Zebralight SC600Fd Mk IV Plus--High CRI, 1800+ Lumens, 1x 18650

I just noticed this pop up on ZL's website this morning. Pre orders open now, shipping starts at the end of November. I'm not in the market for a new light, and all my existing ZL's are more than adequate for my needs, but I'm seriously considering this one. That high CRI, with that high output...hard to resist.

I've been very happy with an SC600w Mk III, but I'm still considering the SC600Fd Mk IV Plus. Both being floody and higher CRI is tempting.

The SC600Fd Mk III Plus is my favourite light so I have no choice but to buy the MK IV, too. Floody high CRI goodness FTW.

My zebralight sc600 is a first gen, so 750 Lumens could be looking at retiring

I'm more interested in the SC600w IV Plus. NW tint 2300 lumens.

EDness said:

I'm more interested in the SC600w IV Plus. NW tint 2300 lumens.

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I just wonder if this means I could run it at 1000 lumens longer before step down compared to mk111?

recDNA said:

I just wonder if this means I could run it at 1000 lumens longer before step down compared to mk111?

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Thats a really good question, I hope it's not December before we find out

recDNA said:

I just wonder if this means I could run it at 1000 lumens longer before step down compared to mk111?

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I just noticed there may be a typo as it says the top 3 levels are PID controlled but, only shows two as PID controlled at the top. So, if that's true, 358 lumens might be the top non-PID controlled level. I would guess it will still run at least a bit cooler though as it uses a clear lens(frosted lenses have less transmission so more light is generated) and has a more efficient driver.

How many zebralight threads are we up to?

markr6 said:

How many zebralight threads are we up to?

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Not enough that's what I say:devil:

Hm... was hoping the SC64 would have some changes to the body design. Maybe some knurling added.

As-is, it looks like the SC64 has a body identical to the SC63. The only updates are under the hood. Think I may pass on this one. A 300 lumen increase in brightness over my SC63 will be barely visually noticeable. Without a corresponding improvement in the body, it's just not worth the money to me to upgrade.

I think the most interesting of the bunch is the SC600 IV plus with 2300 lumens. That's twice the output of my SC600w III HI and SC63w which is a nice improvement.

On the other hand even at 2300 lumens this new SC600 is still barely over half the output of my D4 (4300 lumens), has a worse UI than the D4, and costs 2.5x as much. Also, I personally have had bad luck with Zebralights with around a 70% failure rate out of the dozen or so Zebras I've owned, compared to zero failures with my D4s.

I consider UI "superiority" to be debatable but that comes down to personal preference. ZL is better made, sealed and potted (not bashing the D4, I love it!) so I consider the much higher price tag justifiable. Just ordered the H600Fc, hope I win the tint lottery jackpot. 1500+ lumens on my forehead when needed is much more than adequate without melting my brain.

Fireclaw18 said:

Hm... was hoping the SC64 would have some changes to the body design. Maybe some knurling added.

As-is, it looks like the SC64 has a body identical to the SC63. The only updates are under the hood. Think I may pass on this one. A 300 lumen increase in brightness over my SC63 will be barely visually noticeable. Without a corresponding improvement in the body, it's just not worth the money to me to upgrade.

I think the most interesting of the bunch is the SC600 IV plus with 2300 lumens. That's twice the output of my SC600w III HI and SC63w which is a nice improvement.

On the other hand even at 2300 lumens this new SC600 is still barely over half the output of my D4 (4300 lumens), has a worse UI than the D4, and costs 2.5x as much. Also, I personally have had bad luck with Zebralights with around a 70% failure rate out of the dozen or so Zebras I've owned, compared to zero failures with my D4s.

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That is a generic picture. There is no conformation if there is a body change or not. Maybe someone can email them and ask. I too would like some knurling.

The extra output and more efficient driver are a bonus but, the new UI is the biggest improvement giving you the option to configure it how you want.

The D4 is a pretty nice light but, it is still a "budget light" and no where near the quality of a ZL. There is a reason they cost more. ZL's have better quality aluminum, much tougher anodizing, more efficient drivers, fully potted electronics, use nice OP reflectors instead of low quality injection molded optics, are fully current controlled with no PWM on any level, are lighter, smaller, and have a warranty and a US office to take care of you.

As for the failure rate, you are either very unlucky or hard on your lights. In the early years ZL had some issues but, now a days they are pretty darn reliable. There are very little failure reports on here or other forums over the last bunch of years unlike some other brands. And, even if you do have an issue, ZL will fix any light for $15 even many years after the warranty.

