# is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?! (update: I Bought it :D)



## eaglespeed (Oct 4, 2016)

Dear fellow adventurers. 
I have been looking for a new replacement for my armytek wizard pro v1.5 that busted on me few weeks ago ( its lens got cracked randomly and then after going to a hunting trip it started acting weird) and armytek process of replacement is not very customer friendly unlike companies like Corsair and Kingston who send u UPS to pick things up free of charge, especially in where I live right now where there is no postal service what so ever. anyway.

yesterday I ordered the H600Fw cuz I bought the H602 for my cousin ( I think) for him back in 2014 and he loved it, unfortunately he doesn't have it anymore cuz it got stolen from his home by isis along with nitecore tiny monster that he had, so he only used it maybe for a year or so, I could have ordered the MKIII but Zebralight are running a good discount and I frankly can see any real world beneficial difference for me to pay more and get the MKIII, I'm also in the habit of buying products a little bit later giving companies a chance to fix any issues that appeared in the 1st few months of release. but I would still love to hear from people who already own the h600 mkII and how it's holding up, I take care of my gear maintaince wise but I push them to their limits and I don't want the mkII to bust out like the armytek. 
I also have a another question regarding batteries. 
I own 
2 of EagTac 3400mAh Protected Li-ion 18650
and 2 of Nitecore NL183 18650 Li-Ion 
along with nitecore I4 charger 1st gen.
would this fit and work ok with the MKII I ordered?
thank you all.
waiting for replies


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## eaglespeed (Oct 4, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

bump.


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## Azhobo (Oct 4, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

I run those same eagtac batteries in mine. Any electronic problems I've had with zebralight have occurred in the first 5ish hours of use. I've never had electronic issues with my 4 h600 lights. They've only occurred with new releases. Mechanically, I feel that they are tough for their weight and size. When you handle yours, you'll realize how little aluminum is there. But mine have all survived multiple drops on concrete and rocks. Buy some extra harnesses. They are cheap.


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## eaglespeed (Oct 4, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



Azhobo said:


> I run those same eagtac batteries in mine. Any electronic problems I've had with zebralight have occurred in the first 5ish hours of use. I've never had electronic issues with my 4 h600 lights. They've only occurred with new releases. Mechanically, I feel that they are tough for their weight and size. When you handle yours, you'll realize how little aluminum is there. But mine have all survived multiple drops on concrete and rocks. Buy some extra harnesses. They are cheap.


hey! 
thanks for the useful info, dude 4 h600 lights, I'm impressed!! now I'm curious to see them all stacked side by side together and how that would look like , I'm glad u run the same batteries I have, thats a relief! I also took ur advice before hearing it and got the glow at night with a strap thingy. I'm planning to buy another backup headlamp in the future ( after armytek failure ) so I don't end up without a headlamp for work, so if this doesn't fail me I'll buy from zebralight again. and yes about the construction, I fiddle and played with my cousin h602 before and it's extremely lightweight and smaller than the wizard pro, yet it felt classier and smoother, I also noticed that zebralight choice of color hides dents and scratches, wizard pro feels bulkier but it shows wear badly since it's black. I'm glad that they all survived drops even though I don't really drop my gear but I'm worried about it failing electronically and not being able to maintain a mode or a its button stops working. stuff like that. 
for how long have u had the h600? the oldest one u have and how ofter do u use it ?
thank you.


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## eh4 (Oct 4, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

My H600W MKII is a couple years old now and it's survived daily pocket carry and a number of pocket to concrete drops, maybe once a month even, I've quit counting. 
The only substantial criticism I've heard is regarding the floody lenses themselves, one forum member had all of his floody lenses crack. It might have been a bad batch, but there was speculation that the sand blasting or whatever created the texture on the inside, may have weakened the glass. You might write to Zebra light and ask them if the floody lenses are as strong, or weaker than the clear ones. 
If they are structurally weaker, it may finally settle the question of whether to get the perfectly balanced compromise EDC as a FW, or go with W and add a textured tape over the lense.


