WebHobbit
Enlightened
So I finally got my first ZebraLight. I've always been a Surefire - Malkoff guy so I've resisted the ZLs...until now. I've been carrying an MD2 M61 daily for several years but since I have a slightly different job now I don't really need much throw at work anymore. And frankly the older (and fatter) I get I am getting more and more tired of carrying around so much extra weight with my EDC. I changed my pistol from an XDm 3.8 9mm to a svelte S&W Shield 9mm. So now I'd like to do the same for my EDC flashlight. I still love my MD2 but I'd like to try something a lot smaller at least for my crappy 10 hour a day walking-on-concrete floors warehouse day job.
I will very likely try a Malkoff MDC eventually as it looks really nice too but I want at least two modes and the Malkoff has PWM which I don't want. Ideally for me would be two modes - a medium with about 25-70 lumens and a high with at least 250. For the purpose of this compact/lightweight carry I think a single CR123a is ideal (all my other lights use 18650 protected cells). So I got my ZebraLight SC32 in the mail yesterday (pretty quick turn around from ZL and free First Class USPS shipping).
I been doing comparison & run-time tests on it half the night. Here are my conclusions and results:
ZL website says H1 mode is PID controlled 480 lumens and "about" 1.4 hours. First thing I see is that compared to my MD2 (325 lumens) the SC32 is noticeable brighter with nearly as much spill but of course less throw. So far so good! I also see that when compared on a whitewall the SC32 is a couple of degrees whiter/cooler than my MD2. The M61 looks downright warm compared to the SC32! Both lights are the cool versions. Both lights have very clean and nice beams. No problems here. After about 30 minutes the SC32 got warm but not hot. After about 45 minutes it was cool again and within 60 minutes it was NOTICEABLY dimmer. A LOT dimmer. So obviously this was the thermal sensor voodoo doing it's thing. This was very disappointing to me. I don't really care for the idea of a high mode that can't maintain a strong brightness for at least a solid hour. I was using a fresh new Surefire CR123a and this was in my cool air-conditioned house. I was pretty bummed and it was at this point late last night that I was considering selling this tiny marvel on the forum and then saving for the difference to get my Malkoff MDC.
But then I started looking at the UI and different mode options. A quick double click from H1 will get me to H2 which the ZL site lists as 262 lumens for 1.6 hours...and if I understand the engineering right this mode is NOT PID controlled. So I put in a new SF CR123a and restarted my test in H2 mode. I put a fresh 18650 in the MD2 and compared them again. Running in H2 the ZL was slightly dimmer than the M61 but still a respectable amount of brightness so I do think the 262 claim is accurate. In fact walking around my house in the dark it does seem like an ideal amount of light for my needs. So I am happy with that! Now here is where it gets kind of weird. I left the SC32 on in H2 for 3 hours straight before I gave up and went to bed. The light NEVER got warm the entire time! And the brightness looked to be 100% the whole time! Now I don't have a light-box or any other way to measure output so it's very possible I'm wrong but it sure APPEARED to be the same to my naked eye. I just now turned it back on and made sure it was in H2...still looks bright and I will try to finish draining this battery.
So my conclusion so far is that 480 lumens is a little too much to ask of such a tiny light and a single CR123a...at least for MY needs and my ideas about reasonable run-time and balanced usage. The 262 lumen H2 mode is the ideal "real" high mode for me. Also the Medium M1 mode of 54 lumens is probably ideal for when I'm trying to read something fairly close. I'll carry this little light to work with me on Monday and Monday night I will report back.
I will very likely try a Malkoff MDC eventually as it looks really nice too but I want at least two modes and the Malkoff has PWM which I don't want. Ideally for me would be two modes - a medium with about 25-70 lumens and a high with at least 250. For the purpose of this compact/lightweight carry I think a single CR123a is ideal (all my other lights use 18650 protected cells). So I got my ZebraLight SC32 in the mail yesterday (pretty quick turn around from ZL and free First Class USPS shipping).
I been doing comparison & run-time tests on it half the night. Here are my conclusions and results:
ZL website says H1 mode is PID controlled 480 lumens and "about" 1.4 hours. First thing I see is that compared to my MD2 (325 lumens) the SC32 is noticeable brighter with nearly as much spill but of course less throw. So far so good! I also see that when compared on a whitewall the SC32 is a couple of degrees whiter/cooler than my MD2. The M61 looks downright warm compared to the SC32! Both lights are the cool versions. Both lights have very clean and nice beams. No problems here. After about 30 minutes the SC32 got warm but not hot. After about 45 minutes it was cool again and within 60 minutes it was NOTICEABLY dimmer. A LOT dimmer. So obviously this was the thermal sensor voodoo doing it's thing. This was very disappointing to me. I don't really care for the idea of a high mode that can't maintain a strong brightness for at least a solid hour. I was using a fresh new Surefire CR123a and this was in my cool air-conditioned house. I was pretty bummed and it was at this point late last night that I was considering selling this tiny marvel on the forum and then saving for the difference to get my Malkoff MDC.
But then I started looking at the UI and different mode options. A quick double click from H1 will get me to H2 which the ZL site lists as 262 lumens for 1.6 hours...and if I understand the engineering right this mode is NOT PID controlled. So I put in a new SF CR123a and restarted my test in H2 mode. I put a fresh 18650 in the MD2 and compared them again. Running in H2 the ZL was slightly dimmer than the M61 but still a respectable amount of brightness so I do think the 262 claim is accurate. In fact walking around my house in the dark it does seem like an ideal amount of light for my needs. So I am happy with that! Now here is where it gets kind of weird. I left the SC32 on in H2 for 3 hours straight before I gave up and went to bed. The light NEVER got warm the entire time! And the brightness looked to be 100% the whole time! Now I don't have a light-box or any other way to measure output so it's very possible I'm wrong but it sure APPEARED to be the same to my naked eye. I just now turned it back on and made sure it was in H2...still looks bright and I will try to finish draining this battery.
So my conclusion so far is that 480 lumens is a little too much to ask of such a tiny light and a single CR123a...at least for MY needs and my ideas about reasonable run-time and balanced usage. The 262 lumen H2 mode is the ideal "real" high mode for me. Also the Medium M1 mode of 54 lumens is probably ideal for when I'm trying to read something fairly close. I'll carry this little light to work with me on Monday and Monday night I will report back.
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