The D4 is a new light so it has barely had any time to fail lol. Plus, it is highly overdriven, unlike any ZL meaning the emitters will degrade(lower and lower output) much faster and have a higher chance of failing altogether. It also has pretty much no warranty if anything does happen.

Which UI is better is definitely subjective but, with ZL's new UI you can pretty much set it up however you want and all with the button unlike the D4 which requires a complicated driver re-flash to change anything other then the thermal regulation.

I like the D4 but, it is in a totally different class then ZL's and is a much less practical option for EDC imo.

Tachead said:

...As for the failure rate, you are either very unlucky or hard on your lights. In the early years ZL had some issues but, now a days they are pretty darn reliable. There are very little failure reports on here or other forums over the last bunch of years unlike some other brands. And, even if you do have an issue, ZL will fix any light for $15 even many years after the warranty...

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All of my Zebras have seen extremely light use. All of them were preorders purchased directly from Zebralight's website. None of them were ever dropped and they have no scratches or other damage on their exteriors. For lights that used Lithium Ion batteries all cells were purchased directly from Zebralight, Illumn, or Mountain Electronics. No ultrafire cheapie batteries here.

SC51 - no issues
SC52 - Initially worked ok. However, now won't stay in turbo more than 20 seconds on a fresh 14500.
SC52w - Arrived defective. won't stay in turbo for more than 10 seconds or so on a fresh 14500. I suspect a bad ground connection where the driver meets the body tube.
SC580 - Arrived defective. When H2 is activated the light flashes briefly then turns off instead of going to H2. However, I still consider this acceptable as all other modes including H1 work fine.
SC600 - Arrived defective. Improperly wired switch caused the button to be activated when the switch was lightly brushed with a finger without being depressed or clicked. This was a known issue that affected many pre-order SC600s. Returned for warranty repair. Got it back from China 3 months later. The repaired light works perfectly. No issues since.
SC32w - Arrived defective. won't stay in turbo for more than 2 seconds on a fresh 16340 cell.
SC62w - Arrived defective. Initially wouldn't stay in turbo for more than 30 seconds on a fresh cell. After a few days of light use this had decreased to less than 5 seconds. Returned and replaced with a new SC62w
Second SC62w - Arrived defective. same issue as first SC62w though does manage to stay in turbo slightly longer (about 15 seconds).
SC5w - Worked great initially, but after less than a week of light use, output dimmed markedly and the light became useless. All modes still apparently work, but maximum output of the light is now about 1 lumen, with all other modes less than that. Either the driver or LED or both need to be replaced. The only batteries this light ever saw were Eneloop Pro.
SC63w - no issues.
SC600w III HI - no issues.

Most important thing for an EDC is that it must work when you turn it on. At this point, I'm rather hesitant to buy another Zebra, because of the rampant quality control issues I've experienced with them. I have more trust in a $6 budget light than in a typical Zebra.

When I compare to Zebra, the D4 seems absolutely amazing (much better UI, much higher max output, easily moddable, works when you turn it on every time, and if it ever did break I could probably open it up and repair it myself). In my opinion, the D4 and D1 are state-of-the-art, while my Zebras feel like "outdated tech".

Tachead said:

That is a generic picture. There is no conformation if there is a body change or not.

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All previous times Zebralight posted pictures next to their preorders that picture was always accurate. There's no reason to suggest this time will be different.

Since the picture didn't change, the only conclusion is that this time Zebra chose not to change the bodies at all. This also matches the Zebralight spreadsheet which shows the dimensions of the new lights as being identical to the previous generation.

So.... no knurling.

Tachead said:

...The D4 is a new light so it has barely had any time to fail lol. Plus, it is highly overdriven, unlike any ZL meaning the emitters will degrade(lower and lower output) much faster and have a higher chance of failing altogether. ....

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LEDs aren't like incan light bulbs. They rarely fail when heavily driven. Instead they just lose output and get dim.

Personally, I don't care if the LEDs only last 1,000 hours instead of the 50,000 the manufacturer probably rates them at. Chances are I'll replace them long before that. The stock LEDs in my D4 only lasted a week before I upgraded them. My D1 now sports a dedomed SST40 and outputs over 2000 lumens and close to 50k lux, etc.

Also, when new emitters come out with a Zebra you pretty much have to buy a new Zebra. They're incredibly difficult to mod. With a light like D1 and D4, I can simply buy the latest new emitter and reflow it into the light for a fraction of the cost.

