Wow, I'm getting famous.
Cool.
:twothumbs
Sorry folks, will not have time to take pix or such, but in any case, George has posted new pics already!
OKay, I took the Zebra on a Summit climb to Mt. Kinabalu today. I must say, it is not designed for this.
The light lasted about 1.5 hours in near freezing temps on high with a 2000 mah Eneloop. That is pretty much as expected so that is fine. Actually, when the battery was too low, it switched to medium only mode. I did not test further at this point as I needed high mode so did a field battery replacement (went fine, kept the light on my head the whole time).
The beam is a near bare bulb (more accurately bare LED) pattern, so is too diffuse for use climbing and scrambling in the dark. It was okay for the pitch black trail, but the beam was still a bit too diffuse for me.
I will have to compare it to my Seouled EOS with stippled reflector when I get home and comment.
I still think this is a great headlamp for the following uses:
- basic camping use, rummaging in a tent, pack.
- around the house and most indoor use.
- reading.
I do not think it is suitable for any real heavy trail use as the light is too diffuse and flat, even on high. If you want to wander the trails at night route finding with this light, you will likely not be happy.
I cannot comment on campground use yet, but I will be trekking in Thailand in about 10 days so can provide more feedback at that time.
I would suggest perhaps a more "wall of light" beam, but I'm unsure it's possible in such a compact design. I will consult with George and submit a complete summary/review in early October when I return.
Note: Beamshots are pretty tough to do for a bare bulb...
Also, I think the switch will loosen up with use and I will switch to my traditional superlube when I get home. This is not likely to be a real problem.
2 things that would make this light completely unbeatable:
- more "wall of light" beam.
- clicky switch (reverse would be best for mode changes).
Other features would be awesome but I will limit my comments to those 2 for the moment.
One more thing I forgot. If you do white wall hunting with the Zebra, you will notice a strange square grid pattern of lines on the wall. I contacted George about this. It is known and a function of the Cree LED. While this is a bit disconcerting and weird, I only noticed it when I was white wall hunting.
I have not noticed this in real world use (including reading). I will keep an eye put for this and comment as needed.
Hmmmm, I'm giving away all my my review secrets early! Enjoy folks.
:naughty: