# Zebralight H602



## Vario

Good day

I am really looking forward to the h602, as the h502 is currently my favourite by far for work. It just lacks runtime wise.

I contacted zebralight and they informed me that the h602 should be released in two months!


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## Mooreshire

Vario said:


> Good day
> 
> I am really looking forward to the h602, as the h502 is currently my favourite by far for work. It just lacks runtime wise.
> 
> I contacted zebralight and they informed me that the h602 should be released in two months!



_Did you hear that Santa Claus?_ 
:santa:


I'm quite excited to hear that the H602 will be released soon. Thanks for sharing the info, Vario! I've played with both the H600w and the H600Fw side-by-side, and even the F model wasn't floody enough for my liking. 

Unfortunately I bet the lowest mode will likely have to use a higher current than their lights with reflectors do, thus having a reduced runtime versus the reflectored models. Less than a tenth of a percent of one lumen is still useful when collimated in a reflector, but I doubt it would suffice in a bare emitter setup. Still, do I really need more than three months of "moonlight" runtime? I'd be happy with a super-low mode that lasted for 72 hours.


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## Vario

I use them for work, I prefer the h502. I am usually the guy working in the basements, where a light is necessary. I keep blinding myself with the h600, everytime I turn around and face a piece of ductwork, it's like a flash. With the 502, the flood is just perfect. However, I usually run it on High. I sometimes go through 4-5 eneloops in a day.


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## Outdoorsman5

Vario said:


> I use them for work, I prefer the h502. I am usually the guy working in the basements, where a light is necessary. I keep blinding myself with the h600, everytime I turn around and face a piece of ductwork, it's like a flash. With the 502, the flood is just perfect. However, I usually run it on High. I sometimes go through 4-5 eneloops in a day.



With the H602 you may could make it through a whole day without a battery change or at worst maybe just one change. That'd be cool.


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## ico

Vario said:


> I use them for work, I prefer the h502. I am usually the guy working in the basements, where a light is necessary. I keep blinding myself with the h600, everytime I turn around and face a piece of ductwork, it's like a flash. With the 502, the flood is just perfect. However, I usually run it on High. I sometimes go through 4-5 eneloops in a day.



If the size doesn't matter, you can program them to start with High2 right? So maybe you can just program the high2 at 200lumens so it will be just like an H502 with a loooong runtime


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## Stefano

Vario said:


> I contacted zebralight and they informed me that the h602 should be released in two months!


Do you know anything about the technical features?

(Translated with Google translator)


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## Vario

I know .othing about it. I assume it.should be quite powerful, maybe 120 degree flood and ill be able to run it on med all day.

Hopefully.

Size of the h600 is fine with me.


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## mellowman

Vario said:


> Good day
> 
> I am really looking forward to the h602, as the h502 is currently my favourite by far for work. It just lacks runtime wise.
> 
> I contacted zebralight and they informed me that the h602 should be released in two months!



They said something similar almost a year ago. I'll believe it when they start taking pre-orders.


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## Matjazz

Vario said:


> I contacted zebralight and they informed me that the h602 should be released in two months!


Let's hope they keep their word.




ico said:


> If the size doesn't matter, you can program them to start with High2 right? So maybe you can just program the high2 at 200lumens so it will be just like an H502 with a loooong runtime


I believe it's the hotspot that's blinding, not the lumen output.


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## Burntrice

I also use the h502 for work, a great little light. It can only get better if it had more lumens and a better run time.... Roll on h602!


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## Matjazz

A month has passed. One more to go


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## Mooreshire

Matjazz said:


> A month has passed. One more to go



Your emoticon expresses my sentiments exactly!


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## KDM

Really looking forward to a H602(w) or (c). I use my H600w almost everyday. I see it more than I see my wife.


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## Romanko

If H600w gives *645*Lm turbo, than with xm-l 2 it will be about 20% more - about 774 Lm, maybe 800. Would be nice to see H602w.


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## ToyTank

Two months translated to Zebra time- We underestimated the demand for every awesome light we make so don't have the extra production facilities to keep up on demand with current models and make new models so it will be delayed indefinitely


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## claud_face

I asked them about a week ago and receieved 

Sorry, the H602 has been pushed back to next month (Jan) because we are overwhelmed with the influx of SC52 orders.

Sincerely,

Lillian Xu
ZebraLight, Inc.

I'd be happy with January but if it'll be later I'd just want to know.


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## moozooh

Figures. And if ZL say January it most certainly means mid to late February.  That's still sooner than I expected, so this is good news regardless. Wondering if they'll offer a high CRI option with this one; arguably it's way more important for headlamps than it is for hand-held lights.


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## markr6

Are we talking about an upgrade for the H502 or H600 here?


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## moozooh

Well... neither. H602 is a mix of the two: a bare-LED headlamp running on a 18650.


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## markr6

moozooh said:


> Well... neither. H602 is a mix of the two: a bare-LED headlamp running on a 18650.



Got it, thanks! I wanted to be sure since I'm considering an H600w.


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## ToyTank

markr6 said:


> Are we talking about an upgrade for the H502 or H600 here?



It is an upgrade to the pure flood H60

I'll want this one, but ZL is already putting a hurt on my wallet right now!


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## Painful Chafe

For what it is worth, I emailed Zebralight about the release of the H602. Here is what the response was:



Sorry for the delay. We are now shooting for the May release. 

Sincerely,

Lillian Xu
ZebraLight, Inc.
2908 Story Rd. W
Irving, TX 75038


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## markr6

Yeah it's on their spreadsheet now. I have no need for this light, but I know a ton of people are going to be in heaven with it! Looking forward to the new Zebralights!


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## davidt1

Painful Chafe said:


> For what it is worth, I emailed Zebralight about the release of the H602. Here is what the response was:
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry for the delay. We are now shooting for the May release.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Lillian Xu
> ZebraLight, Inc.
> 2908 Story Rd. W
> Irving, TX 75038



Add another 3 months to whatever they tell you.


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## Painful Chafe

davidt1 said:


> Add another 3 months to whatever they tell you.



I know. I chatted with one of the sales execs. a month or so ago. The problem is they are unexpectedly overwhelmed with orders for the SC600 and H502's. They didn't know they would be this much interest and have everyone scrambling to keep up so the 602 got pushed back. 

I have been waiting patiently for a couple of months and now I just lost my H60W.


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## KDM

Wish they would release the neutral version first. I don't care about the higher advertised lumen numbers for the cool emitters. I want something I will use.


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## lightcycle1

No thanks. My H51 has been out for repair in China for two months. It's still in China. I'm done with Zebralight.


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## markr6

KDM said:


> Wish they would release the neutral version first. I don't care about the higher advertised lumen numbers for the cool emitters. I want something I will use.



:thumbsup:


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## Lampas

moozooh said:


> Well... neither. H602 is a mix of the two: a bare-LED headlamp running on a 18650.


Are you shure? So no reflector? Then what would be the assumed name of the h600 successor?
Any updates on the h602 in the meantime?
lots of questions..


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## KDM

Lampas said:


> Are you shure? So no reflector? Then what would be the assumed name of the h600 successor?
> Any updates on the h602 in the meantime?
> lots of questions..



It's a flood light, no reflector. It isn't meant to be a updated H600. The H502 is powered by AA battery. The H602 will be powered by a 18650 li ion. A larger version of the H502 with higher output and longer run time. I have a H502 and really like it but hardly ever use it. I don't like having to change batterys as often as it requires. Just not a fan of AA batterys but some people love them.


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## KDM

Painful Chafe said:


> For what it is worth, I emailed Zebralight about the release of the H602. Here is what the response was:
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry for the delay. We are now shooting for the May release.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Lillian Xu
> ZebraLight, Inc.
> 2908 Story Rd. W
> Irving, TX 75038



Well it's June, does anyone have the latest story?


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## khorozm

KDM said:


> Well it's June, does anyone have the latest story?



July now :shakehead


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## Merlin Pan

It is said H602 will be available in the next few weeks. So it may be in July or Aug.


khorozm said:


> July now :shakehead


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## Painful Chafe

Just got some info from ZL today. I can't go into some details because I was sworn to secrecy. Let just say that the 602 and another headlight they are releasing will be a game changer as far as output and thermal management. What they have done is really impressive. CPF will be all abuzz when it comes out. 

The 602 should be out in a few weeks and it will roll out with a neutral white at release.


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## Painful Chafe

Romanko said:


> If H600w gives *645*Lm turbo, than with xm-l 2 it will be about 20% more - about 774 Lm, maybe 800. Would be nice to see H602w.



Ha! Heheehe!



lightcycle1 said:


> No thanks. My H51 has been out for repair in China for two months. It's still in China. I'm done with Zebralight.



I chatted about this also. This will not be an issue in a few months. Customer service, warranty, returns and many other things will soon be handled in the US.


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## lightcycle1

I will believe it when I see it. ZL really needs to pay attention to stuff like this, they could be the biggest player in the worldwide headlamp market if they just take care of their customer base and PROMPTLY address and rectify issues as well as developing reliable new stuff.
I hope they do change. I:d give them a second chance but not until they clean up their track record of poor and uninterested customer service. When you treat your customers lile they are just a PITA after the sale they:re not going to be your customers anymore.
Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2


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## markr6

lightcycle1 said:


> I will believe it when I see it. ZL really needs to pay attention to stuff like this, they could be the biggest player in the worldwide headlamp market if they just take care of their customer base and PROMPTLY address and rectify issues as well as developing reliable new stuff.
> I hope they do change. I:d give them a second chance but not until they clean up their track record of poor and uninterested customer service. When you treat your customers lile they are just a PITA after the sale they:re not going to be your customers anymore.
> Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2



+1!

No offense Painful Chafe, I know you're passing info along but I don't believe any of the hype anymore. I've been promised several things I'm still waiting on.


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## Painful Chafe

markr6 said:


> +1!
> 
> No offense Painful Chafe, I know you're passing info along but I don't believe any of the hype anymore. I've been promised several things I'm still waiting on.



I understand your frustration with them. The reason I got the information I have is I reached out to Zebralight to express my frustration of the promised H602 that I have been waiting for for the past 12 months. I need a headlamp for work and have put it off because I was told by ZL for a year, it is coming out soon. I was pretty pissed. If I had known I would have gotten a Spark SD months ago and not gone through the last 12 months with a flashlight hanging out of my mouth while I work. 

The info I shared and a few things I didn't share, aren't hype. They are not some engineers future hope. I didn't get the info from someone in customer service reading the days pre-scripted answers. They are in production and what will be in my tool bag in about a month will spank anything in its class.

Smile. Something very cool is coming. Trust me on this.


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## markr6

Painful Chafe said:


> They are in production and what will be in my tool bag in about a month will spank anything in its class.
> 
> Smile. Something very cool is coming. Trust me on this.



OK then, I look forward to this eventhough I don't need another headlamp!


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## bradthebold

They told me the light would be out at the end of last month, so yeah...


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## carrot

markr6 said:


> +1!
> 
> No offense Painful Chafe, I know you're passing info along but I don't believe any of the hype anymore. I've been promised several things I'm still waiting on.



Try being a Surefire fan. Wait 3 years for something, only to find out it got canned (read: LX1, LX2U, Beast mini, etc)


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## Phry

Surefire new models are a joke. They are mostly talk. 

It would be a shame to see Zebralight end up like that too. 

This thing is already way overdue. 

Hurry up ZL and release the thing!


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## Stocum

Zebralight may have been waiting for the Armytek Wizard Pro to come out so they can make the H602 better. No stepdown from the 1,000+ lumen turbo on the Armytek headlight but the UI on the Armytek is not for beginners. No reason for Zebralight to update a product that had no competition, until now.
[h=2][/h]


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## petr9999

it does have a thermal stepdown


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## Painful Chafe

petr9999 said:


> it does have a thermal stepdown



And 1000 LED lumens, not ANSI. 

The ZL will be brighter, smoother flood, smaller and the thermal management/output is in a different league.


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## carrot

Phry said:


> Surefire new models are a joke. They are mostly talk.



I disagree, but that is besides the point. That's not what the thread is about, so I will not correct your uninformed opinion.

Zebralight clearly is having a hard time filling orders and they need to step up their game. I want to see these new models they've been promising for ages!


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## Beacon of Light

That may have been their strategy, but I don't think they have anything to worry about. I don't own a H600 but I'd rather have one of those than either of the Armyteks I have. I am certain the H602 will be everything the Armytek is not. I've never had random shut offs with any of the Zebralights I own. I've also had the luxury of several sub lumen modes on the Zebralights, Armytek has a lone single .5 lumen mode. The UI of Zebralight is the best in the business as far as I am concerned and in my mind, Zebralight is the one to beat in this industry.



Stocum said:


> Zebralight may have been waiting for the Armytek Wizard Pro to come out so they can make the H602 better. No stepdown from the 1,000+ lumen turbo on the Armytek headlight but the UI on the Armytek is not for beginners. No reason for Zebralight to update a product that had no competition, until now.


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## RedForest UK

Painful Chafe said:


> And 1000 LED lumens, not ANSI.
> 
> The ZL will be brighter, smoother flood, smaller and the thermal management/output is in a different league.



I measure 880 OTF on turbo, with a much bulkier design for better thermal management than the H600 at least. I'll be very interested to see what the H602 has to offer based on your comments.


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## Painful Chafe

RedForest UK said:


> I measure 880 OTF on turbo, with a much bulkier design for better thermal management than the H600 at least. I'll be very interested to see what the H602 has to offer based on your comments.



I'm very curious too. I think I will buy both and keep the one I like more. I use my headlamp at work and keep it in my tool bag, so size is important. So, I'm thinking for that reason I will keep the ZL, as long as its performance is at least equal to the Armytek and according to what I was told, it will be a bit brighter and the thermal management is more sophisticated. No small feat if the physical size is kept small. Plus my work is 2-3 feet in front of my face and the bare emitter flood is better for me. 

As a side note, reading the Wizard Pro thread is quite amusing. All this back and forth about step down times, ambient temps, hot to hold but bearable and too hot to touch. Pages and pages of it. It is quite amusing. Also, 16 pages and only a couple of real world beamshots?

I'm looking forward to the endless pages of discussions of the second by second accounts of how the ZL light manages heat and output.