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## eaglespeed (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



eh4 said:


> My H600W MKII is a couple years old now and it's survived daily pocket carry and a number of pocket to concrete drops, maybe once a month even, I've quit counting.
> The only substantial criticism I've heard is regarding the floody lenses themselves, one forum member had all of his floody lenses crack. It might have been a bad batch, but there was speculation that the sand blasting or whatever created the texture on the inside, may have weakened the glass. You might write to Zebra light and ask them if the floody lenses are as strong, or weaker than the clear ones.
> If they are structurally weaker, it may finally settle the question of whether to get the perfectly balanced compromise EDC as a FW, or go with W and add a textured tape over the lense.


thanks for the info, oh this is bad, the last thing I want is another headlamp cracking, I'll write them right away about this before they ship, I really hope it's just a bad batch but after what u told me I might end up getting the normal version or the 603 full flood. I'll update to what zebralight replies.


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## eraursls1984 (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



eh4 said:


> ... The only substantial criticism I've heard is regarding the floody lenses themselves, one forum member had all of his floody lenses crack. It might have been a bad batch, but there was speculation that the sand blasting or whatever created the texture on the inside, may have weakened the glass. You might write to Zebra light and ask them if the floody lenses are as strong, or weaker than the clear ones.
> If they are structurally weaker, it may finally settle the question of whether to get the perfectly balanced compromise EDC as a FW, or go with W and add a textured tape over the lense.


They switched to Gorilla Glass for their flood lenses (I'm assuming because of the cracking issue). Stephano said that the new F models (Gorilla Glass) are less floody, but still floodier than the standard model.


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## eh4 (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

Cool, good to know. 
Might be about time for me to break down and finally get an H600FW, especially with the MkII on discount now.


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## eaglespeed (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

so here is the re-assuring replies of zebralight, which puts this glass thingy into rest, must help other zebralight consumers, zebralight seems pretty honest about what goes on inside their inside operations which I appreciate alot. 
so here it is. 



*Customer*
10/5/2016 4:43:20 AMDear Sir/Madam.
regarding order 10368240 I am concerned about the sanding process of the inside of the lens to create the texture since I have read on the forums that are many people having their lenses crack. so I have to ask before shipping this order is the lens on the FW weaker than that of the normal version ? or has the same structural integrity, as I mention in the order comment I will not be able to return the headlamp once it's shipped to me since it's going to be shipped to another country as a gift. so if the lens crack it will negatively effect zebralight reputation and effect me as well. please don't ship the items until this request is solved. 
thank you.
waiting for your reply.




*Customer*
10/5/2016 7:02:18 AMhere is an example thread of such incidents. 
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?407314-ZL-Inexplicable-breakage-of-frosted-lens.
should I just order a clear lens version instead just to be safe ?



*Staff (Administrator)*
10/5/2016 9:40:19 AMWe had one batch of frosted glass from one of our glass suppliers that turned out to be weaker than we spec'ed, but that was several years ago. Other batches are fine. We also switched to Corning Gorilla Glass 3 about two years ago for the H600/H602 and some other models.



*Staff (Administrator)*
10/5/2016 9:42:51 AMJust want to add that the current H600/H602/H603... , clear or frosted, are all come with (extremely tough) Corning Gorilla Glass 3.



*Customer*
10/5/2016 12:37:41 PMthank you for the detailed and pleasant reply. so just to confirm the H600FW MarkII has corning glass 3 frosted glass? and I shouldn't worry about it breaking under normal use?
thank you.



*Staff (Administrator)*
10/5/2016 1:21:10 PMYes, the H600Fw Mk II you ordered comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, frosted. No need to worry about breaking under normal use.



*Customer*
10/5/2016 4:41:02 PMthank you for your reply, I appreciate it alot, ok please go ahead and ship the order, how soon will the order reach the address?, please don't add pricing. I'll be ordering more in the future. most of my family are outdoor oriented and love this kind of stuff so I'll be gifting them more of this. 
thank you


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## eaglespeed (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

I sure hope this isn't illegal, just trying to help the community no harm done, if zebralight makes claims that are not true, it's their fault not mine.......... even if it's illegal u should never be dishonest to make profit. all forum users please practice discretion anyway it's not like I currently live in 1st world anyway ......... please, who their gonna sue we have tons of issue here anyway to worry about civil suits....


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## StandardBattery (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

That's good information I don't see a problem in posting it; thanks for posting. You're last comment "_I sure hope this isn't illegal..._" should not be in the table since it was not part of the conversation. Actually you're last statement of the conversation does not add anything and just deleting the last row would be a good idea.

Luckily I only started buying frosted lens this year on 3 lights (well 4 as I bought 2 of one of them).


