Zebralight SC700d 21700 XHP70.2 90+CRI

[StandardBattery]

I got mine yesterday. I like it. It does not replace my 600Fd III plus. The anodizing is a lighter color, similar to some earlier models, yes i prefer the darker anodizing. I prefer the smooth beam from a frosted lens, i hope they make it with a frosted lens. The color temp is warmer than my 600FdIII+ I'm pretty sure, but i need more tests at different levels. The beam has more rings than typical for Zebralight, outdoors or after 25ft it likely is fine. I didn't get the chance for an outdoor test yet. It's bright!

Hmmm. Using a 50E I'm getting a slight battery rattle. This is unexpected. Going to track down where my 40Ts are hiding and check them.

 

[markr6]

Hmmm. Using a 50E I'm getting a slight battery rattle. This is unexpected. Going to track down where my 40Ts are hiding and check them.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that. Huge rattle with my 40T. I got that with other Zebralights so I usually wrap the cell with clear shrink wrap. There's always the cheap scotch tape method too.

 

[StandardBattery]

Hmmm. Using a 50E I'm getting a slight battery rattle. This is unexpected. Going to track down where my 40Ts are hiding and check them.

Checked, and as expected 40T is the same.

 

[StorminMatt]

Apparently, sometime within the next few weeks (who knows what that means) they're going to come out with a 700Fd. I personally love their diffused lights as one thing I use them for is as a photo fill. I also like them indoors as a first choice, whether wandering about or working. Usually. I still intend to get my 700d whenever they can manage to ship it to me...it seems a beautiful beam and I'm greatly looking forward to it, but I at least find it an intriguing option to think about while waiting : )

Since I preordered on December 4 and likely won't be getting mine for a while, I wonder if I could just have Zebralight send me this one instead.

 

[justanotherguy]

Where is this SC700fd info coming from?
This light is pretty dam floody as it is

 

[holygeez03]

Floody, yes... but assuming the Fd is diffused/frosted, that's a whole new category.

Pencil beam
Thrower
Flood
Diffused
Mule

All have their uses...

 

[StandardBattery]

I got mine yesterday. I like it. It does not replace my 600Fd III plus. The anodizing is a lighter color, similar to some earlier models, yes i prefer the darker anodizing. I prefer the smooth beam from a frosted lens, i hope they make it with a frosted lens. The color temp is warmer than my 600FdIII+ I'm pretty sure, but i need more tests at different levels. The beam has more rings than typical for Zebralight, outdoors or after 25ft it likely is fine. I didn't get the chance for an outdoor test yet. It's bright!

Hmmm. Using a 50E I'm getting a slight battery rattle. This is unexpected. Going to track down where my 40Ts are hiding and check them.

Checked, and as expected 40T is the same.

After using it for a a very short while, I'll reverse myself and say the tint on my 700d is slightly cooler than my 600Fd III plus, but very close.

As mentioned by someone earlier, the 700d can stay at H2 for a long time and even H1. I tested at 0 deg C and the Fd III plus got warm to hold almost immediately, makes a good hand warmer. The 700d did not really heat much in my hand, I suspect at H2 it can run forever at 0deg. It's a great light for outdoors, the extra distance at H2 is useful, and H1 is kind of insane, but has applications.

I like the spectrum of the 600 III Fd plus, a beautiful light, the 700d is not quite as nice. The level programmability will be really great on the 700 series with it's incredible lumen range.

I think they may adjust the diameter of the battery tube just a bit to reduce battery rattle, unless there are slightly larger 21700 spec cells coming out. I do not have a a newer Panasonic/Sanyo 21700 cell to check, but as listed above 50E, 40T, and 48G all have more rattle than I like (as well as the 20700B). They requite a tape/wrapper addition to quiet things down.

I look forward to the 700Fd; I will buy it, and the 700d will probably join my ZebraLight archives. The 600 III Fd plus will remain my EDC, but going outdoors I might leave my TX-35 UE, and others at home more often in favor of the future 700Fd.

 

[Keitho]

My first real-world runtime test was at "H2a" level (specified at 1458 lumens), using the Samsung 40T's that I ordered from Zebralight. I ran it for 20 minutes on my bike ride to work at 19 deg F, then continued the test on my bike ride home at 38 deg F; it was at 70 total minutes when it stepped down from H2a into a much lower mode (I swapped cells at that point). Both rides averaged ~17mph; so, I don't expect there was much/any PID. My MiBoxer charger read 3.21V when I started recharging it. Per the lygte-info.dk test of the cell, I got through about 15 Wh in 70 minutes (I'm approximating about 3.2A at 1400 lumens, about 110 lumens per W). With a larger capacity cell, I'd expect about 2 more Wh, which should translate into a total of at least 80 minutes before stepdown (very roughly--I'm aware that voltage sag and other phenomena that will certainly affect runtimes at different currents on different cells).

The ride experience with this handlebar light was good with the clear lens, and truly excellent with some Scotch brand "self adhesive diffuser film." It would be perfect as a helmet light without the tape, and I'm really happy with the slightly-more-diffused beam for a handlebar light. The 1458 lumens was really too much for road riding, and will be perfect as a "turbo" mode when downhilling on singletrack trails; the 945 lumens was pretty perfect for riding on pavement, and should last at least 2 hours (I'll do some more real world testing over the next week)! I'm used to using an SC600Fc IV+ at the 1035-lumen setting: 4000K, pure frosted floody high-CRI goodness, but less than an hour on an 18650GA (with a very subjectively slightly-prettier beam and tint to my eyes).