Fireclaw18 said:

All of my Zebras have seen extremely light use. All of them were preorders purchased directly from Zebralight's website. None of them were ever dropped and they have no scratches or other damage on their exteriors. For lights that used Lithium Ion batteries all cells were purchased directly from Zebralight, Illumn, or Mountain Electronics. No ultrafire cheapie batteries here.

SC51 - no issues
SC52 - Initially worked ok. However, now won't stay in turbo more than 20 seconds on a fresh 14500.
SC52w - Arrived defective. won't stay in turbo for more than 10 seconds or so on a fresh 14500. I suspect a bad ground connection where the driver meets the body tube.
SC580 - Arrived defective. When H2 is activated the light flashes briefly then turns off instead of going to H2. However, I still consider this acceptable as all other modes including H1 work fine.
SC600 - Arrived defective. Improperly wired switch caused the button to be activated when the switch was lightly brushed with a finger without being depressed or clicked. This was a known issue that affected many pre-order SC600s. Returned for warranty repair. Got it back from China 3 months later. No issues since.
SC32w - Arrived defective. won't stay in turbo for more than 2 seconds on a fresh 16340 cell.
SC62w - Arrived defective. Initially wouldn't stay in turbo for more than 30 seconds on a fresh cell. After a few days of light use this had decreased to less than 5 seconds. Returned and replaced with a new SC62w
Second SC62w - Arrived defective. same issue as first SC62w.
SC5w - Worked great initially, but after less than a week of light use, output dimmed markedly and the light became useless. All modes still apparently work, but maximum output of the light is now about 1 lumen, with all other modes less than that. Either the driver or LED or both need to be replaced. The only batteries this light ever saw were Eneloop Pro.
SC63w - no issues.
SC600w III HI - no issues.

Most important thing for an EDC is that it must work when you turn it on. At this point, I'm rather hesitant to buy another Zebra, because of the rampant quality control issues I've experienced with them. I have more trust in a $6 budget light than in a typical Zebra.

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Yeah, I have read your list before on here and I might be turned off by ZL if that happened to me too. The thing is, there are dozens of others, including myself, on this site alone that can post a list with little or no issues. You seem to have bad luck or something sir. My Zebras have been bulletproof and I am a tradesman and avid outdoorsman. My lights get used a lot, sometimes for many hours at a time, backcountry and car camping, rock climbing, hunting, hiking, fishing, canoeing, doing mechanics, doing carpentry, etc. in rain, snow, freezing temps, high heat, etc. and they have been flawless.

It sounds like most of your issues happened right away and were replaced so it's not like got left in the dark which is good. Might I suggest you stop pre-ordering. There is always a higher risk of having issues with the first run of any product(not just lights). If you are going to pre-order you have to accept the added risks. Either way ZL will take care of you should you have an issue which is nice compared to some other companies.

It looks like your last couple of purchases have been good at least. I hope you have equally good luck should you decide to get an more:thumbsup:.

Fireclaw18 said:

Also, when new emitters come out with a Zebra you pretty much have to buy a new Zebra. They're incredibly difficult to mod.

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They're incredibly difficult to mod because they already are close to perfect. Not my words but Vinh Nguyen's.

Fireclaw18 said:

All previous times Zebralight posted pictures next to their preorders that picture was always accurate. There's no reason to suggest this time will be different.

Since the picture didn't change, the only conclusion is that this time Zebra chose not to change the bodies at all. This also matches the Zebralight spreadsheet which shows the dimensions of the new lights as being identical to the previous generation.

So.... no knurling.

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That is not true. That very picture isn't even accurate. The SC63 ended up having a flat spot cut into it on front. Either way, if the design stays the same and you are not happy with it then don't buy it. And, if you want confirmation it will stay the same then email ZL about it.

Yes, you do have a point.

Perhaps there is just less quality control with the first-run preorders. Maybe waiting a bit for them to iron out the kinks would be better.

Also a lot of my Zebras has problems with the light not staying in turbo long enough. I suspect all of those problems have the same cause: a bad ground connection. since my last 2 Zebras had no issues perhaps they solved that problem.

I still like Zebras, but given my history with them, a Zebra would have to be pretty exceptional to make me want to shell out for one. And since I got my D4 and D1, almost all my other lights feel obsolete. Including the Zebras. In my opinion the UI in the D4 and D1 is substantially better than the Zebra UI.