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## eaglespeed (Oct 5, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



StandardBattery said:


> That's good information I don't see a problem in posting it; thanks for posting. You're last comment "_I sure hope this isn't illegal..._" should not be in the table since it was not part of the conversation. Actually you're last statement of the conversation does not add anything and just deleting the last row would be a good idea.
> 
> Luckily I only started buying frosted lens this year on 3 lights (well 4 as I bought 2 of one of them).


yeah I deleted it immediately, u snuck on me there, as always I'm a very visual person so I would love pics. also for me saying I hope it's illegal I work for a medical company and trust me the things that are illegal are utter ridiculous for a normal person to disclose or say. so I'm very vigilant when it comes to legalities cuz I don't want a lawsuit waiting for me as soon as I arrive at JFK or canada airport. 
cheers


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## Azhobo (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

I just checked my zebralight account. I got my second h600 in 2012. My favorites have actually been used daily. No failures. It's a bummer that your armytec failed. They look so tough with all that material, and that deeply recessed lens. The zebra lights are so small and light that I think if you're in a situation where you REALLY NEED light, you can't beat two zebralights. Just consider the second light an expensive battery carrier. 
Also you can't beat a super light headlamp with no wires and no remote battery pack. Very easy, very simple. 
And now that you ask, it's easy to wear two, stacked on your head for 1000 constant lumens.
If I was worried about reliability, I would run my light for over 10 hours and play with it in the bathtub, to check it's water proofing.


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## Azhobo (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

Ps. I've got 5 zebras with frosted lenses. No problems with years of use. The floodies have the best beam profile by far. I've got the standard and the 602, floody is the best by far. Buy 2 if you're worried.


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## UnderPar (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

My H600w has been in used for years now and never had issues with it. Its not the "f" ( flood ) type though but I have never gone wrong with all my 10 Zebralights.


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## lampeDépêche (Oct 6, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

My H600w (not floody) has been rock-solid for years. I have pocket-carried it a lot, and also use it as the front light on my bike (with a two-fish block on the handlebars). Hundreds of road miles, hours of rain, no problems.


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## tech25 (Oct 7, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

I have a H51fw since it first came out, I have used it and dropped it many times and never had a problem with it.


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## tops2 (Oct 8, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

I've only had my H600Fd a few months and no problem with the lens. Haven't done a real intended "drop test" yet.


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## eaglespeed (Oct 8, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

my h600fw mkII has been delivered to the forwarding shipping company today morning, I'm probably expected to receive it here with a week......  can't wait, I also hope the egyptian customs to be jerks about letting a tactical headlamp through...... they could be unpleasant for people with strange tastes in product than the general population.


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## eaglespeed (Oct 8, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



Azhobo said:


> Ps. I've got 5 zebras with frosted lenses. No problems with years of use. The floodies have the best beam profile by far. I've got the standard and the 602, floody is the best by far. Buy 2 if you're worried.


thats good to hear, actually I'm planning to buy a 2nd one as a gift, my cousin had the 602 which was amazing but I want a general beater to carry everywhere with me ( probably thats what caused the wizard pro to bust) , I'm really sad of my armytek since it has a great sentimental value, in the past 2 years especially while fleeing for our lives in libya it served as a true companion, but then again 10 years warranty I can always replace as long as it's before 2024, even though I truely loved the 1.5 profiles. but heck at least armytek are welling to honor 10 years warranty. ................. if I can send it to them in the 1st place.


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## eaglespeed (Oct 8, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



UnderPar said:


> My H600w has been in used for years now and never had issues with it. Its not the "f" ( flood ) type though but I have never gone wrong with all my 10 Zebralights.


for some reason I feel left out whenever I post something in this forum, since it always seems that everyone here has at least 5 flashlights/headlamps while I only have like 3  what I'm worried about the most is electronic failure, when a headlamp cracks it's still usable but even if its susceptible to water damage but u can still use it, when my wizard pro had small crack, I didn't care much but when it went crazy mode wise I was forced not to use it anymore. I'm a headlamp guy, my flashlights can't cut it, I work on computers, go hunting trips and go diving, having a headlamp helps alot, it's like a 3rd eye, u turn it on and forget about it, it's like 2nd nature


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## eaglespeed (Oct 8, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



lampeDépêche said:


> My H600w (not floody) has been rock-solid for years. I have pocket-carried it a lot, and also use it as the front light on my bike (with a two-fish block on the handlebars). Hundreds of road miles, hours of rain, no problems.


very encourging and what I needed to hear. I don't even know what a two-fish block is and at this point I'm too afraid to ask  but GG I would seriously love a high quality picture of ur zebralight, on the bike while raining .... too much too ask I guess.