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## RedForest UK

Yeah, as a summary for the Wizard Pro the pre-production sample had a very high thermal protection 'critical' threshold at just over 80 celsius. They seem to have severely reduced the threshold to 65 celsius on the production model. However, there are different stages of coloured warning lights behind the button which on the pre-production flash green at 65, yellow at 70, orange at 75 and red at 80 (or something like that), but they forgot to update the temperatures at which these flash for the production model. So you end up missing out entirely on the colour warning LEDs as it steps down as soon as it gets to 65 now.

Also, 65 may be a bit too low anyway as in a warm room and no airflow it will step down to 100 lumens after only about 3-5 minutes. Outside 15 celsius and walking pace it won't step down, but stand still for a few minutes and it will. 


On the H602 I'd prefer some sort of infinitely variable stepdown which maintains the max possible safe output in whatever environment. I find it hard to believe that the H602 could have better physical thermal properties however as Zebralight tend to go for as small as possible leaving little thermal mass.


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## Phry

carrot said:


> I disagree, but that is besides the point. That's not what the thread is about, so I will not correct your uninformed opinion.



I disagree, but that is besides the point. That's not what this thread is about, so I will not correct your uninformed reply.


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## Whizkid

Painful Chafe said:


> Just got some info from ZL today. I can't go into some details because I was sworn to secrecy. Let just say that the 602 and another headlight they are releasing will be a game changer as far as output and thermal management. What they have done is really impressive. CPF will be all abuzz when it comes out.
> 
> The 602 should be out in a few weeks and it will roll out with a neutral white at release.



If it's the H52 I may cry. Cry HUGE tears of joy.


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## markr6

Whizkid said:


> If it's the H52 I may cry. Cry HUGE tears of joy.



Yes! Unfortunatley I will not be able to satisfy my craving early this time. With all the GREEN tint SC52s I bought, I need to wait and see if that happens this time. I consider the H51 their flagship model, so I think it's important they're careful and choose good non-green emitters for the H52/w.

Just to be clear, is the H602 really an upgrade for the H600? Everyone seems to think so, but I thought it was basically an H502 running on 18650?? And the ZL info sheet calls it a "Flood" beam where the H600 is "spill + spot"


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## petr9999

both are right, is should be a reflector-less h600 with bigger output, but who know, they might add TIR or something, and suprise us


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## susu

Got my 502, thinking of getting a new one, so I'll wait till things are clearer


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## Painful Chafe

Whizkid said:


> If it's the H52 I may cry. Cry HUGE tears of joy.



No. It a 18650.


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## markr6

Painful Chafe said:


> No. It a 18650.



I believe he was referring to "the other" headlamp. Regardless, it looks like the H52 and H602 will be coming out for sure. Like always, it's anyone's guess.


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## Painful Chafe

markr6 said:


> I believe he was referring to "the other" headlamp. Regardless, it looks like the H52 and H602 will be coming out for sure. Like always, it's anyone's guess.



Yes. The 'other' one is an 18650 also.


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## markr6

Painful Chafe said:


> Yes. The 'other' one is an 18650 also.



Still some confusion. I believe he meant the H52, which will still be an AA/14500 format


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## BababooeyHTJ

The H602 has got to be coming soon. They don't have a single 18650 headlamp for sale on their site.


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## petr9999

h600?


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## MattSPL

petr9999 said:


> h600?



Can't find any H600's in stock anywhere, so the H602 must be on the way.


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## petr9999

just noticed it says "not for sale" gotcha


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## MattSPL

Lets hope that means the new version is due soon.


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## Beacon of Light

I'd be down for ZL H600 Mark II with the H502/SC52 UI.


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## petr9999

how big of a difference is there between a h600F and h502 besides the output? (in the beam)


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## RedForest UK

petr9999 said:


> how big of a difference is there between a h600F and h502 besides the output? (in the beam)



Quite a lot really. The H502 is truly full flood, just a bare emitter with a flat lens, the H600f is like the H600 but 'fuzzed up' so the hotspot is blended with the spill. The overall beam angle is still much narrower and there is probably still noticably higher intensity in the centre of the beam. I don't actually have an H600f, but have experience with P60 lights with diffusion film lenses, which is effectively what the 'f' models use. The beam is very different from bare emitters or full flood aspherics.


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## Painful Chafe

Beacon of Light said:


> I'd be down for ZL H600 Mark II with the H502/SC52 UI.



Hmmm, sounds interesting. How about a H600 MkII with an even better UI and thermal management than the H502? That would be great! Maybe toss in a touch more output while your at it.


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## sticktodrum

Better UI than the H502/SC52? Pffffff.


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## bbb74

Spreadsheet updated. H51's and many others on clearance sale. H52 in list for September release.


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## Painful Chafe

sticktodrum said:


> Better UI than the H502/SC52? Pffffff.



Your right. They will make their newest UI worse. That makes sense.


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## bbb74

* You're


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## Painful Chafe

bbb74 said:


> * You're



Really? Noting better to do?


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## bbb74

*Nothing


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## Painful Chafe

bbb74 said:


> *Nothing



Damn, got me again. :thumbsup:


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## petr9999

only warm?  i might have to get a sc62d, the only thing stopping me was the tint 

but thermal regulation! lets hope they come out with a xml2 t6/u2


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## Painful Chafe

petr9999 said:


> only warm?  i might have to get a sc62d, the only thing stopping me was the tint
> 
> but thermal regulation! lets hope they come out with a xml2 t6/u2



Not sure if you are referring to a post I made and I may not have been clear. The 602 will be available in cool and warm at launch. Actually, I'm not sure if it will be "warm" or a neutral. But both will be available.


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## Phry

Painful Chafe said:


> Not sure if you are referring to a post I made and I may not have been clear. The 602 will be available in cool and warm at launch. Actually, I'm not sure if it will be "warm" or a neutral. But both will be available.



So where is the light then? 

I am sick of hearing about all the great things to come. At this rate it will be old before it's new.


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## KDM

Painful Chafe said:


> Not sure if you are referring to a post I made and I may not have been clear. The 602 will be available in cool and warm at launch. Actually, I'm not sure if it will be "warm" or a neutral. But both will be available.



Where did this info come from about the cool and neutral? ZL?


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## BababooeyHTJ

bbb74 said:


> Spreadsheet updated. H51's and many others on clearance sale. H52 in list for September release.



I'm very tempted to pick up an H51F at that price.


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## Painful Chafe

Phry said:


> So where is the light then?
> 
> I am sick of hearing about all the great things to come. At this rate it will be old before it's new.



Supposedly in a month. Production has started. And it will be very impressive.



KDM said:


> Where did this info come from about the cool and neutral? ZL?



Someone higher up at ZL(not customer service).


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## KDM

I hope they break their trend of releasing new lights in cool white only. The only cool white lights I buy now are the ones that can be modded easily. I know they can be modded but they don't make them easy to.


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## Beacon of Light

I notice the H600 MK II is listed for this month. Looks like it will be shorter @ 3.82 inches compared to the former H600 which is 3.9 inches. Hope they include the H502 UI to make this a killer light.

Anyone know if they will offer the light by itself, or will we be forced to buy the light battery combo which is the only way to buy one now (if they were in stock).


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## BababooeyHTJ

I really hope that they offer a bare light. Its the only way that I'll buy one. I'm good on batteries and a charger.


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## ArcticHighlander

Beacon of Light said:


> I notice the H600 MK II is listed for this month. Looks like it will be shorter @ 3.82 inches compared to the former H600 which is 3.9 inches. Hope they include the H502 UI to make this a killer light.
> 
> Anyone know if they will offer the light by itself, or will we be forced to buy the light battery combo which is the only way to buy one now (if they were in stock).


 Am I missing something? I'm only seeing the H600w MKII & H600Fw MkII coming out this month. Nothing on the H600 MkII.


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## Beacon of Light

^ that's what I meant there is no listing of cool white so not sure if that was an error of omission by ZL, so I am assuming they will also have the cool white at the time of the H602 launch as well as the MKIIs. I could be wrong, but that's what I am hoping for.


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## Painful Chafe

bbb74 said:


> Spreadsheet updated. H51's and many others on clearance sale. H52 in list for September release.



Where is this "spreadsheet" you guys speak of?


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## petr9999

Go to zebras website, and click "compare the lights" on the left(red button)


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## matrixshaman

Painful Chafe said:


> Ha! Heheehe!
> 
> 
> 
> I chatted about this also. This will not be an issue in a few months. Customer service, warranty, returns and many other things will soon be handled in the US.



They were promising that many years ago and it never happened AFAIK. I would not count on it. At this point is seems to me like a ruse to make customers believe they won't have several months of down time if a light needs repair.


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## Painful Chafe

matrixshaman said:


> They were promising that many years ago and it never happened AFAIK. I would not count on it. At this point is seems to me like a ruse to make customers believe they won't have several months of down time if a light needs repair.



The building is being built as we speak. It isn't something on the drawing board.


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## lightcycle1

lightcycle1 said:


> No thanks. My H51 has been out for repair in China for two months. It's still in China. I'm done with Zebralight.



And since this post of mine, I am happy to announce to all you Zebralight fans that my H502d purchased in February of this year to cover me while that H51 was on its leisurely 3 month tour of China, 
HAS SHAT THE BED LAST WEEK AND HAS BEEN RETURNED TO ZL FOR REPAIR.

I got 5-6 months normal, careful use out of it.

This is my 2nd personal Zebralight failure.

2 lights, 2 years, 2 failures.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2


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## Beacon of Light

Can't tell what's going in in your avatar pic, but it reminds me of this guy, Marty Feldman:

Are those really your eyes?


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## lightcycle1

Reflections in my glasses from under the chin harsh flashlight illumimation.

White thing on top is one of my.Zebralights blazing away, back when they actually worked.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2


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## Phry

lightcycle1 said:


> 2 lights, 2 years, 2 failures.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2



And lots of us have had many lights from them for years with no problems. 

We could all post this kind of information but it seems pointless.


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## lightcycle1

No its not pointless.

Certainly not pointless to bring to light the fact for any potential new buyers of ZL that the failure rate is high for the product line, QC is spotty, and customer service is minimal.



Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2


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## BababooeyHTJ

No, its pretty off topic in a thread about a light that hasn't been released.


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## Phry

lightcycle1 said:


> No its not pointless.
> 
> Certainly not pointless to bring to light the fact for any potential new buyers of ZL that the failure rate is high for the product line, QC is spotty, and customer service is minimal.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2



So what is the companies failure rates then since you think it is "high"?


----------



## lightcycle1

Are you looking for am exact mathematical ratio figure here?

I can give you mine personally, it's 66.33333%.

Lots of complaints, failures more numerous than anything I read about here and this place is a pretty good cross sampling of the consumer light market I'd say.

And the customer service response, well that speaks for itself.

I'm not looking for a pissing match here just throwing out my opinion of ZL. 

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Phry

lightcycle1 said:


> Are you looking for am exact mathematical ratio figure here?
> 
> I can give you mine personally, it's 66.33333%.
> 
> Lots of complaints, failures more numerous than anything I read about here and this place is a pretty good cross sampling of the consumer light market I'd say.
> 
> And the customer service response, well that speaks for itself.
> 
> I'm not looking for a pissing match here just throwing out my opinion of ZL.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2



My point is that the few lights you have bought or what you read on an Internet forum is in fact not a good cross sample, or anything like it. 

Your experience has been bad, fair enough. That does not mean they are bad generally and you do not know if that is true. 

I could just as easily chime in and say how I have used 5 or 6 for years with no hassle, it doesn't mean they are generally good.


----------



## BirdofPrey

All I can say is that two of my ZL lights have failed out of 5. Both were WAY out of any kind of warranty time frame. 

I paid shipping to them and got my lights back approximately 6 weeks later. They continue to work today. 

Considering I had owned one of those lights (H60w) since it came out and they fixed it for my cost to ship to them, I can't really complain too much. My car dealer sure isn't going to do that. 

I have at least 2 more lights of theirs I will be buying. 

Sent from my ridiculously large Galaxy Note 2.


----------



## Merlin Pan

Let's hope they will open an office in Europe. Then, everything will be much better. I guess people in USA has less complaints since ZL has an office there.


----------



## Diablo_331

Folks that have had products fail are much more likely to post their experiences online than folks that are perfectly happy with a given product. This is "Interwebz 101". The "bad rap" that any given company receives online is almost always a poor percentage of their overall satisfied consumer base.

I'm not saying that no one has any reason to not be dissatisfied with ZL but only that you, that happen to be dissatisfied, are a small percentage of their total sales... How small? I have no idea. No reputable company that I know of has a perfect 100% satisfactory rating. Most reputable companies generally have a 95%-99% satisfactory rating. I can't possibly know for sure but I'm willing to bet that the percentage of ZL consumers that are "unhappy" is within that 4% range. 

FWIW, I do not believe this to be true with the current SC52W tint ordeal. I'd wager that number to be more in the range of 15%-25% just based on the sheer numbers of complaints stated on this forum while also knowing that the general consumer is only worried about the max lumens and not a given tint. The "w", "c", and "d" ZLs are only, IMHO, released to appease us flashoholics, amongst a few other select groups (doctors, electricians, and other fields where color accuracy may be necessary). But I'm getting off topic here. 

All I'm saying is that while any given person may have had a bad experience with ZL doesn't mean that the company shouldn't be trusted. I'm also NOT saying that whoever has had a bad experience with them is saying that..

I have personally had two very good warranty experiences with ZL USA (dealing with the main Texas branch and never the Chinese branch) Once I dropped my 1st generation SC600W on a very hard surface and cracked the lens. I sent ZL an email the next day and received a new lens promptly. 

The second claim was when I purposely broke one my H51W lenses in a vise in order to change the emitter to a Nichia 219. I told the customer sales representative exactly what I did along with my intentions and they still sent me a new lens for no charge. They even sent me a follow-up email asking me how the mod went. It turned out flawlessly, FWIW, and I told them exactly that. 

Granted, this has little to do with customers outside of the USA, as they have to deal with China, but the main branch in Texas still holds the customer first IMHO. We can all only hope that ZL's promises to deal with all warranty claims in Texas holds true.


----------



## markr6

Diablo_331 said:


> The second claim was when I purposely broke one my H51W lenses in a vise in order to change the emitter to a Nichia 219.



