# Petzl Nao vs. Zebralight H600 (aka alone in the dark)



## pavel (Jan 23, 2013)

Ok, so I had a chance to play with Zebralight H600, and it is a great flashlight (and great gift from my great girlfriend). Unlike Petzl Nao, it is small enough to fit under the helmet, so that you can actually use it for riding. Ouch, and packing is also way nicer than Petzl; simple cardboard box, not bloated paper box including paper and embedded magnets, with big sticker touting how environmentaly friendly it is. Zebralight is actually friendly, Nao just claims so.So far so good. I actually like this flashlight. Now... the blinding part. This beast has 750lm, in pretty small package. Activated by single short click. The battery contacts had some problems for me, I tried to troubleshoot, and of course I got "hit" by 750lm beam from close distance. (Fortunately not by the center of the beam). Results are not nice.Perhaps short click should activate the lowest mode? Or perhaps... when going to the highest setting, it should turn on the power gradually, so that eyes have chance to get evasive action?Single short click while the light is on turns it off. That is nice; no clicking through other modes (including high-power) when turning of Nao.Now, normal 18650 fit into the Zebralight. (Good, no custom accumulator as in Nao case). I got dx (sku 5776) TrustFire Protected 18650 Lithium Battery 2400mAh, and dx (sku 47499) Universal AC Charger for AA/AAA/6F22/18650 Battery (AC 100~240V/EU Plug) charger. Despite advertising EU plug, charger will not actually fit into EU socket, but that can be worked around... batteries work as expected, and they are protected. Which is actually bad bad thing.So.. primary use for the headlight is horseback riding... and for that I need light that stays on. 0.1 lumen is okay (actually, sometimes it is too much, but it is still way better than 10+ minimum mode on Nao), but you need some light so that a) hunters don't shoot you b) cars don't hit you and c) you don't hit any branches.Nao tried to scare up my horse by doing three bright flashes when battery went low in low-power mode. (Successfully). But then it kept shining... and when the battery went really low, it kept shining without ability to turn it off. Not _nice_, but that one did not try to get me killed (well except for trying to convince me to ride without the helmet).Zebralight is another story. So far testing was done at home, battery lasts about 110 minutes in 420lm mode, then goes to 21lm mode for 10 minutes, then goes to lowest mode (0.1lm). It gets hot (as in "too hot to touch") in the first part of the test, and I was not even running it in 750lm mode for more than 6 minutes. But the bigger problem is behaviour at the end of cycle.Single click activates high-power mode; but the battery can not support high power mode, so current is quickly limited. So far so good. But do it few times (and it is very easy to do by mistake), and current limiter fails to limit it quickly enough, tripping the protection in the battery. At that point, battery has 0V, and you are alone in the dark. Say hello to cars and branches, and try not to look like a pig.... (You can't blame the battery; it is down to 2.8V at this point).Zebralight is great flashlight... but not going to full power mode on short click (or some other way of improving low-battery behaviour; it already has CPU and knows battery is low, perhaps it could limit to lower-power modes from that point to battery removal?) would make it even better. (How do I update its firmware?)


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## Mooreshire (Jan 23, 2013)

The issues you are encountering with your lousy CatchFire battery in the Zebralight is exactly the reason Petzl opted to go with a proprietary cell for the Nao.  I started with the same crappy batteries and didn't realize how awesome my H600 was until I got a truly high quality cell to put in it. Battery protection circuits is good, cheap batteries are bad.


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## jonathanluu2 (Jan 23, 2013)

I will admit that I have temporarily blinded myself with the high beam coming on with a short click, but now I appreciate it after using my Zebralight for awhile. It allows me to start from "off" and ramp up light levels (click and hold) during regular use. But it also allows me to do a quick click and "Bam!" bright light on demand. Its nice when I need a quick burst of light quickly and dont want to fiddle with my light. 

Thanks for your input/review of your lights!


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## [email protected] (Jan 23, 2013)

I got the H600 as well recently and love it. My buddy has the NAO and likes it for running but it's output is poor in comparison to the ZL (less than 200lm in smart mode) and the expensive proprietary battery pack is really stupid. For $90 bucks I bought the H600 and for $40 I got two AW 3100mah cells. My buddy paid $160 for is NAO and another $60 for a spare pack which are only 2200mah I think. 

The ZL is way more compact and can separate from its band making a nice camp light. Not to mention I can buy 3 high quality spare cells for the price of a single NAO spare pack... 

I would agree the interface could use some tweaks but it's no worse than most light interfaces. I'm used to the long click which takes me directly to low setting and having a sub 1 lumen setting is really nice for really dark close conditions like in a tent or around the house. The 10+lm for the NAO is too much for in the tent and it's max setting just isn't enough when you are looking for a ridge line or a vague trail you need to find in the dark. 

ZL H600 FTW...


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## the badger (Feb 6, 2013)

Interesting review. I bought a Nao when we first got them here at my local shop (mid October '12) and immediately took it out for some testing. Mind you, I only had SureFire lights to compare it to, but it held up quite well. My only beef is the size, as stated above. It sure is funny seeing everybody's reaction when bombing down the trail and all they have is a Petzl Tikka 2 or similar.


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## Changchung (Feb 7, 2013)

I just use 3100 panasonic unprotected in my h600. Work great...


Sent from my phone with camera with flash and internet on it...


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## markr6 (Feb 7, 2013)

Good stuff! I have the H600w and use it all the time. Even when walking the dog at night instead of my beloved PD32UE. Why tie up a hand when you can just have this much light on your head!


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## Szemhazai (Feb 7, 2013)

[email protected] said:


> Not to mention I can buy 3 high quality spare cells for the price of a single NAO spare pack... .



Me too... :nana:


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## HistoryChannel (Mar 11, 2013)

Szemhazai said:


> Me too... :nana:



What battery sleeve did you use for the 18650 ini your Nao battery pack? I would love to use that to convert mine also! Thanks!


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## DAVTAR (Mar 23, 2015)

Szemhazai said:


> Me too... :nana:



I saw that you used a battery slave for the 18650 battery for Petzl headlamp nao. you kindly show me how you made the electrical contacts? you can send more photos kindly. thank you. I would love to use to convert That mine also! Thanks


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## Szemhazai (Mar 23, 2015)

Basically everything u need is here => Petzl Nao review


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