It was only one day of use, but I might finally have a high quality light that I can recommend to non-flashaholic bike friends, or hand to my wife for her to use on her bike (using one of the programmable UI groups to make it into a 1-mode bike light with a very predictable runtime, no matter how many times she presses the button). A runtime of 70-80 minutes at 1400 lumens and 2 hours at 900 lumens starts to be very attractive when compared to high-end bike-specific options. For example, the Exposure Diablo (up to Mk10 now) is a fantastic light at 120g, 1500 claimed (believable) lumens for 1 hour, at USD$240 or more (they don't specify CCT or CRI). The high-CRI ZL SC700 is 162g, with longer runtime, replaceable cells, and way more uses off the bike. Obviously, the ZL lacks many features that some people find useful on bike-specific lights (remotes, cutoff beams, USB charging, head unit controls, etc.); but, for many, this gem might fit the bill.

To add more info that isn't on the ZL spec sheet so far (come ON Zebralight, that's just being lazy; and, don't get me started about the lack of runtimes on lights over a year old), the empty weight on my kitchen scale with the pocket clip is 96g; including the 40T it reads 162g.

 

[justanotherguy]

seems to narrow a light so to speak for mtb'ing.. I'd gloworm it.. Or something. I used a gemini clone with a remote4x battery holder

 

[SubLGT]

Apparently, Samsung has just recently finished tweaking the performance of the 40T cell, and have released the "production version" of the cell to distributors. I believe ZL and other vendors have been selling a pre-production version.

https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/threads/inr21700-40t-are-they-all-the-same.892775/

Samsung is finally starting to release the production version of the 40T to some distributors/customers. There are some changes in the latest version of the datasheet. I will be receiving samples of these production cells and will compare them to the performance and appearance of the pre-production samples I tested earlier.

 

[Keitho]

seems to narrow a light so to speak for mtb'ing.. I'd gloworm it.. Or something. I used a gemini clone with a remote4x battery holder

Yep, bike specific lights will work best for a lot of people, including remote wired battery packs. But, I was surprised how floody the SC700d gets with the OP reflector and some Scotch tape--way brighter spill than I expected given the depth of the reflector. I should have also mentioned that I pretty much always use a helmet light to supplement my bar light--that helps fill in shadows and not-so-bright spots that I need to see. For people who want just one light on their bar, especially for MTB, the SC700 probably isn't the right fit.

 

[likethevegetable]

Keitho, thanks for posting the weight. I'm surprised to see it's only 4 g heavier than the SC600s.

 

[StandardBattery]

My ZL 700d with 50E weighs 161.8g, my 600Fd III plus with GA weighs 114.2g.

 

[likethevegetable]

My ZL 700d with 50E weighs 161.8g, my 600Fd III plus with GA weighs 114.2g.

That sounds more reasonable to me than what Keitho posted, perhaps his scale cal. is off.

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

That sounds more reasonable to me than what Keitho posted, perhaps his scale cal. is off.

Maybe without batteries it's only 8g heavier? I thought it would be more, but the 600's use fairly chunky aluminum, so maybe 8g is right.

 

[likethevegetable]

Maybe without batteries it's only 8g heavier? I thought it would be more, but the 600's use fairly chunky aluminum, so maybe 8g is right.

Given a 70 g 21700, StandardBattery would have weighed theirs closer to 90 g w/o the cell, which is about 26 g (almost an oz) heavier than the 600's.

 

[Keitho]

Sorry guys, I must have somehow mis-zeroed my kitchen scale for post 488; I re-weighed my SC600Fd IV+ at 68g with the pocket clip, 64g with no pocket clip (same as ZL specification); then re-weighed my SC700d at 96g with the pocket clip and no cell, 162g with pocket clip and 40T cell. Editing post 488 now. Maybe I should have waited until after I posted to start with the Stranahan's!

 

[StorminMatt]

Yep, bike specific lights will work best for a lot of people, including remote wired battery packs. But, I was surprised how floody the SC700d gets with the OP reflector and some Scotch tape--way brighter spill than I expected given the depth of the reflector. I should have also mentioned that I pretty much always use a helmet light to supplement my bar light--that helps fill in shadows and not-so-bright spots that I need to see. For people who want just one light on their bar, especially for MTB, the SC700 probably isn't the right fit.

Then again, can you get a bike light that is NOT low cri cool white? I don't know about you. But I would NEVER willingly downgrade from something like the SC600Fc to cool white! And although I don't know how the SC700d compares to the SC600Fc. But even if it's nowhere as good, I'm SURE it's WORLDS better than some cheap cool white bike light.

 

[Derek Dean]

I hope, when you'all are talking about using something like the SC700d for bike riding, that you are NOT considering using this for riding where other people are coming towards you. I commute to work by bicycle on a bike path, and I seriously dislike it when some yahoo is coming at me from the other direction with his new zillion lumen light blazing right in my eyes to the point that I am totally blinded.

Years ago I found a lovely bike light that is designed with a hard cutoff that not only keeps the light out of peoples eyes, but re-directs it down on the pavement where it actually does some good. Yes, it's a bit on the coolish side and certainly not high CRI, but it works well for it's intended purpose.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, please do carry on, as I'm sure you're much more thoughtful than to misuse your lights in such a fashion : )

 

[StandardBattery]

My ZL 700d with 50E weighs 161.8g, my 600Fd III plus with GA weighs 114.2g.

The 700d was without clip, the 600Fd was with clip.

I'm really impressed with how cool the 700d runs even out of the hand. Used indoors it's great for lighting a room with a ceiling bounce, reminds me of my quads and other much larger lights.