I WANT!!! Or at least a beamshot will do for now


----------



## Diablo_331

The beam profile was nearly the same as the original, only with a better CRI and tint. I don't have the skills to take beam shots. I've tried a few times before but failed. Sorry. :-\
Edit: This light will never be sold. It took awhile to mod and was pretty hard. It was my first emitter reflow and took 3 fried 219s before I finally got it right. These ZLs have excellent heat sinking which, I believe, is why it was so difficult. I was almost certain that the driver was overheated but it still works like normal. I probably damaged it or shorten it's lifespan in some way due to the heat. It just has a lot of sentimental value to me.


----------



## Painful Chafe

The 602W is now listed on the spreadsheet. 

Lumens output is listed at ~950

Also is listed as having 384 discrete level PID thermal regulation.

In a nutshell the light will maintain highest output possible based on thermal temperatures using 384 levels and a PID controller. The PID not only regulates the output based on the temperature it is reading, but it also monitors present/recent conditions to regulate the output. If the light is outside in a cool environment it will not need to cut back on the output as much as if it is sitting on a table with no breeze in a 75 degree house. It monitors how much it needs to cut back and self adjusts to keep from overshooting optimal output. 

Use of the PID cuts the output as little and as slow as possible and for the most part is not perceived by the user.

Cool, huh?

Important note: When they listed the 950 lumens the used a tilde( ~_) _which means approximate. So we will still need to wait to know actual out the front lumens.


----------



## Phry

Tbh it doesn't matter much to me if the final otf lumens is 800 or 900 what matters more is getting that great Zebralight UI, compact style and great even proper flood with an 18650.

They just need to actually release the thing!!! 

Too much talk not enough selling lights. 

This will surely knock the Armytek Wizard Pro off the top spot for 18650 headlamp in many ways. 

Hurry up Zebralight and take my money!


----------



## csshih

Diablo_331 said:


> FWIW, I do not believe this to be true with the current SC52W tint ordeal. I'd wager that number to be more in the range of 15%-25% just based on the sheer numbers of complaints stated on this forum while also knowing that the general consumer is only worried about the max lumens and not a given tint. The "w", "c", and "d" ZLs are only, IMHO, released to appease us flashoholics, amongst a few other select groups (doctors, electricians, and other fields where color accuracy may be necessary). But I'm getting off topic here.



Much lower than that, actually. Vocal minority..

Craig


----------



## ArcticHighlander

Painful Chafe said:


> The 602W is now listed on the spreadsheet.
> 
> Lumens output is listed at ~950
> 
> Also is listed as having 384 discrete level PID thermal regulation.
> 
> In a nutshell the light will maintain highest output possible based on thermal temperatures using 384 levels and a PID controller. The PID not only regulates the output based on the temperature it is reading, but it also monitors present/recent conditions to regulate the output. If the light is outside in a cool environment it will not need to cut back on the output as much as if it is sitting on a table with no breeze in a 75 degree house. It monitors how much it needs to cut back and self adjusts to keep from overshooting optimal output.
> 
> Use of the PID cuts the output as little and as slow as possible and for the most part is not perceived by the user.
> 
> Cool, huh?
> 
> Important note: When they listed the 950 lumens the used a tilde( ~_) _which means approximate. So we will still need to wait to know actual out the front lumens.


These new 600w's and 602w sound great. But after the Wizard Pro release fiasco I'm going to wait until the reviews here of the production models are out and appear bug free.


----------



## Beacon of Light

that PID controller really is a game changer. It doesn't affect my performance with my lights as I never would use turbo or high even, but for people that do, it will be a godsend. People were bickering over what level it should drop down from turbo on the Armytek Wizardas it drops too low, but the ZL solution puts the Armytek back in the stone ages.


----------



## Phry

Depends on how the PID actually works. Slowly decreasing is better than a jump down I agree. 

That said if the several hundred modes it ramps through happen in a minute then there isn't much difference between that and just jumping down in one go, for example.


----------



## RedForest UK

There are some benefits to discrete stepdowns, such noticing when it has stepped down. Then you know that it is getting hot and can tell what level you are currently in for runtime estimation. But I agree that a slow stepdown will be in many ways much nicer to use. 

I still think I prefer the Armytek based on current information. I assume that it has more thermal mass, is almost certainly tougher/more reliable and the TIR based beam is much better for my purposes than full flood.


----------



## Painful Chafe

Phry said:


> Depends on how the PID actually works. Slowly decreasing is better than a jump down I agree.
> 
> That said if the several hundred modes it ramps through happen in a minute then there isn't much difference between that and just jumping down in one go, for example.



That;s why is is such a great feature. Other high output lights will run full bore until it hits a thermal or timed limit then cuts hundreds of lumens to cool it back down. The PID will slowly ramp down unnoticed and only the amount it needs to stay at a predetermined thermal high limit. This means it may only drop 50 or 100 lumens instead of 300 like others. And like stated it does it slowly. Not a drastic immediate drop.


----------



## Beacon of Light

RedForest UK said:


> There are some benefits to discrete stepdowns, such noticing when it has stepped down. Then you know that it is getting hot and can tell what level you are currently in for runtime estimation. But I agree that a slow stepdown will be in many ways much nicer to use.
> 
> I still think I prefer the Armytek based on current information. I assume that it has more thermal mass, is almost certainly tougher/more reliable and the TIR based beam is much better for my purposes than full flood.



You've got to be kidding about the reliability aspect considering there are at least 3 known faults so far with the Wizard One. You do seem in the tank so to speak for Armytek so maybe that is where your bias lies. If you compare these 2 lights without any agenda you will definitely see for sure the Zebralight wins all day and all night long. No stupid blinky lights on the Zebralight, no craptastic give a little bump and the light stops working, or use the voltage checker and have the light lock out. Trust me the day I get my Zebralights with all the sub lumen modes one can hope for, I will officially have no use for either of the Armytek lights I own.


----------



## RedForest UK

Beacon of Light said:


> You've got to be kidding about the reliability aspect considering there are at least 3 known faults so far with the Wizard One. You do seem in the tank so to speak for Armytek so maybe that is where your bias lies. If you compare these 2 lights without any agenda you will definitely see for sure the Zebralight wins all day and all night long. No stupid blinky lights on the Zebralight, no craptastic give a little bump and the light stops working, or use the voltage checker and have the light lock out. Trust me the day I get my Zebralights with all the sub lumen modes one can hope for, I will officially have no use for either of the Armytek lights I own.



I'm not, I have never read a single report of an Armytek light breaking. Sure they made some mistakes with the firmware programming on the first run, but that isn't unreliability. 

I'm not sure what you're implying about being 'in the tank' with Armytek. The Wizard pro was my first light from them, and I was just very impressed with it. Despite the niggly issues with the first run I feel it was one of the best all-round lighting tools that I have ever owned or used (and I have been buying a lot of them for around 3 years now, including quite a few Zebralights and even a couple of Surefires). After the update it will be even better.

I know you write it off as it only has a single sub-lumen mode, and that is all you normally use, but that's not what I normally use.

The 'blinky' locator/state indication LED is a useful feature for some, and is easily switched off if not. My SC600 also switches off after a little bump to the rear, just like the Armytek. That is simply due to a break in an electronic circuit switching it off, you can either use longer cells or stretch the spring to make it less likely to happen, Armytek now claim to have developed a way of preventing it in the updated firmware, whilst Zebralight haven't even acknowledged the 'problem'.

I can see why you prefer Zebralights, for sub-lumen levels they are a superior choice than the currently available Armyteks. But that isn't the main (or even a very important) consideration for me. Overall I feel the Armytek is the better light, but I haven't even seen the Zebra yet and wouldn't be unhappy to be proved wrong.


----------



## ArcticHighlander

RedForest UK said:


> I still think I prefer the Armytek based on current information. I assume that it has more thermal mass, is almost certainly tougher/more reliable and the TIR based beam is much better for my purposes than full flood.


I disagree with you on the reliability question considering how seriously buggy the Wizard Pro has been - and until we get the 'fixed' lights back we won't actually know if the problems are completely resolved. The new Zebralights will be offered in three versions, spill & spot (H600w MkII), floody (H600Fw MkII), as well as flood (H602w). That should cover the full spectrum of uses. They will also be brighter than their old version (and the Armytek's Wizard Pro) with around 950 OTF lumens (vs Armytek's 1010 LED lumens). I personally prefer the smaller H600 format which also seems very rugged and the much more useful and lighter silicon headlamp holder (verses the heavy, relatively immobile rubber one on the Wizard Pro). My H600 has been completely reliable when smacked no matter what the length of battery (from 65mm to 70mm).


----------



## Beacon of Light

Don't forget the H600MkII is going to be smaller than the earlier H600. Not a lot smaller but smaller still. Should look a lot smaller than the Armytek Wizard in a side by side comparison.


----------



## Diablo_331

RedForest UK said:


> I'm not, I have never read a single report of an Armytek light breaking. Sure they made some mistakes with the firmware programming on the first run, *but that isn't unreliability*.



Really? Please tell me more..


----------



## Beacon of Light

What he calls niggly, most everyone else would call broken or unreliable. Also until people have "working" versions of this updated firmware, then I will continue to be a skeptic about these lights being unreliable. Guess what I own Zebralights about 10 of them (maybe more now since I just bought and received 2 more H31Fs) and there are no niggly issues with any of them, they just WORK.



Diablo_331 said:


> Really? Please tell me more..


----------



## RedForest UK

Diablo_331 said:


> Really? Please tell me more..



Unreliability is when something can't be relied upon. The Wizard pro can be relied upon to consistently perform exactly how it was programmed to. 

Unfortunately there were a few mistakes/oversights with the final programming of the first production run, such as neglecting to lower the temperatures at which the colour warning LEDs flash in line with the lowered 'critical' thermal threshold and stepdown, and when the indicator LED has been manually switched off sometimes the light will 'lock-out' and not come on again if turned off whilst using one of the flashing modes.

Seeing as the lock-out problem doesn't happen when the indicator LED is left on (default setting), and the other issue only means that you lose colour LED warning before temperature stepdown, I would class them as niggly. The turning off when bumped issue is not really a big design fault as many lights have the same problem caused by the same physical issue of contact breaking under stress, for non-electronic switch based circuits this often will change the mode (as reported in the Surefire 6PX/G2X) and for electronic switch based circuits it will switch them off (as in my SC600). It has never been a big issue for me, and is quite easily made less of one by stretching the spring a little or using longer cells. Still I am interested to hear that Armytek claim to have come up with a way of fixing it through the firmware update.

Still, these oversights do not in my opinion make the light unreliable. They just make it behave in a consistently and predictably sub-optimal way. If they hadn't acknowledged these issues or tried to fix them then I may be very annoyed with them, but the way in which they have honestly and openly addressed each one and crowd-sourced ideas on how the UI itself could be otherwise improved gives me great confidence in them as a company. They have also paid return shipping and guaranteed to cover any light lost in the post, both things that Zebralight won't even consider doing.

Don't get me wrong, I really like Zebralights; for UI and efficiency they are market leaders. But the Wizard pro is for me the best headlamp on the market right now. I'm still looking forward to seeing how the new H600 and H602 match up though.


----------



## Diablo_331

I have no experience with the Wizard pro. Please provide me with the headlamp's specs as provided by the company.


----------



## RedForest UK

http://www.armytek.com/products/flashlights/headlamps/armytek-wizard-xm-l2.html


----------



## BirdofPrey

Unless something big comes along, I'm in for an H602 to upgrade from my H60w. Additionally intend to go for an SC600w and if I can swing it, I wouldn't mind one of their triples. 

Sent from my Note 10.1 somewhere deep in a hidden lair.


----------



## Diablo_331

RedForest UK said:


> http://www.armytek.com/products/flashlights/headlamps/armytek-wizard-xm-l2.html



I'm not seeing anything listed in the factory provided specs that I should expect any of the mentioned flaws (in this thread and others) in this headlamp.. Am I missing something here or should these "flaws" be put under the "unreliability" category? Please enlighten me if I'm mistaken.


----------



## RedForest UK

Well no they aren't mentioned in the factory specs. But then neither is the fact that the LED indicator can even be turned off in the first place, or any obvious claims about different coloured warning LEDs at incremental temperatures leading up to thermal stepdown. Seeing as the issues only relate to functions which aren't mentioned in the specs, then maybe they don't even exist? 

Of course they are (were) real problems, but the point still stands that unreliability is a different thing. Unreliability refers to the chance of something breaking. None of the Armyteks have broken, they were programmed wrong in the first place and then worked as programmed. This has now been fixed.

Armytek have effectively issued a recall on these first run lights, have quickly updated the firmware to resolve all issues and are re-sending the updated stock now anyway.

If you still object to my use of the word reliability, then I will re-word my claim to the Armytek being less likely to break/fail in use than the Zebralight. I have read multiple posts about Zebralights just going  (it also happened to my own H501w, though Zebralight did fix it with a 3 month turnaround time). I'm sure it isn't very regular, but I have never read of the same happening to an Armytek. I have also seen multiple examples of water ingress in Zebralight headlamps, especially the H600 which seems prone to fogging of the lens. A TIR is not only inherently tougher, but is also immune to the fogging issue.


----------



## ArcticHighlander

Zebralight has updated their spreadsheet info. The H600w MkII, H600Fw MkII, and H602w are now all listed as having .01 lumens on the low end. To me that was the biggest failing of the old H600 which only went down to .1 lumens and could be too bright for some uses. I was planning on getting the SC600w MkII when it came out because it had a more usable low end setting but now I'm looking at getting one of these once they are out and reviewed. Also, Zebralight had listed the maximum output of all three of these as 950 OTF lumens. Now they have them listed as 1020, 970 and 1020 respectively. I assume those are still OTF values. A wonderful range of available outputs.


----------



## Beacon of Light

you're right. And an even bigger failing than the old H600 is the Armytek, as it's low doesn't even get down as low as .1 lumens as the H600 so nowhere in hell is it close to .01 lumens as it is a not very low .5 lumens. Huge fail and I am betting even the next version Armytek (non pro Wizard won't go down to .01 lumens like the H600 MKII. I know I am speculating, but then I have a hunch I will also be correct!



ArcticHighlander said:


> Zebralight has updated their spreadsheet info. The H600w MkII, H600Fw MkII, and H602w are now all listed as having .01 lumens on the low end. To me that was the biggest failing of the old H600 which only went down to .1 lumens and could be too bright for some uses. I was planning on getting the SC600w MkII when it came out because it had a more usable low end setting but now I'm looking at getting one of these once they are out and reviewed. Also, Zebralight had listed the maximum output of all three of these as 950 OTF lumens. Now they have them listed as 1020, 970 and 1020 respectively. I assume those are still OTF values. A wonderful range of available outputs.


