H31 but i know the "problem" from the h501:
First it could be a battery issue. If the battery is going low, the light wont come on on the high level and after further discharging it wont even start the medium level.

Second it could be an issue with the tailcap: If you did not screw dont the tailcap fully the light might come on but react strange.

 

[ky70]

The high mode on my H31 won't come on. Is this a battery running out, step down kind of issue? Anyone else have it? Hadn't really used the light that much... At what point in batter life do you lose the high beam?

What's the voltage on the battery? I'm guessing a battery with more juice would fire up in high.

I did a test on my Zebralight SC50 by putting a depleted AA alkaline battery in and I was unable to access the high mode, but I was still able to access both medium and low modes. I ran the light on medium for over 3 hours and was still able to get low and medium and then I got tired and cut the light off and tossed the battery. I like this "feature" because the light can still be used at lower levels AND it alerts me that my battery is getting low.

 

[was.lost.but.now.found]

Are many of you using the H31 as an EDC? I'm debating between that and the SC30. I'm not a big fan of pocket clips (I just don't use them really) so going with the light without a quasi-permanent clip (drilled holes and a flat face it mounts to) seems to just make sense. On the other hand, my edc often ands up being held in my mouth for short periods, and I'm trying to figure out how that would work with the H31.

 

[Beacon of Light]

Got my H31w today. The UI is a little confusing at first but after 5 minutes playing with it it makes sense. The low and medium will remember the sub levels and the high doesn't but it will default always to the lower high which is fine by me. It is 3:42pm so too early to test it outside but I am anxious to compare this to the H50 tint wise and beam profile wise. This will be my first neutral/warm tint. Indoors I'm not digging it at all as everything is a dimmer yellow tint and I pretty much prefer cool/pure white LEDs. I may have to buy a H31 and sell this off if I don't care for the warm tint outdoors. The color reminds me of incandescents and they went the way of the dinosaurs since the advent of LEDs. Still amazes me people want or prefer this tint. I dunno maybe tonight when I try it outdoors I may be a convert instead of a skeptic, but I am skeptical of that already.

 

[was.lost.but.now.found]

Got my H31w today. The UI is a little confusing at first but after 5 minutes playing with it it makes sense. The low and medium will remember the sub levels and the high doesn't but it will default always to the lower high which is fine by me. It is 3:42pm so too early to test it outside but I am anxious to compare this to the H50 tint wise and beam profile wise. This will be my first neutral/warm tint. Indoors I'm not digging it at all as everything is a dimmer yellow tint and I pretty much prefer cool/pure white LEDs. I may have to buy a H31 and sell this off if I don't care for the warm tint outdoors. The color reminds me of incandescents and they went the way of the dinosaurs since the advent of LEDs. Still amazes me people want or prefer this tint. I dunno maybe tonight when I try it outdoors I may be a convert instead of a skeptic, but I am skeptical of that already.

I'll definitely be looking forward to your follow up because I feel the same way - curiosity with but skepticism for warm tints. Btw, do you plan to use it as an EDC? How do you like the spray bottle hold? That's my biggest concern at this point before I tell my wife to get it for me for Father's Day.

 

[Beacon of Light]

Well I don't really EDC any one light or headlamp, I rotate all my lights as I have so many now thanks to this place.

What do you mean by spray bottle hold? You mean the black silicone holder? I prefer the glow in the dark holder from my H50. I may buy an H30 just to get 3 spare GITD silicone holders and hope it will hold a H31 as I assume the H30 and H31 are roughly the same diameter.

 

[was.lost.but.now.found]

What do you mean by spray bottle hold? You mean the black silicone holder? I prefer the glow in the dark holder from my H50. I may buy an H30 just to get 3 spare GITD silicone holders and hope it will hold a H31 as I assume the H30 and H31 are roughly the same diameter.

I was referring to the manner in which you have to hold it to activate the switch while having the emitter facing forward. I don't envision that much differently than how you would squirt a skinny aerosol can.

 

[Beacon of Light]

The H31 is pretty hard to fit in this new black holder so I doubt I would be taking it out often or even ever to use as a stand alone light (I have never taken my H50 out of the holder). In the holder the light is sideways and I keep it with the switch to the left side of my head so it would be like a sideways aerosol can which still seems like a strange analogy. In any event the switch is pretty sensitive as it is the ultra soft clicky. I like the hold to start in Low and it memorizes moon mode which in reality it doesn't seem as low as the other moon modes. Perhaps this is what FroggyTaco was mentioning about the H501. The low is supposed to be 3.5 lumens and the moon mode is .5 lumens and while the moon is lower, it isn't a huge difference like I can see from my Novatac set to similar levels.