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## eaglespeed (Oct 8, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



tech25 said:


> I have a H51fw since it first came out, I have used it and dropped it many times and never had a problem with it.


dude didn't this thing came out like ................. in 2011 ? or 2010 I don't remember. 5 years later and it's still solid, this is some serious stuff I'm impressed more assuring news. thank u.


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## lampeDépêche (Oct 8, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



eaglespeed said:


> very encourging and what I needed to hear. I don't even know what a two-fish block is and at this point I'm too afraid to ask  but GG I would seriously love a high quality picture of ur zebralight, on the bike while raining .... too much too ask I guess.



have a look on the battery junction website for the "twofish cycleblocks"--it's a chunk of rubber with webbing straps that lets you mount flashlights on your handlebars in a very easy and secure way. Easy off and on so that when you lock up your bike you are not risking your favorite light.

I don't have a camera or a smartphone, so no photos. Just imagine a miserable looking guy with rain dripping off him, and in front of him a very bright light.


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## eaglespeed (Oct 8, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



lampeDépêche said:


> I don't have a camera or a smartphone, so no photos. Just imagine a miserable looking guy with rain dripping off him, and in front of him a very bright light.


I'm imagining it, and I must admit it's sorta artistic


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## SG Hall (Oct 8, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

I have this model and I bought it second hand after it had been used horse riding. Run time was the issue on long night rides, otherwise perfect. It's had a hard life and works beautifully. I'm not a huge zebralight fan, or frosted lenses for that matter, but this is a great headlamp. The colour temp is magic! No issues with the lens at all. [emoji106]


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## tech25 (Oct 9, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*



eaglespeed said:


> dude didn't this thing came out like ................. in 2011 ? or 2010 I don't remember. 5 years later and it's still solid, this is some serious stuff I'm impressed more assuring news. thank u.



yup, I used it as my primary light for a while, and as a backup for work. I do want to upgrade just for a longer runtime on 18650, but there are too many choices. 

I also have a zl sc600w version 1 that's still running strong.


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## eaglespeed (Oct 15, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

it's here !! with the glow in the dark headband and this headlamp is a bute.1- thing I noticed how light weight it is, and how light it felt on my head, even it's strap is non-invasive. 2- compared to the armytek, this is is way smaller and its finish feels more premium and scratch resistant.3- I can't say I like the modes alot, but they are OK. the armytek is more straight forward and remembers the last mode it was in. nothing critical though4- the armytek is still a tad floodier but this beam profile is not bad, ironically I noticed the brighter it is the floodier it feels, while the armytek seems to maintain it's floody profile, it's my own observation though nothing scientific.5- its headband is way more comfy than the wizard pro, and u forget that it's on ur head while wearing it. here are a few pics  thank u all for encouraging me to buy it. hope it lasts for a long time. click on the pic to enlarge.















































enjoy


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## StandardBattery (Oct 16, 2016)

*Re: is Zebralight H600Fw Mk II reliable ?!*

Enjoy I hope to works well for you. That last picture is very cool.

Once you get to the UI you might end up loving it. Remember you can set what level you want H2 and L2 to be (M2 also but...), so you can have easy 1 click to your chosen H2 (then double click from there for H1), and you can just press and hold for a second to get L2 or L1 so it is very easy to get to 2 different levels just a little bit more to get to two mode levels, and even then you can use double click from off to get to Medium ... so it's better than Memory mode since on most lights that always gets changed unintentionally and 1/2 the other time or more it's not the level you want now. ... OK yes... I like the UI very much.


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## Utevo vis lux (Oct 23, 2016)

Thanks for the tip off about the sale I been looking to buy one for yonks!

I bought a H600Fw Mk II

I thought it was the full flood version when I saw "floody" but I dont think Ill be disappointed with the in between 600Fw. I think its floody enough for my up close auto mechanic work and has enough throw for when im out 4wding, camping, walking or even as an added cycling light. 

I just wish I had it a week ago Ive been in the attic installing an attic ladder and Ive been using just my Fenix LD01 in my mouth the whole time.


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