----------



## wardroid

I got tired of waiting for this zebralight and bought the Armytek 1k+ lumens headlamp instead. It hasn't arrived yet but it looks promising.
Armytek Wizard Pro XM-L2


----------



## RedForest UK

Remember those are LED rather than OTF lumens. I measured 880 OTF on mine, but that's still very impressive. You'll probably receive the bug fixed version of the v1 UI.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

I take it we won't see this lamp this month.


----------



## Merlin Pan

We may see H602w.


----------



## Stefano

New Zebra arrived!
http://www.zebralight.com/Headlamp_c_7.html


----------



## BirdofPrey

Stefano said:


> New Zebra arrived!
> http://www.zebralight.com/Headlamp_c_7.html



Finally, I may buy but I was hoping for the same beam pattern as my H60w. 120 beam flood pattern may be just a bit too much for me and a waste of good lumens. 

Sent from my Note 10.1 somewhere deep in a hidden lair.


----------



## Diablo_331

I can't wait to read the next 40 pages of tint complaints..


----------



## Matjazz

I like the pure flood. However I miss a mode between 65Lm and 330Lm with 8-10 hours run time. IMHO the H600(F) has better mode arrangement.


----------



## petr9999

anyone else notice the top band?wohoo

waiting for a cool white though


----------



## Stefano

Matjazz said:


> I like the pure flood. However I miss a mode between 65Lm and 330Lm with 8-10 hours run time. IMHO the H600(F) has better mode arrangement.



View: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?367808-Zebralight-H600-Mark-II-coming-August-2013!!!
Many users are writing to Zebralight to request lumens/runtime changes
https://zebralight.3dcartstores.com/crm.asp?action=contactus


----------



## ArcticHighlander

BirdofPrey said:


> Finally, I may buy but I was hoping for the same beam pattern as my H60w. 120 beam flood pattern may be just a bit too much for me and a waste of good lumens.
> 
> Sent from my Note 10.1 somewhere deep in a hidden lair.


The newly out H600Fw MkII floody has a 90 degree beam spread verses the H602w's 120 degrees. I'm most interested in the newly out H600w MkII with 80spill/12spot but I want to see the reviews on all three before choosing.


----------



## markr6

ArcticHighlander said:


> The newly out H600Fw MkII floody has a 90 degree beam spread verses the H602w's 120 degrees. I'm most interested in the newly out H600w MkII with 80spill/12spot but I want to see the reviews on all three before choosing.



The old H600w also had a 80/12° beam which I thought was nice. However, I still used some diffuser film because I use it for running often and the hotspot moving around was very distracting. For most other uses I think it's fine.


----------



## creyc

Just got the latest newsletter from ZL announcing the H600w/H602w available as of August 28th and shipping September 12th!

Looks like its 4400K XM-L2's for all, and I'm thinking it's going to be the same as the current H502w/SC52w. I suppose that's to be expected, but like mark6 I'm going to wait on some reviews first before taking the jump. The tint issue on the SC52w really left me with a bad feeling about ZL..


----------



## markr6

creyc said:


> Just got the latest newsletter from ZL announcing the H600w/H602w available as of August 28th and shipping September 12th!
> 
> Looks like its 4400K XM-L2's for all, and I'm thinking it's going to be the same as the current H502w/SC52w. I suppose that's to be expected, but like mark6 I'm going to wait on some reviews first before taking the jump. The tint issue on the SC52w really left me with a bad feeling about ZL..



Other than the tint, the change in H2 level concerns me since I use the 146lm setting often on my H600w. 65lm to 330lm is a bit much. Other than that I don't really see a need to upgrade. But it is nice to see they went back to selling just the headlamp instead of a "bundle" for $108.


----------



## ArcticHighlander

They have also added a top band to the head band which I really appreciate. It's a nice option for extra stability/reduced bounce.


----------



## Painful Chafe

Says unavailable for sale. Will it be soon?


----------



## markr6

It's weird seeing the "w" versions out before cool whites. I'm guessing they're trying to flush out their stock of *green*-neutral white emitters :nana:


----------



## creyc

Painful Chafe said:


> Says unavailable for sale. Will it be soon?



3 posts above yours..


----------



## petr9999

markr6 said:


> It's weird seeing the "w" versions out before cool whites. I'm guessing they're trying to flush out their stock of *green*-neutral white emitters :nana:


Same thoughts here


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

markr6 said:


> Other than the tint, the change in H2 level concerns me since I use the 146lm setting often on my H600w. 65lm to 330lm is a bit much.




I agree, I don't see why they came to that decision.

Are there any good comparisons between the flat reflectors and the frosted lens? I'm having trouble deciding between the two.


----------



## petr9999

get a flat reflector and buy some diffusion film, best of both words


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

petr9999 said:


> get a flat reflector and buy some diffusion film, best of both words



Is there still a hot spot with a flat reflector?


----------



## RedForest UK

Not on the H602 version, that 'flat reflector' isn't actually a conventional reflector at all but is made of probably GITD silicone for non-directional reflection. 

The difference in beams will be noticable between the 600f and 602 versions with a much tighter overall beam and slight diffused hotspot on the 600f but a much wider and lower intensity flood on the 602 version.


----------



## markr6

BababooeyHTJ said:


> Is there still a hot spot with a flat reflector?



What I like about using the diffuser film is that you still have a definable hotspot but it's much larger and has a nice transition into a soft spill (no annoying tunnel vision). Even though I prefer floodier lights, the last three ZL headlamps I purchased were the regular versions to which I applied the film right away.


----------



## Beacon of Light

I was just comparing my H31 with frosted scotch tape to my H31F last evening. Besides the anodizing difference and the GITD "ring" near the tailcap of the older H31, the flood and hotspot was still there in the H31 with tape, but it did even if out a bit and it does look brighter. The H31F evens everything out without a hotspot. For the 18650 size, I will pass unless they add the 150-200 lumen mode, and hopefully the cool whites aren't green.


----------



## PoliceScannerMan

New high specs: 

High: H1 970 Lm (PID, approx 2 hr) or H2 590 Lm (PID, approx 2.5 hrs) / 313 Lm (3.9 hrs) / 142 Lm (TBD)


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

I still think that the 140 Lm setting should be the highest medium setting and the 10Lm should be the highest low setting. 

Thats the big gripe that I have with my SC600


----------



## Beacon of Light

Glad they responded to the complaints so quickly. With the 140lm setting I am back in this.

Kind of wish the submodes of H2 / M2 and L2 were clickable the way you can click from L1 to L2 / M1 to M2 / H1 to H2.

I like the L1 and L2 levels where they are I think a 10 lumen instead of the 3.5 lumen would be too high for a low. FOr me the medium level set at 10 will be perfect.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

I just think that 1020Lm to 65 is a big leap with only one other setting in between.


----------



## Painful Chafe

******PLEASE EVERYONE, READ THIS*********

Unless I am missing something, I think it makes no sense to have the 150lm level on high. I am going to either use 1020lm or the 330 on high mode. Double clicking will toggle between the two modes. 

Unfortunately they put the 150lm mode in the high level. So now my choice if I want to use the 150lm is to jump all the way from 1020 to 150lm and I will miss out on the 330lm which I will use often. And, this is a huge jump for supposedly a "High" level. 

I'm not sure if there is a technical reason the 150 isn't in the medium level, but it seams it would make much more sense there. Am I missing something?

If others agree, please email Zebralight and ask them if the 150 can be put into the medium level. 


Hopefully they can change it and do it before they start shipping. But it will take many emails.
https://zebralight.3dcartstores.com/crm.asp?action=contactus


----------



## creyc

Painful Chafe said:


> ******PLEASE EVERYONE, READ THIS*********
> 
> Unless I am missing something, I think it makes no sense to have the 150lm level on high. I am going to either use 1020lm or the 330 on high mode. Double clicking will toggle between the two modes.
> 
> Unfortunately they put the 150lm mode in the high level. So now my choice if I want to use the 150lm is to jump all the way from 1020 to 150lm and I will miss out on the 330lm which I will use often. And, this is a huge jump for supposedly a "High" level.
> 
> I'm not sure if there is a technical reason the 150 isn't in the medium level, but it seams it would make much more sense there. Am I missing something?
> 
> If others agree, please email Zebralight and ask them if the 150 can be put into the medium level.
> 
> 
> Hopefully they can change it and do it before they start shipping. But it will take many emails.
> https://zebralight.3dcartstores.com/crm.asp?action=contactus



I can see both sides to this debate. Personally I find 150 lm (real, non fleabay lumens) quite bright for general use. In fact I'm usually quite content with 150-200 max in my lights. So in a way it makes sense to keep 150 in the H group. For a lower powered light like their H52 it would be in the high group no doubt.

But for a light with a peak output of 1000+ lm you have to re-group these modes in a way that keeps the light usable for a variety of tasks, not just for starting fires.  In this case bringing 150 to Medium makes sense. H1 is fixed at 1020. Pairing that with 620 or 330 as H2 is a much closer match, with both settings very noticeably brighter than 150 still. That leaves 150 as a very useful M1 for general purpose illumination, and able to get to from off without having to give up an H mode for it.

Now the gap between M and L get a bit wider if you were to leave 150 programmed as your medium mode, which is a bit of a concern for me. I'd be going from 150 down to 3.3, which is a huge jump and possibly reason enough to leave M1 at 61. I could probably make either way work, but I think for most tasks having that 150 quickly available as my M preset would be more preferable.


----------



## Kalsu

I am trying to decide if I should spring for the H602w. I currently have a H600w that I use every night at work. I have been very happy with this light and have never had a problem with it at all. 

I would say that 90% of the time my H600w is on the 146lm setting and most of the jobs I use it for are at arms length to maybe double that away from me (I am an aircraft mechanic). I always have a flashlight on me for jobs that require more throw. 

So I guess my question is how effective (distance wise) is the beam on the H602w going to be on the 150 lm setting? I know that's kind of a vague question but I was hoping that someone here with more experience with floody headlamps could chime in. 

I have always went for headlamps with the beam profile like the H600w I am starting to wonder though if I wouldn't benefit more from a floody beam?


----------



## Matjazz

If I had to choose a headlamp with just one beam profile I'd choose H600F or H602. The spot makes my vision too focused and I'm not that aware of periphery as with flood.
I don't know what's the nature of your work but if it's fixing things at arms length then infinitely flood.


----------



## Kalsu

Matjazz said:


> If I had to choose a headlamp with just one beam profile I'd choose H600F or H602. The spot makes my vision too focused and I'm not that aware of periphery as with flood.
> I don't know what's the nature of your work but if it's fixing things at arms length then infinitely flood.



I am an aircraft mechanic on the graveyard shift so my headlamp gets used a lot. 

I think the floody beam may be nice to light up the whole area I am working in, not just the spot I am looking at. 

What the heck I may as well try it out. If I don't use it at work it will get used at home.


----------



## markr6

Painful Chafe said:


> ******PLEASE EVERYONE, READ THIS*********
> 
> Unless I am missing something, I think it makes no sense to have the 150lm level on high. I am going to either use 1020lm or the 330 on high mode. Double clicking will toggle between the two modes.
> 
> Unfortunately they put the 150lm mode in the high level. So now my choice if I want to use the 150lm is to jump all the way from 1020 to 150lm and I will miss out on the 330lm which I will use often. And, this is a huge jump for supposedly a "High" level.



You hit the nail on the head here and I find it hard for anyone to debate this. A 150lm "high" mode doesn't belong on a light that does 1020l, at least not in the same "grouping". At first, I was excited about this 150lm addition, but when thinking about it in actual use I can see how it would be a huge problem. Having the 330lm there but not really accessible is like an itch I can't scratch; way too annoying to keep reprogramming H2 in the field.

I understand it can be a personal preference, but 1020 > 150 is insane. Before purchasing my H600w, I was concerned about the modes of 645Lm - 146Lm/232Lm/361Lm, but clearly it's a keeper in comparison!


----------



## Painful Chafe

creyc said:


> Now the gap between M and L get a bit wider if you were to leave 150 programmed as your medium mode, which is a bit of a concern for me. I'd be going from 150 down to 3.3, which is a huge jump and possibly reason enough to leave M1 at 61. I could probably make either way work, but I think for most tasks having that 150 quickly available as my M preset would be more preferable.



Could you have M1 at 150 and M2 at 30 or 11? Then the L1 at 3.3 wouldn't be that much. 



markr6 said:


> You hit the nail on the head here and I find it hard for anyone to debate this. A 150lm "high" mode doesn't belong on a light that does 1020l, at least not in the same "grouping". At first, I was excited about this 150lm addition, but when thinking about it in actual use I can see how it would be a huge problem. Having the 330lm there but not really accessible is like an itch I can't scratch; way too annoying to keep reprogramming H2 in the field.
> 
> I understand it can be a personal preference, but 1020 > 150 is insane. Before purchasing my H600w, I was concerned about the modes of 645Lm - 146Lm/232Lm/361Lm, but clearly it's a keeper in comparison!



I hope people are emailing! Even if you aren't going to buy this light and just here to read about it. If this doesn't make sense to you, email Zebralight and help us out.


----------



## Derek Dean

Painful Chafe and markr6,
The thing is this, pretty much everybody agreed that when ZL left the 150 lumen level out of the initial lights it was a mistake, and ZL quickly fixed that. Yippeeee!!! 

However, there is NO such agreement about the placement of the 150 lumen level. Many folks feel it's fine in the H2 position, and some, like you, feel it should be in the M1 position. But since there is no general consensus, it's not likely to be on the ZL radar.


----------



## Painful Chafe

Derek Dean said:


> Painful Chafe and markr6,
> The thing is this, pretty much everybody agreed that when ZL left the 150 lumen level out of the initial lights it was a mistake, and ZL quickly fixed that. Yippeeee!!!
> 
> However, there is NO such agreement about the placement of the 150 lumen level. Many folks feel it's fine in the H2 position, and some, like you, feel it should be in the M1 position. But since there is no general consensus, it's not likely to be on the ZL radar.