 

[mega_lumens]

Can anyone tell me how far H31 throws (with usable beam) on High 2 mode 87 lumens?

 

[candlelight001]

What's the voltage on the battery? I'm guessing a battery with more juice would fire up in high.

I did a test on my Zebralight SC50 by putting a depleted AA alkaline battery in and I was unable to access the high mode, but I was still able to access both medium and low modes. I ran the light on medium for over 3 hours and was still able to get low and medium and then I got tired and cut the light off and tossed the battery. I like this "feature" because the light can still be used at lower levels AND it alerts me that my battery is getting low.

Yeah, low battery seems likely, as swapping in a new one fixed it. My concern though is that I'm losing my high mode not very far into the battery life. So say I use it at medium for 2 hours, then I'm not gonna be able to use the high at all? Obviously untested, but I didn't use this battery much before losing high. Will try a new batt.

 

[ky70]

Yeah, low battery seems likely, as swapping in a new one fixed it. My concern though is that I'm losing my high mode not very far into the battery life. So say I use it at medium for 2 hours, then I'm not gonna be able to use the high at all? Obviously untested, but I didn't use this battery much before losing high. Will try a new batt.

When I did my test on the SC50 using a depleted alkaline, I was actually able to get into high mode by trying over and over again. After 5 or 6 attemps, I could get the light to go into the high mode. I almost had to trick the light to turn on in high but with enough back and forth, it would cut on in high. Now the output was clearly dimmer than the normal output on high but I'm sure I was in high mode as I was also able to toggle to the 2nd high mode, which is strobe.

I think its a benefit that the light won't fire up in high at full power on a weak battery as this battery would not last long at all if it could cut on in full blast high. The ability to still use the light on a weak battery in lower modes is a great "feature" as it allows for extended runtime on lower levels and also works as an indicator that the batteries need changing. I want to test this out with a 14500, but my guess is that the battery would be below the usable voltage range when it got to the point where it no longer works in high. I suspect a NIHM would behave like the alkaline but I'll test both when I get a chance.

 

[wapkil]

I like the hold to start in Low and it memorizes moon mode which in reality it doesn't seem as low as the other moon modes. Perhaps this is what FroggyTaco was mentioning about the H501. The low is supposed to be 3.5 lumens and the moon mode is .5 lumens and while the moon is lower, it isn't a huge difference like I can see from my Novatac set to similar levels.

It seems that ZL specifications for moon mode are not really precise. I read about the new H501 and your H31. On the other hand, I have an SC50w and the moon mode in it, specified at similar level - 0.6lm, is really low. If my eyes are not dark-adapted, I can look directly at the LED without being blinded. I can believe that it really is 0.6lm or even less. FWIW it is a light with upgraded circuit (it memorizes both levels).

 

[Incidentalist]

Does anybody else H31/H31W have a preflash?

Mine comes on in low for a split second before going to high.

Is this normal?

 

[Frederic]

I just got 2 H31's today and they both come on low for just a split second before going to high.

 

[ZebraLight]

Does anybody else H31/H31W have a preflash?

Mine comes on in low for a split second before going to high.

Is this normal?

It's normal. The CPU can't tell if it's going to be a 'press and hold' or a 'short click' during this split second time.

 

[Beacon of Light]

It seems that ZL specifications for moon mode are not really precise. I read about the new H501 and your H31. On the other hand, I have an SC50w and the moon mode in it, specified at similar level - 0.6lm, is really low. If my eyes are not dark-adapted, I can look directly at the LED without being blinded. I can believe that it really is 0.6lm or even less. FWIW it is a light with upgraded circuit (it memorizes both levels).

I can look into ther led at moon mode too I just wonder if it really is .5 or .4 lumens since low is 3.5 lumens and there doesn't see that much difference. On my Novatac I have it set up .03/.33/.94/2.7 There is a bigger difference between .33 and .97 lumens on my Novatac than there is between .5 lumens and 3.5 lumens on my Zebralight. Why would this be unless the ZL levels were misrepresented?