The thing is, I still haven't heard a good reason for it being in H2 vs. M1. I know people have said they are fine with it being on H2, but no one has said why the would prefer it there vs. M2. Is there a logical reason? Are people just happy it's there and that's enough for them and the really haven't thought it through? 1020 down to 150? Really? Especially when it is just as easy, if not easier to access 150 at M1 vs. H2? Sorry, makes no sense, and we are going to loose out on the very awesome 330 or 620


----------



## carrot

150 can be in both, and make everyone (happy | angry).


----------



## Painful Chafe

I just got a response email back from Zebralight and the stated that any change now would delay shipment and they don't want to do that. Too bad, but there is a nugget of good news. They are going to be working on having all outputs selectable on any level in future lights.

I personally think the short lived criticism of emailing the people who pre ordered stating it would be delayed a week is worth it compared to the long term criticism of having a light out with such strange output levels on high. Even though some people here are still stating the they are OK with the 150 being in the H levels, I'm pretty sure once they get it and use it, they will think it is pretty silly. I still haven't read anyone explaining why having the 150 in the High levels is a better idea than it being in the medium level. If you are going to use the 330 and 150 in the High menu, then I can understand thinking it is OK. That would be a normal jump in output. But I hope the small handful of those people realize that the vast majority of people that get these headlamps are going to keep the 1020 output programed in the High levels, even if just for the Holy S***! factor. 

Oh well, I'm still getting one, but I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. They were so close to having the perfect headlamp, IMHO.


----------



## Derek Dean

Painful Chafe said:


> The thing is, I still haven't heard a good reason for it being in H2 vs. M1. I know people have said they are fine with it being on H2, but no one has said why the would prefer it there vs. M2. Is there a logical reason? Are people just happy it's there and that's enough for them and the really haven't thought it through? 1020 down to 150? Really? Especially when it is just as easy, if not easier to access 150 at M1 vs. H2? Sorry, makes no sense, and we are going to loose out on the very awesome 330 or 620


For my personal style, it's better having the 150 level in the H2 position. I tend to use my lights mostly in the lower levels, often at close range. Being able to quickly fine-tune the medium level between 65 and 30 or 65 and 11, suits my style of use better, while having the 150 level as M1 would mean I'd be stuck with 65 OR 30 OR 11, so I'd loose that ability to quickly fine tune. Not a HUGE deal, it only takes about 15 seconds to reset a sublevel, but for my uses, I like it the way they have it now.

I can see how, if somebody tended to use the higher levels more, then they would probably enjoy having the 150 level set as M1. That's just not how _everybody_ uses their lights. 

One of the reasons ZL is so popular is exactly because they've gone out of their way to accommodate those of us who dig having a large selection of useful lower levels, and I can only speculate that their placing the 150 level in the H2 position is a reflection of that understanding. It's quite likely that I will rarely go above the 150 level, although there might be times where I'll reset it to 330. 

However, as you said, I AM just happy that at least they decided to include the 150 level, and if your e-mails manage to convince them to change it's position to M1, then fine, it really won't bother me that much. Good luck .


----------



## Derek Dean

Painful Chafe said:


> I just got a response email back from Zebralight and the stated that any change now would delay shipment and they don't want to do that. Too bad, but there is a nugget of good news. They are going to be working on having all outputs selectable on any level in future lights.
> 
> But I hope the small handful of those people realize that the vast majority of people that get these headlamps are going to keep the 1020 output programed in the High levels, even if just for the Holy S***! factor. .


Well, that is good news....... just have one slot for each H1, H2, M1, M2, L1, L2, and then let us select from 15-20 levels for each slot. That would come close to making most folks happy.

However, as far as I'm concerned, the 1020 output is wasted on me, and I'd definitely have the H1 slot filled with either 330 or 620 for actual use. Don't get me wrong, I'd still want the ability to select 1020 (or whatever max output is available) just for giggles, but in real life use, and I really do use my lights every night, I don't find the high levels all that useful, but that's just me.


----------



## ArcticHighlander

Future models will have all or almost all 96 levels available to select from. It will be nice to be able to set them up exactly as we want. And have the flexibility to change them if our needs change.


----------



## Beacon of Light

Kind of funny you guys are debating about 150 being in M1 or H2 and if/when we can select any of the 96 levels, I'll have at least one dedicated light where the H1 will probably be 30 and H2 around 10, the medium will be 10-1 lumens and L1 and L2 will be all sub lumens. Can't wait for this light now.


----------



## carrot

ArcticHighlander said:


> Future models will have all or almost all 96 levels available to select from. It will be nice to be able to set them up exactly as we want. And have the flexibility to change them if our needs change.



If we are really lucky upcoming future Zebralight might even be water resistant!


----------



## Phry

carrot said:


> If we are really lucky upcoming future Zebralight might even be water resistant!



Every one I have ever owned has been.

And I have had many over the years.


----------



## carrot

Phry said:


> Every one I have ever owned has been.
> 
> And I have had many over the years.



Maybe in your experience, and at least in my experience with my sole Zebralight purchase, but it is clearly a pain point for Zebralight that they need to work on. There are lots of cases of Zebralights leaking, probably due to their use of press-fit rings instead of screw-down rings. Here's hoping that the H600 mk2 and future Zebralights address this issue effectively.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

creyc said:


> Now the gap between M and L get a bit wider if you were to leave 150 programmed as your medium mode, which is a bit of a concern for me. I'd be going from 150 down to 3.3, which is a huge jump and possibly reason enough to leave M1 at 61. I could probably make either way work, but I think for most tasks having that 150 quickly available as my M preset would be more preferable.




Yeah but you can always just double tap on M and set it to 61 or lower if you wish. 

I just think that its kind of silly that if you want to use the 150 setting that you can't use anything between 1050 and 150 without double tapping the button six times and flipping between settings. Then after that you have four usable settings with much smaller gaps. Lets face it the difference between 65 lumens and 32 lumens isn't all that big.



ArcticHighlander said:


> Future models will have all or almost all 96 levels available to select from. It will be nice to be able to set them up exactly as we want. And have the flexibility to change them if our needs change.




I would love that.


----------



## creyc

Where did this number 96 come from??


----------



## sticktodrum

Isn't it 42?


----------



## Painful Chafe

creyc said:


> Where did this number 96 come from??



I'm not really sure. It was in an email sent to a few of us that complained about the 150 in the H level. Here are the two responses I got from them:


Department: Sales

Subject: H602 and H600 MkII 150 lumen level

We've discussed with our production engineers in China over the weekend about this and its impact to the production deadlines, and decided to keep the way it is. We will be looking into having a more flexible user interface in future models so that most, if not all of the 96 levels are accesible to users. p.s. all flashlights and headlamps produced since late 2011 have at least 96 current regulated levels internally. 

Sincerely,

ZebraLight, Inc.
2908 Story Rd. W
Irving, TX 75038

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Department: Sales

Subject: H602 and H600 MkII 150 lumen level

Thanks for your comments. As you can see, our current UI is approching its limit when we keep trying to implement higher Highs and lower Lows with each new models. We'd like to have a new UI that can deal with this and left the current one as is. 

Sincerely,

ZebraLight, Inc.
2908 Story Rd. W
Irving, TX 75038


----------



## markr6

Sounds like waiting a bit longer is the best option.


----------



## Painful Chafe

markr6 said:


> Sounds like waiting a bit longer is the best option.



I wouldn't wait. I'm thinking any Ui improvement wouldn't be for quite a while. They are right now working on a new series of lights. I believe some sort of tactical version.


----------



## Phry

STILL nothing...

Too much talk and not enough lights from Zebralight.

Typical I am sad to say.


----------



## RedForest UK

Phry said:


> STILL nothing...
> 
> Too much talk and not enough lights from Zebralight.
> 
> Typical I am sad to say.



What do you mean? It's on the webpage: https://zebralight.3dcartstores.com/H602w-18650-XM-L2-Flood-Headlamp-Neutral-White_p_115.html


----------



## markr6

This is going to be one sweet light! I don't have a need for something so floody (sold my H502), but I'm dying to see one in person.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

I placed my order last minute. I have a feeling that I won't see my 602 until late October if I'm lucky.


----------



## Beacon of Light

I think I will go for the H600 rather than the H602, but either way I will have a longer wait as it must be cool white.


----------



## creyc

Beacon of Light said:


> I think I will go for the H600 rather than the H602, but either way I will have a longer wait as it must be cool white.



I wasn't as impressed with the full flood beam of my H502w as I thought I would be, so I opted for the H600Fw this time around. Although with the extra horsepower behind the H602, it might be enough light to really make a nice flooder. Guess I'll have to get both eventually.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

I can't wait to see what this full flood beam is like. I think that it'll be perfect for what I'm looking for in a headlamp. I'm looking for something to for up close work in a basement, attic, dark room, etc. If I can get enough battery life at a decent lumen setting to swap a panel I'll be happy. I may not even wear it on my head most of the time.


----------



## Outlander

BababooeyHTJ said:


> I can't wait to see what this full flood beam is like. I think that it'll be perfect for what I'm looking for in a headlamp. I'm looking for something to for up close work in a basement, attic, dark room, etc. If I can get enough battery life at a decent lumen setting to swap a panel I'll be happy. I may not even wear it on my head most of the time.



This is exactly my thoughts as well. Something that will light up an attic space, yet still be able to do close up work on an electrical panel.


----------



## maitre

Just got an email notification last night that my H602w shipped out. It's going to be my first flood-light and I've been waiting close to two years for this - Can't wait to get this light!


----------



## markr6

Outlander said:


> This is exactly my thoughts as well. Something that will light up an attic space, yet still be able to do close up work on an electrical panel.



I had an H502 and NEVER used it. But this type of application would be perfect. I actually just got done replacing all the electrical outlets and switches in my home and a flood like the H602 or H502 would have been perfect. My H51w with diffuser tape worked fine though.


----------



## Outlander

markr6 said:


> I had an H502 and NEVER used it. But this type of application would be perfect. I actually just got done replacing all the electrical outlets and switches in my home and a flood like the H602 or H502 would have been perfect. My H51w with diffuser tape worked fine though.



I've got an old Zebralight H30-Q5 LED Headlamp that I currently use and love it. Especially the high setting is particulary perfect. But the runtimes aren't quite up to what I'd like, especially if I'm working in a crawlspace or attic for hours. Plus the tint isn't the best for identifying colors of wires(which is important in electrical work!). 
​I'm hoping the H602 will fit my needs.


----------



## Painful Chafe

Just received an email that my 602 shipped.


----------



## Phry

Why only warm versions first? Also changed to back order basically straight away!


----------



## creyc

Phry said:


> Why only warm versions first? Also changed to back order basically straight away!



It is a bit odd, as usually we see the cool white models long before the neutrals. I've seen a few theories flying around for why this is but without insider information from ZL it's hard to say why they changed it up this time around.


----------



## markr6

creyc said:


> It is a bit odd, as usually we see the cool white models long before the neutrals. I've seen a few theories flying around for why this is but without insider information from ZL it's hard to say why they changed it up this time around.



I'm still curious about this. Some guesses:

1. They need to flush out the green XM-L2's they got in the bargain basement
2. Their demand has shifted to the neutral tints so they're starting with these for better sales
3. Some type of upgrade in the works for the XL-L2 cool white.
4. No more cool whites at all for ZL (doubtful)


----------



## creyc

markr6 said:


> I'm still curious about this. Some guesses:
> 
> 1. They need to flush out the green XM-L2's they got in the bargain basement
> 2. Their demand has shifted to the neutral tints so they're starting with these for better sales
> 3. Some type of upgrade in the works for the XL-L2 cool white.
> 4. No more cool whites at all for ZL (doubtful)



Hah, I like the sounds of option 1, although that may be a bit optimistic! 
..Plus that would mean my H600Fw on the way would have the same sickly tint.


----------



## LEDburn

Outlander said:


> This is exactly my thoughts as well. Something that will light up an attic space, yet still be able to do close up work on an electrical panel.




This is what my H502d is used for. I find the colour rendition more than adequate for working in large switchboards and when doing telephone systems with the marvellous 100-pair underground cable we have here which loses is pairs easier than an old person with alzheimers loses their thoughts!

Working in tight spaces is where you really notice the benefit of a pure flood beam compared to a diffused concentrated beam from a reflector. I also own a H600fw and even though it has superior runtime and output, I rarely find I need more than my H502d at work. Everyone comments how amazing the 502 is; not once has anyone said anything about how much brighter the 600 is...

Give me a 602d that can maintain the full output (maybe more) of the 502d but for a few hours and I will be on that so fast!


----------



## evgeniy

LEDburn said:


> Give me a 602d that can maintain the full output (maybe more) of the 502d but for a few hours and I will be on that so fast!



I also wait for 602c and 602d.


----------



## Painful Chafe

Got my 602 today. Tint is very good. No green at all.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

Still waiting


----------



## Rexlion

Woohoo! My H602w came in today's mail. It is sweeeeet!


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

Did you get tracking info first?


----------



## Kalsu

Just got my H602w today. The tint is great with no hint of green at all. It also has a glow in the dark "reflector". Pretty cool. So this is my first true flood light and I am really impressed at the amount of light this puts out. It is literally a wall of light. The 150lm level looks to be a perfect fit for working with things at arms length. Anyway this thing is going to get used hard so I will chime in with more input after I use it for a while.


----------



## joeinid

Congratulations Wade. A photo would be great, if possible.


----------



## creyc

I'm starting to really think about selling my H502w and picking up an H602w. Like mark6, I almost never use my H502. It's a really neat little light, but on a single AA it's hardly got enough power to really do full flood with much authority, and staying on high really drains the battery quick. An H602 seems like it would handle this much better.

Ideally I'd have an H52Fw for a bit tighter throw and an H602w for a bright wall-of-light working light.


----------



## Kalsu

I will try and get pictures when I can buy we have soccer tonight and I have to work. It will get used tonight though. 

I have an H60w that I can use if I need more throw. I think the combination of the two will work well.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

I just got my H602. I can't wait to really test it out on the job. I've been playing around with it in the house and it seems perfect for my needs. I love the pure flood. 

I was also surprised by how small this light is. Its a good bit smaller than my SC600mkii. I guess thats also why it heats up so much faster than my sc600. I also noticed that the battery tube is a bit larger than my SC600. My fasttech 3400mah panasonic protected cells fit much tighter in the sc600mkii. 

My only real gripe is that this didn't come with a clip. I had actually planned on using that more than the headband itself.


----------



## 3Cylinders

I got mine yesterday. I ordered from Zebralight after they were out of stock and got it shortly after they had stock again. What a nice beam! Beautiful tint and nice, even flood. This will work great on my work helmet, allowing me to use my old H600 for an EDC light.


----------



## maitre

Just got my H602w today. As everyone else has said, the tint is really nice - it's definitely more yellow/neutral than the H600w. I've only played around with it for a few minutes and, so far, it's pretty sweet. My only gripe is I wouldn't call it a 100% pure flood beam. There is the smallest of hotspots in the center and it's quite distinct. It's not really noticeable in real-world use but it's definitely there. 

Here is a shot side-by-side with the H600w: The H602w has a different kind of anodizing that is both darker and shinier than the h600w. Whereas the H600w is matte, the H602w is definitely semi-shiny. Not visible in the photos are the button positions. The button on the H600w is positioned towards the back of the lens while the H602w is positioned towards the front of the lens. Trying not to be biased based on inexperience with the new light, I think I prefer the older button placement - it's just slightly easier to access compared to the new button placement (will post photos of this if people are interested). The new button is also WAY clickier than the old button - I like this a lot. The old button is clicky in a muted way while the new one is very distinctly clicky. You can easily hear the difference in clickiness. The h602w is also slightly shorter than the h600w but is barely noticeable. 





The walls in my apartment are a splotchy red so I had to just do some close-up beam shots against some printer paper. The following isn't scientific or anything. I just wanted to illustrate the difference in beam profile between the H602w and H600w. The output isn't perfectly matched but I think the photos are a good representation of how the beams look. As you can see, the H602w still has a distinct hotspot if you look for it. That said, it's very subtle and is definitely less noticeable compared to the h600w. 

H602w (@ two different camera exposures):










H600w (@ two different camera exposures):










Here are the two beams shot horizontally across the paper. You can see how much wider the H602w is. It's difficult to see a difference in the tint in this photo but the h600w is definitely WAY more green in use than the h602w is. In all practicality and real-world use, it barely makes any difference - I never noticed that the h600w was green until I had it next to the h602w.


----------



## markr6

I love the darker anodizing! I've been seeing this alot on some of the newer lights. It's basically luck of the draw, but I would like it if ZL planned on this color 100% of the time. I had an SC52w in that color and a smoother feel, unfortunately it was stolen from my car in just one week


----------



## maitre

markr6 said:


> I love the darker anodizing! I've been seeing this alot on some of the newer lights. It's basically luck of the draw, but I would like it if ZL planned on this color 100% of the time. I had an SC52w in that color and a smoother feel, unfortunately it was stolen from my car in just one week



I like the darker shade but wish it had a matte finish - there's something about matte finishes that look more 'natural' to me. 

Sorry about your stolen light! I guess the brightside is... they didn't steal your car?


----------



## Phry

Having that hotspot is a big disappointment to me. 

The whole point of these Zebralight is this rather unique proper flood. 

I hope they are not all the same


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

Mine has it to but it isn't noticeable when I'm actually using it. The only time that I see it is when I'm staring at a white wall.


----------



## moozooh

It is to be expected that light output will be brighter in the center of the cone even with bare LED...


----------



## Phry

moozooh said:


> It is to be expected that light output will be brighter in the center of the cone even with bare LED...



No it isn't. No bare led light I have ever used has been. Neither have any of my previous all flood Zebralights.


----------



## stp

Phry said:


> No it isn't. No bare led light I have ever used has been. Neither have any of my previous all flood Zebralights.



Yes it is, just check light distribution in specs of cree leds on their site for example. You may not see it but light from any normal bare led is always brighter in the center.


----------



## moozooh

Phry said:


> No it isn't. No bare led light I have ever used has been. Neither have any of my previous all flood Zebralights.



You might want to check that again.





(Source)


----------



## Phry

There is a difference is a gradual, almost imperceptible to the eye decline over an 80 degree light and what is pictured above, which shows a pretty clearly defined hot spot.

My H501 or H502 do not have this, neither do any bare LED lights I have had, neither does my Preon P0...

The distribution picture above only applies to a bare LED, which is not what it in this Zebralight.


----------



## markr6

It's been a while since I had my H502, but I clearly remember it having a consistent brightness at any point...at least through my eyes. I figured the 602 would be the same.


----------



## KDM

Phry said:


> There is a difference is a gradual, almost imperceptible to the eye decline over an 80 degree light and what is pictured above, which shows a pretty clearly defined hot spot.
> 
> My H501 or H502 do not have this, neither do any bare LED lights I have had, neither does my Preon P0...
> 
> The distribution picture above only applies to a bare LED, which is not what it in this Zebralight.



At what brightness level do you notice this?


----------



## Phry

markr6 said:


> It's been a while since I had my H502, but I clearly remember it having a consistent brightness at any point...at least through my eyes. I figured the 602 would be the same.



Me too, x 2.


----------



## RedForest UK

I think the very slight hotspot effect may be due to the bezel itself acting like a very small/thin reflector cup. Anyone who owns one can test this by closing one eye and looking directly into the front with it turned on a low setting. There will be some reflection also off the GITD surround of the LED but it shouldn't be directional as it's matte.


----------



## 3Cylinders

I haven't noticed a hotspot in actual usage, nor on a quick white wall test, but I haven't really studied the beam. It's a beautiful tint, though. I have noticed a flickering, though, especially noticeable on turbo. I don't know if it's the PID or if there is really a flicker with my H602W. I can't tell if it's a regular flicker or sporadic. Has anyone else noticed a flicker in theirs on turbo?


----------



## DIΩDΣ

While I wouldnt refer to it as a hotspot, any point source of light against a wall is going to be bright in the center and taper off, as even though the wall is flat the actual distance to the wall from the light increases away from the center, so the light will taper off per inverse square law. In conjunction with cree's specs that moozooh posted, well it would be even slightly more concentrated, but I wouldnt call it a hotspot which is normally a result of the focuse of reflected light from the reflector, unless its just the small shiny bezel effect that Redforest was talking about.



Phry said:


> The distribution picture above only applies to a bare LED, which is not what it in this Zebralight.


Is the zebra not a bare led? My H502 appears to be... with just a piece of tempered glass infront which I assume is the same flat piece used in there other lights?


----------



## Phry

DIΩDΣ;4296381 said:


> While I wouldnt refer to it as a hotspot, any point source of light against a wall is going to be bright in the center and taper off, as even though the wall is flat the actual distance to the wall from the light increases away from the center, so the light will taper off per inverse square law. In conjunction with cree's specs that moozooh posted, well it would be even slightly more concentrated, but I wouldnt call it a hotspot which is normally a result of the focuse of reflected light from the reflector, unless its just the small shiny bezel effect that Redforest was talking about.
> 
> 
> Is the zebra not a bare led? My H502 appears to be... with just a piece of tempered glass infront which I assume is the same flat piece used in there other lights?



Your H502 also has a slight cone shaped reflector of sorts behind the led. This may not seem to do much, but it is hugely different to just a bare bulb led in mid air.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

3Cylinders said:


> I haven't noticed a hotspot in actual usage, nor on a quick white wall test, but I haven't really studied the beam. It's a beautiful tint, though. I have noticed a flickering, though, especially noticeable on turbo. I don't know if it's the PID or if there is really a flicker with my H602W. I can't tell if it's a regular flicker or sporadic. Has anyone else noticed a flicker in theirs on turbo?



Yes, I have. I'm glad to know that I'm not going crazy. It seems to flicker once or twice when I first turn it on every once in a while. 

Thankfully I don't see it on the 150lm setting which I use the most. I don't use the highest mode for very long so I can't say if its a regular flicker either.


----------



## DIΩDΣ

Phry said:


> Your H502 also has a slight cone shaped reflector of sorts behind the led. This may not seem to do much, but it is hugely different to just a bare bulb led in mid air.



Oh I see where you are going now, you think the glow in the dark plastic around the led is acting like a reflector? I wouldnt imagine it could reflect a significant amount and evenly enough to create a noticeable hotspot. Maybe I'll try my H502d again on a white wall but I've never noticed this before.


----------



## Phry

DIΩDΣ;4297006 said:


> Oh I see where you are going now, you think the glow in the dark plastic around the led is acting like a reflector? I wouldnt imagine it could reflect a significant amount and evenly enough to create a noticeable hotspot. Maybe I'll try my H502d again on a white wall but I've never noticed this before.



It doesn't do much as reflect as curtail the spread to about the 120 degrees. Without it though the light would spread much more.


----------



## maitre

If you look carefully at my images, you can see that the hotspot is both yellow and square shaped - just like the emitter. The emitter isn't exactly "bare" - there is a spherical lens over it to help spread the beam. (Please see Cree's spec page to see which lens I'm talking about: http://www.cree.com/led-components-and-modules/products/xlamp/discrete-directional/xlamp-xml2). I highly suspect it's this lens that is projecting the image of the emitter. Without this lens, I'm certain the beam profile would be more even from edge to edge.

For general application, the "hotspot" isn't too much of an issue - you only see it if you look for it. On the other hand, I'm finding it quite noticeable when reading (my primary use for this light). The hotspot is a little distracting because, on my kindle screen, the yellow tint and square shape is quite discernible. However, considering how even the beam is outside the hotspot, it's easy to tilt the light upwards to direct the hotspot away the page while still illuminating the page. This has been my fix.

Funny enough, my h600w doesn't project an image of the emitter...


----------



## Diablo_331

If it really bothers anyone that much then just stick some diffuser film over then lens and call it good. The ~5- 15% loss in OTF lumens will never be noticed and, in return, you'd get a more even beam with the "hotspot" diffused even more so.


----------



## DIΩDΣ

maitre said:


> If you look carefully at my images, you can see that the hotspot is both yellow and square shaped - just like the emitter. The emitter isn't exactly "bare" - there is a spherical lens over it to help spread the beam. (Please see Cree's spec page to see which lens I'm talking about: http://www.cree.com/led-components-and-modules/products/xlamp/discrete-directional/xlamp-xml2). I highly suspect it's this lens that is projecting the image of the emitter. Without this lens, I'm certain the beam profile would be more even from edge to edge.
> 
> For general application, the "hotspot" isn't too much of an issue - you only see it if you look for it. On the other hand, I'm finding it quite noticeable when reading (my primary use for this light). The hotspot is a little distracting because, on my kindle screen, the yellow tint and square shape is quite discernible. However, considering how even the beam is outside the hotspot, it's easy to tilt the light upwards to direct the hotspot away the page while still illuminating the page. This has been my fix.
> 
> Funny enough, my h600w doesn't project an image of the emitter...



Now that does make sense, as the lens built into the emitter itself does have a great effect on the beam, though I'm surprised with the domed lens that this would still come through enough to be identified.

Having to put diffuser film on a 'bare emitter' does seem kind of silly but hey if it works...

Your H600w would have the same thing happening I would imagine, but since the reflector directs so much more light into the center it would completely blow out any tiny bit of hotspot from the emitter itself I would think.


----------



## Diablo_331

Most raw leds will not emit a square beam. I've actually never even heard of this until this thread. Either your seeing things or there's a defect present. It could be the emitter placement or the emitter itself.


----------



## Phry

Diablo_331 said:


> If it really bothers anyone that much then just stick some diffuser film over then lens and call it good. The ~5- 15% loss in OTF lumens will never be noticed and, in return, you'd get a more even beam with the "hotspot" diffused even more so.



Not everyone wants a diffused beam. I want the beam to have defined edges, not just fade away. Personally I hate diffuser films.


----------



## maitre

Diablo_331 said:


> Most raw leds will not emit a square beam. I've actually never even heard of this until this thread. Either your seeing things or there's a defect present. It could be the emitter placement or the emitter itself.



The beam itself is not square shaped - it's circular. However, the shape/colour of the emitter (square/yellow) is being projected. If you refer to my photos on page 7, you can see this for yourself. I can upload additional photos to demonstrate what I describe if people are interested.


----------



## maitre

DIΩDΣ;4298901 said:


> Now that does make sense, as the lens built into the emitter itself does have a great effect on the beam, though I'm surprised with the domed lens that this would still come through enough to be identified.
> 
> 
> Having to put diffuser film on a 'bare emitter' does seem kind of silly but hey if it works...
> 
> 
> Your H600w would have the same thing happening I would imagine, but since the reflector directs so much more light into the center it would completely blow out any tiny bit of hotspot from the emitter itself I would think.




The emitter looks to be the same physical design between the XML and XML2; except the XML2 is bigger if I remember correctly. Both have the yellow emitter with a built in lens attached. I agree that the H600w would likely produce the same 'hotspot' but is being washed out by the beam.


Can anyone who owns a H501/502 comment on what their emitters looks like and if a projection of the emitter as a hotspot is apparent?


----------



## Phry

maitre said:


> The emitter looks to be the same physical design between the XML and XML2; except the XML2 is bigger if I remember correctly. Both have the yellow emitter with a built in lens attached. I agree that the H600w would likely produce the same 'hotspot' but is being washed out by the beam.
> 
> 
> Can anyone who owns a H501/502 comment on what their emitters looks like and if a projection of the emitter as a hotspot is apparent?



My 501 and 502 had no hotspot at all.


----------



## Diablo_331

Phry said:


> Not everyone wants a diffused beam. I want the beam to have defined edges, not just fade away. Personally I hate diffuser films.



Your in a thread that discusses a mule light. Everyone here wants a diffused or flood beam my friend.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

maitre said:


> The beam itself is not square shaped - it's circular. However, the shape/colour of the emitter (square/yellow) is being projected. If you refer to my photos on page 7, you can see this for yourself. I can upload additional photos to demonstrate what I describe if people are interested.



I think that your initial description was very accurate. Its exactly what I see too.

Thankfully for my uses its not an issue.


----------



## Phry

Diablo_331 said:


> Your in a thread that discusses a mule light. Everyone here wants a diffused or flood beam my friend.



I also want a flood light. 

I do not want a light using a diffuser. 

You seem to be confusing the two.


----------



## Diablo_331

Okay re-reading your reply, I see that you said you you wanted defined edges. In this light the bezel should cut the beam off. The only reason I could see for not wanting to use a diffuser film is because of 1. The small unnoticeable loss in lumens and 2. The fact that you can't see the wiring, led, and the lack of a reflector. 
I can relate on both points. I think I've outgrown being a complete lumen head just from comparing many lights against each other and not being able to tell the difference in small lumen gain/losses. The second point would still bother me but not for an EDC light. I buy and sell a lot of light like a lot of folks here. While I love looking at a mule, I'd much prefer a "perfect" beam in an EDC type of light which is where this one would fall. All of this is very subjective, of course, but that's why I'm hear.. To learn and share. I'd like to here you side of as well. As long as we keep it friendly, I can't see any harm.


----------



## Phry

I just rather like the circle of light that you get from Zebralight, usually. 

You get a clean beam of food light but it does not just fade off into the distance, the edges of the beam are clear and form a nice circle. 

Very handy beam type I think and I hope they keep it up. 

Disappointing to see any change from this on the H602.


----------



## Diablo_331

My h501w has the large, even spot with sudden cutoff that you're talking about but my H502c doesn't. It has an even larger spot but it gradually fades off and is even slightly green on the edges but the green edge has been discussed extensively and is said to be a reflection of the GITD.


----------



## DIΩDΣ

Diablo_331 said:


> My h501w has the large, even spot with sudden cutoff that you're talking about but my H502c doesn't. It has an even larger spot but it gradually fades off and is even slightly green on the edges but the green edge has been discussed extensively and is said to be a reflection of the GITD.



That goes to show then this minor hotspot is probably from the big dome of the XML acting like a lens. Since your 502c is identical in every way except for the LED, as is my 502d which also doesnt really have a hotspot. Even though the led on my 502d still is domed, its much smaller and is full of phosphors (not clear) so that probably has the same effect as diffusing film would, and making whatever tiny hotspot become too diffused to see.


----------



## Diablo_331

That maybe the very reason. Another thing to consider is the tint shifts that XMLs sometimes have. It could be very slight but still enough to notice various hot spots in the beam.


----------



## maitre

Diablo_331 said:


> That maybe the very reason. Another thing to consider is the tint shifts that XMLs sometimes have. It could be very slight but still enough to notice various hot spots in the beam.



Yeah, the hotspot is definitely 'yellow' like the emitter surface - which, imo, makes it much more noticable against the neutral tint of the rest of the beam. As my first flood light, having the yellow hotspot is a little disappointing but I can work around it. I still really enjoy it for the output and runtimes.


----------



## Diablo_331

I have a h602w coming today that I bought second hand on the market place. If mine has the infamous tint shift, then a piece of diffusing tape will be applied. If that ends up being the case then I'll post my findings here.


----------



## Rexlion

To me the 'hotspot' is not pronounced enough to be bothersome. It is barely noticeable.


----------



## BababooeyHTJ

Rexlion said:


> To me the 'hotspot' is not pronounced enough to be bothersome. It is barely noticeable.



No, if anything the outside of the beam being slightly green from what I would assume is the glow in the dark ring is more annoying.


----------



## maitre

Rexlion said:


> To me the 'hotspot' is not pronounced enough to be bothersome. It is barely noticeable.



Even though I started the discussion on the 'hotspot', I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH THIS. For general application, the hotspot would not be a bother and shouldn't detract anyone from getting the light if it suits their needs. The 'hotspot' is most noticeable when projected against a very even subject such as a white wall or a book. Even with reading, I found the simplest solution was just to rotate the light so that the 'hotspot' was outside the page - the beam is so wide/even that you can easily read with the peripheral light.

If you're looking for imperfection, you can easily find it. For me, nothing beats the soft light and superb battery life this lamp offers.


----------



## maitre

Diablo_331 said:


> I have a h602w coming today that I bought second hand on the market place. If mine has the infamous tint shift, then a piece of diffusing tape will be applied. If that ends up being the case then I'll post my findings here.



Please report your results! What type of diffusion tape will you be using? I've tried Scotch tape on other lights with varying results.


----------



## Diablo_331

I do have a yellow hotspot on my sample. I also agree with the above. It doesn't detract much from an awesome headlamp. It's very subtle and only noticeable against white walls. I'll still be applying some diffuser film that's sold on the market place. The issue I'm having now is that I can't find my stash of diffusing film..


----------



## Dr.444

Zebralight H602 Cool white (1090Lumens) now avaliable for Pre Order !


----------



## harrycolez

Hey, sorry if this is wrong place to ask;
How do the beam shots of the h600f and h602 compare?
I haven't really seen a direct comparison so I'm not sure how the 90 vs 120 degree spills differ.
Thanks for your time


----------



## maitre

harrycolez said:


> Hey, sorry if this is wrong place to ask;
> How do the beam shots of the h600f and h602 compare?
> I haven't really seen a direct comparison so I'm not sure how the 90 vs 120 degree spills differ.
> Thanks for your time



I have the H600w and H602w. If you want, I can use scotch tape as a diffuser to try to get you some beamshots. I'm not sure what type of diffusion the H600f uses though so you'll have to take the results with a grain of salt.

On that topic..why not get the H600 and diffuse it yourself? This will give you the option of having it diffused or not.


----------



## harrycolez

That sounds great.
The main reason I don't do it myself is that I have a habit of breaking things when i try to mod or fix them myself. Or they come out crappy


----------



## markr6

harrycolez said:


> That sounds great.
> The main reason I don't do it myself is that I have a habit of breaking things when i try to mod or fix them myself. Or they come out crappy



I did this very easily with some d-c-fix diffuser film. I can't confirm what it's like after taking it off, but from what I can tell it doesn't seem like it would leave a sticky mess at all, nor something you would have to pick at. Comes off easily in one piece. The only annoying thing is trying to cut a perfect circle! I guess it doesn't have to be perfect though. I traced a dime which was a little too large, but trimmed it down manually.


----------



## harrycolez

markr6 said:


> I did this very easily with some d-c-fix diffuser film. I can't confirm what it's like after taking it off, but from what I can tell it doesn't seem like it would leave a sticky mess at all, nor something you would have to pick at. Comes off easily in one piece. The only annoying thing is trying to cut a perfect circle! I guess it doesn't have to be perfect though. I traced a dime which was a little too large, but trimmed it down manually.


That sounds pretty good, thanks. I'll be sure to keep it in mind


----------



## Rexlion

I have read that the H600f will still retain more of a hotspot in the center than what you'll see with the H602. For reading, the 602 is best. For most other stuff, I think the 600f would work out fine.


----------



## ThirstyTurtle

Got my H602W from IlluminationSupply today ($75 shipped with "zebrastripes" coupon code!). It's still light here but I played around in my bathroom some with the lights off (that sounds dirty) and this thing is SICK. I already love it and can't wait to go out in the dark tonight. So far it has no discernible hotspot and the tint is PERFECT although I think anything other than REALLY cool or REALLY warm would look pretty neutral when it's almost a mule like this, no hotspot to really get nit-picky about. I will say that some of the H2 modes should really be in the M category but I don't think it'll be too much of an issue. I'll report back after this evening :0)


----------



## Phry

ThirstyTurtle said:


> Got my H602W from IlluminationSupply today ($75 shipped with "zebrastripes" coupon code!). It's still light here but I played around in my bathroom some with the lights off (that sounds dirty) and this thing is SICK. I already love it and can't wait to go out in the dark tonight. So far it has no discernible hotspot and the tint is PERFECT although I think anything other than REALLY cool or REALLY warm would look pretty neutral when it's almost a mule like this, no hotspot to really get nit-picky about. I will say that some of the H2 modes should really be in the M category but I don't think it'll be too much of an issue. I'll report back after this evening :0)



Sounds good. I have one on order just know. Let us know your thoughts on it further.


----------



## ThirstyTurtle

Well after having the light a few days I have to say that I'm disappointed that it took 2 years of being a flashaholic before I bought my first quality headlamp! I've had some Energizer headlamps and played with a friend's nicer headlamp from Gander Mountain but this thing is obviously in a league of its own compared to those. Being able to see EVERYTHING in your field of vision for ~50' is an INCREDIBLE feeling. I've already used the headlamp multiple times to take my dog out in the yard and it's SO nice being hands-free and not only seeing a 4' circle on the ground. I've been using the highest of the H2 modes pretty much exclusively when outdoors and I used M1 a good but today while working on disassembling a spotlight in my poorly-lit kitchen. 

The tint is PERFECT and the lowest low is ABSOLUTELY going to be used as a "beacon" next weekend in my tent when I go camping. My only slight gripe is that I think the 2nd and/or 3rd H2 modes should have been in the M section. Going from the brightest M mode to the dimmest H2 mode is fine but then the jump to H1 is RIDICULOUS and if you use the brighter H2 modes then the jump from M to H is ridiculous, either way there's a step that's too big. Never had that problem with my SC51 or SC52 so they just botched the modes a tiny bit. I'd really like to have quick (not 6 double-clicks) access to H2-1 AND H2-2, not one or the other. I keep switching my H2 between mode 1 and 2 because I can't decide which I like more. H2-1 is VERY nearly as bright (perceptually) as H1 but it uses like half the power I think so I like to have it readily available but then the next step down to M1 is a BIG drop in lumens. 

Anyways, that's a lot of thoughts I guess, but my final thought is that adding the over-the-head strap was BRILLIANT and really makes the around-the-head only model seem LAME. 

I may have to buy a H600 now to have the throwier option available...


----------



## harrycolez

So how does the 602 look on the lower modes when outdoors? Is it still usable?


----------



## ThirstyTurtle

harrycolez said:


> So how does the 602 look on the lower modes when outdoors? Is it still usable?



Absolutely! Surprisingly so actually. I really figured with such a wide spread that only the higher modes would work well outside, but that's not the case.

I frequently use M1 (65lm) for walking around the yard with my dog. If I want to kick it up a notch I've been using H2 @ 330lm which enough to see everything within 20'-30'. If you kick it up to 620lm I can see my entire yard very very well (~60' in every direction) and @ 1050lm I can probably see everything within ~100' in every direction.

I spent about an hour in my crawlspace yesterday checking out some things and used M1 the whole time and it was the PERFECT amount of light and I was SO glad to have a pure flood headlamp, couldn't have had a better tool.

I've used L1 (3.5lm) some in pitch black and it's a LOT of light but I've been using L2 (0.06lm) to get ready in the morning without disturbing my wife and it's great, plenty of light in pitch black but doesn't bother my wife. The L2 (0.01) is laughably low and I thought it would be worthless even in pitch black but I played with it in my closet and it's actually a decent amount of light within ~3' in pitch black with dark-adjusted eyes. Also I plan to use that lowest low as a "beacon" when I go camping next weekend. I'll turn it on that low low and put it in the corner of my tent so if me or my wife have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom we can find it easily.

Hope that helps!

PS_This light is making all my other lights sort of obsolete...I haven't touched one other than my D25A EDC since the 602W came


----------



## harrycolez

Awesome thanks for the great review. I'm looking at a floody headlamp to go with a thrower and I think I found exactly what I want.


----------



## ThirstyTurtle

harrycolez said:


> Awesome thanks for the great review. I'm looking at a floody headlamp to go with a thrower and I think I found exactly what I want.



Happy to help! I've gotten SO MUCH incredible information and help from this forum so I jump at the chance to help someone. 

Hope you like it!


----------



## BirdofPrey

Got mine in on Friday. Absolutely love it. Plan to keep my H60w and sell my H600 now. 

Next up, SC600 MkII with PID when it becomes reavailable. That should hold me over for another year or so. 

Sent from my ridiculously large Galaxy Note 2.


----------



## Phry

Mine has been posted


----------



## tangfj

BirdofPrey said:


> Got mine in on Friday. Absolutely love it. Plan to keep my H60w and sell my H600 now.
> 
> Next up, SC600 MkII with PID when it becomes reavailable. That should hold me over for another year or so.
> 
> Sent from my ridiculously large Galaxy Note 2.



I've been reading through this thread and was wondering... if you already had a H600 what's the point of getting a SC600 MkII? Don't they have the same emitter? I just ask because I was thinking of getting one or two zebralights and wondering what combo would be the best. I was thinking H502w and H602w or H600w MkII would be a nice combo... H502w would give flexibilty of easy on hand AA's and H602w or H600w would give ton of light when needed.

Anyway, any particular reason why you'd want the SC600 MkII over the H600?


----------



## Phry

tangfj said:


> I've been reading through this thread and was wondering... if you already had a H600 what's the point of getting a SC600 MkII? Don't they have the same emitter? I just ask because I was thinking of getting one or two zebralights and wondering what combo would be the best. I was thinking H502w and H602w or H600w MkII would be a nice combo... H502w would give flexibilty of easy on hand AA's and H602w or H600w would give ton of light when needed.
> 
> Anyway, any particular reason why you'd want the SC600 MkII over the H600?



They are totally different things. 

One is a medium distance flashlight, the other an all flood headlamp.


----------



## tangfj

Phry said:


> They are totally different things.
> 
> One is a medium distance flashlight, the other an all flood headlamp.



Oh ok I thought the h602 had a reflector in it that would make it similar to the sc600. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Gregozedobe

tangfj said:


> Oh ok I thought the h602 had a reflector in it that would make it similar to the sc600.



My H600 has a reflector, and while the beam is a bit floody, it definitely has a strong hotspot in the centre with reasonable distance. Nothing like the even, broad flood of my H502 which doesn't throw very far at all.


----------



## DIΩDΣ

Phry said:


> They are totally different things.
> 
> One is a medium distance flashlight, the other an all flood headlamp.



I think y'all are getting the models confused. The question was H600 vs SC600 both have very similar reflector and beam. Neither is all flood:


tangfj said:


> Anyway, any particular reason why you'd want the SC600 MkII over the H600?





BoP hasnt responded yet, but I'd imagine he wants the upgrades the SC600 MkII has. If we are talking about the SC600 MkII L2 it has a much newer LED and improvements all around since the 2011 release of the H600 - remember the H600 was only 750 lumens, while the much newer SC600 MkII L2 is 1100 lumen, not to mention other added features. And I'm guessing he likes using the all flood H602 for a headlamp, so his next upgrade is a good handheld to supplement the headlight. If thats not right BoP can set the records straight. Sounds like a good combo to me. I just wish I would have spent a little more for the 602 instead of the 502 I got. Its nice, but just doesnt have the lumens or runtime with a single AA pushing an all flood light (atleast not the D model).


----------



## Phry

I did mis-read. H600 vs SC600? Headlamp vs flashlight.


----------



## one2tim

Just received my h602w XML-l2 flood today. Wow this thing is crazy! My old H60w have been used for work and fishing/camping trips for maby 4 years now, but this new model really kicks is to the drawer. 
Never received a flashlight that impressed me this much.


----------



## moses

Anyone know what the CRI is for the neutral? 

I have used the 502c (high CRI) as a light for my camera setups in a pinch and it works beautifully to render colors. 

Also, with the hotspot on the 602, I wonder if one can put a diffusing film - but only in the center area of the lens, leaving most of the lens clear. That should take the hotspot out AND yet allow most of the light go through without being absorbed. Anyone know where I can get diffusing film - love to try. 

Thanks,
Mo


----------



## Diablo_331

Vinhnguyen54 sells it ton the market place. I applied some over the entire lens and it works great to blend the hot spot in and make it dissappear.


----------



## BirdofPrey

To be honest, I'm confused about the hot spot issue. I'm fairly sensitive to such things and the ONLY time I notice it at all is when I have it sitting right next to and aimed directly at the wall when using it as a night light. 

I have not noticed in ANY other use. *shrug*

Sent from my ridiculously large Galaxy Note 2.


----------



## Diablo_331

The diffuser film also helped blend the warm hotspot, blue spill, and blueish green outer edges together. The central "hotspot" is now a slightly cooler color temperature (to my eyes) and is almost gone even when close to a white wall. I'd like to blend it some more and add a tint swatch to bring the color temperature down to the 3700k to 4000k range. I'd also like the color to lean towards the "rosey" side. I'll experiment when I get some time. I'm balls deep into fixing my wrecked car.


----------



## DIΩDΣ

moses said:


> Anyone know where I can get diffusing film - love to try.



Amazon has DC-Fix plus plenty of other brands. Or most any home improvement store. But youll have to buy a whole role ($10-15?). I've seen some sold on amazon per foot, but they seem to charge more for shipping it was just as cheap to buy a whole roll.


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## Quigath

After looking at my 602, and being bothered by its hotspot while reading, I decided to try an experiment to fix it.
While on the lowest low mode, the hotspot was clearly caused by the silver metal ring just above the glass. It's too shiny. My solution was to just cover it up with a black sharpie marker. Here are the photos in case you want to try this for yourself.

Original light, no changes






with a hand-drawn black ring, I was careful and didn't get any marker on the glass





wall beam-shot of hotspot before fix





wall beam-shot after applying marker to silver reflective ring






I was trying to not get any on the glass so there's still a bit of the metal ring in the center that causes a slight hotspot. If someone comes up with a safe way to apply a non-reflective mark, that's better than a sharpie, let me know. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with this fix. It makes my late-night book reading less distracted.


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## Phry

Quigath said:


> After looking at my 602, and being bothered by its hotspot while reading, I decided to try an experiment to fix it.
> While on the lowest low mode, the hotspot was clearly caused by the silver metal ring just above the glass. It's too shiny. My solution was to just cover it up with a black sharpie marker. Here are the photos in case you want to try this for yourself.
> 
> Original light, no changes
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> with a hand-drawn black ring, I was careful and didn't get any marker on the glass
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> wall beam-shot of hotspot before fix
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> wall beam-shot after applying marker to silver reflective ring
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I was trying to not get any on the glass so there's still a bit of the metal ring in the center that causes a slight hotspot. If someone comes up with a safe way to apply a non-reflective mark, that's better than a sharpie, let me know. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with this fix. It makes my late-night book reading less distracted.




Good idea. Never thought about that ring before.


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## Knaver

Hi all. Long time lurker here.... Just ordered this h602 in cool white beam. Found it for a great price on brightguy. Ordered tenergy batts and charger. Hope it all turns out good! Spending some Christmas money....


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## Beacon of Light

Knaver said:


> Hi all. Long time lurker here.... Just ordered this h602 in cool white beam. Found it for a great price on brightguy. Ordered tenergy batts and charger. Hope it all turns out good! Spending some Christmas money....



Did you get the price for $69? After seeing your post I went to the site and saw that price but I was waiting on an email from Brightguy asking about if I could have them swap the black holders for the GITD ones and now when I check the price it is $89 which is the standard price. I wonder if they caught a pricing error, and i wonder if anyone actually got one for $69?


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## Knaver

Beacon of Light said:


> Did you get the price for $69? After seeing your post I went to the site and saw that price but I was waiting on an email from Brightguy asking about if I could have them swap the black holders for the GITD ones and now when I check the price it is $89 which is the standard price. I wonder if they caught a pricing error, and i wonder if anyone actually got one for $69?


Yes, I got it for $69. I called them the next day to make sure it was really a new h602 for that price, and she said, "oops, I'm fixing that right now..." Minutes later it was $89. Should have kept my big mouth shut. I will say they are extremely helpful, and a no hold-time phone# is listed on their home page.


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## Knaver

Broke down and ordered a h52f as well. I can get AA batts from work and also want to try a 14500 possibly...


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## typevii

Initial impressions of my first Zebralight, a 602w. Wow, very nice. A lot smaller and lighter than I expected, really like the UI and overall the quality looks very good (yet to actually submerge it). Tint is very nice as well. Does exactly what I expected, only more so, which is flood.
I was worried with some of the earlier comments as well, wanting the 150lm as the medium, however so far I am happy with with 1020 and 330 for H1 and H2, then the drop to medium is good for me.
Also there is the peculiar 'hotspot' when you really look for it on a whitewall or reading, but it is not noticeable unless you look. Maybe i'll try some dc-fix or blacking the bezel if it annoys me. 
Overall I can see why folks really like Zebralights. I was toying with getting a 502 but now I am really glad I went for the 602, those high modes are incredible and now I can see I would have been disappointed with the outputs and run times on a 502.


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## limax

A little hotspot is helpful some times.

I have three Zebralight all are Headlamps, H50 Q5, H502, and H600Fw

and the H50 is the First headlamp of Zebralight it is All Flood with Optic, H502 is bare LED, and All Flood too.

While reading All Flood is very good, but in Other activities such as hiking, or caving

A little hotspot is very helpful compare with All Flood.

Much hotspot is also worse as mu Fenix HP25.

So I have no idea whether H602 is better or H600Fw is.

When I get my H602, I'll do some field test to find the real use feeling.


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## YourTime

i ordered 2 *H602w 18650 XM-L2 *and I find the button is very soft compare to the older models.

You have to pressure hard to switch modes and it's not easy like the old H600


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## markr6

YourTime said:


> i ordered 2 *H602w 18650 XM-L2 *and I find the button is very soft compare to the older models.
> 
> You have to pressure hard to switch modes and it's not easy like the old H600



Some of mine are the opposite. So soft, you can switch modes just by looking at them the wrong way. I prefer more of a click. Wish they could work with their switch supplier to keep these consistent.


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## YourTime

it's really soft and one of the most difficult light to change the modes.

not sure if mine is defect 

i will email them tomorrow


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## Beacon of Light

Yeah it is weird as you'd assume a really soft switch would make it easier, but it is hard to explain, as the boot of the switch is really soft, but almost gummy not sticky but creepy kind of soft (reminds me of pressing into the flesh of a slimy alien) but the switch underneath is weird it doesn't just click it is like you have to press IN until it engages as it has a springy type of feel. Turning off you also have to press IN to disengage. 

I really prefer all of the previous switches on Zebralight models I have owned prior to this like the H31, H51 and H502. No reason why they couldn't have kept that style switch.


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## Willie

I noticed many retailers show this on backorder. Does anyone know where else besides Zebralight I can buy the neutral white?


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## RedForest UK

Beacon of Light said:


> No reason why they couldn't have kept that style switch.



Actually, their supplier stopped making the harder version and replaced it with the newer softer style as the same part number. So it's out of Zebralight's hands really..


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## Beacon of Light

Are you referring to the stiff (hard to press) but soft SC52 type switch and like the one on my SC600 MKI, or are you calling the hard plastic button type (but easy to press) that are found on the H51/H31/H502 the harder version?


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## YourTime

I dont have sc52 but I own two H502c and i like the clicky button. 

The H602 button is way softer than the H502c and when i try to change the modes (by pressing 6 times) i missed out the pace several times and my finger got tired after a while >.<

I wish they kept the same button like previous models.


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## RedForest UK

Beacon of Light said:


> Are you referring to the stiff (hard to press) but soft SC52 type switch and like the one on my SC600 MKI, or are you calling the hard plastic button type (but easy to press) that are found on the H51/H31/H502 the harder version?



I think the stiff but soft one, I wasn't aware that they used different switches, only varying switch covers. All I know is that someone contacted Zebralight about it and they said that their electronic switch supplier had changed the design of that part and they had no option but to switch the to newer softer version.


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## Stefano

Although I preferred the old switch :-(
I bought H52w - H600w MK II - H602w and they are all with soft switch. 
It 's very easy to make mistakes, I can not change the level by walking.


(Translate with Google)


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## Swoosh

I got today my Zebralight H602w, bought from the Zebralight webshop.
Although they had it in stock the time I ordered, it had cost one full month to get it out the buillding to be shipped. So shipping lasted for 6 weeks in total. 

The box it came in mention on the sticker: H602w
However I see on the internet pics of boxes mentioning H602w II
Is there really a version II of the H602w?

Here an example;
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?172742-Zebralight-H602w-II


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## Stefano

Even on the packaging of my light is only written: "H602w" 
And it's a recent purchase.

That article is from September 2013 (britishblades.com) 
Maybe Zebralight initially had used the initials to indicate a 602w with XM-L2 ?

As far as I know the model 602 has always been the XM-L2 
But his birth was long and full of delays and perhaps initially mounted in testing an XM-L. 
That's probably why they initially used the words: "II"

(Translate with Google)


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## kwak

That's my post on british blades, my thoughts are that because the H602 is based heavily on the H600 they started off using the H600 MKII UI so labelled the H602 as MKII as well.

Whichever way, mine was one of the first batch so there are no MKI's


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## Swoosh

Ok, thanks for responding. So most likely they just had mislabeled their own stickers and corrected that later.


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## Stefano

I found this image (russian review) date: october 2013


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## LlF

RedForest UK said:


> I think the stiff but soft one, I wasn't aware that they used different switches, only varying switch covers. All I know is that someone contacted Zebralight about it and they said that their electronic switch supplier had changed the design of that part and they had no option but to switch the to newer softer version.



sorry it is a bit off topic, Does this means the newer H502 L2 also have softer click like sc52?


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## UTV2TiVo

Anybody know why the H602's do not come with clips?
I have several AA Zebralights and use the clips much more often than the headband.
Is there any way to get clips for these lights?


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## Stefano

UTV2TiVo said:


> Anybody know why the H602's do not come with clips?
> I have several AA Zebralights and use the clips much more often than the headband.
> Is there any way to get clips for these lights?



I do not use clips on my Zebralights

On the italian forum some users use the clip of the model H502

The clip for the model H502 is a spare that you can buy on the site zebralight

http://www.cpfitaliaforum.it/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=7224&start=130

Others users have used the Armytek Wizard clip 

(Translate with Google)


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## UTV2TiVo

Thanks Stefano.
Just ordered the H600FW (with H502 clip) based on your posts (in this thread:http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...s-H600F-(Floody)-vs-H602-(no-reflector)-beams). I was orginally going to get the H602 because I rarely need throw (and if i do i just take another flashlight) and use it mostly around camp and around the house but your reviews showed that the H600F really seems more versatile.
Now the wait begins. The H600FW was on back-order. Although when i ordered the SC600 MK II it was on back-order but I still got it in about a week. I'm not planning to be that lucky with this one.


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## Stefano

Depends, sometimes they send immediately sometimes pass two or three weeks. 
I recently bought a H600Fw - H52Fw - SC52w - SC52Fw 
All new lights came with the new color and design, they all have the rigid clicks (very comfortable to use)

(Translate with Google)


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## Stefano

UTV2TiVo said:


> Anybody know why the H602's do not come with clips?I have several AA Zebralights and use the clips much more often than the headband.Is there any way to get clips for these lights?


Also Nitecore SRT7 Clip (photo available)http://www.cpfitaliaforum.it/search.php?author_id=1286&sr=posts


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## liquidrazer

I love my h602! I totes wish it had a clip too.... =/


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## davidt1

I am seriously considering the H602w. Read a few pages back. Some good point were raised, but no solution from Zebralight. 

150lm is still in H2

No clip for a $90 light


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## kj2

Ordered one yesterday and should arrive today


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## kj2

kj2 said:


> Ordered one yesterday and should arrive today


So it just arrived. It's a beauty 
Anodizing is slightly darker than the coating on my H600 MKII, and compared with my SC600 MKII L2 is much darker.
Switch is stiffer than the other ZL's I got. I like this switch, on my H602w, more. My SC600 has the softest switch of the three ZL's I have.
Threads are butter smooth and well finished. Cover-ring surrounding the led glows instantly after I switch-off. Hard to see with daylight, but it looks like it's cooler
than 4400K. More towards ~5000K. My ArmyTek Wizard Pro (warm) has really a warmer-tint, that I can see with daylight. Towards the outside, it gets some yellow and green.
So far I really like it. Will compare the H602w with the Wizard, tonight. Can't shoot beamshots tonight, because of lack of time.

edit; Also noticed my H602w isn't as shiny as my H600 MKII L2 is.
When taking pics, I compared the anodizing between my H600 MKII and H602w. Under close inspection, both have about the same color, only my H600 MKII has a shiny finish. Difficult to get color and shinyish on a photo though.
Photos are a bit (to) dark.


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## davidt1

Thanks for posting the pictures. Can't wait to see beam shots and user review.


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## kj2

Compared the H602w with the Wizard Pro warm, and I've to say, they're completely different. I like the wider-view that I get with the H602, but I prefer the tint that the wizard gives me. ZL claims the H602w is around 4400K, same as the wizard, but isn't nowhere near the tint what the wizard gives. Think my H602w is closer to 5000-5500K. Since plans changed this evening, I haven't tried it outdoors, but luckily we still have Sunday to come


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## davidt1

Zebralight should change the "W" to "Neutral" because that what the tint of my H52w looks like -- neutral not warm.


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## Stefano

LlF said:


> sorry it is a bit off topic, Does this means the newer H502 L2 also have softer click like sc52?



I received a few days ago the new H502w L2 
The switch is hard


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## kj2

Mine too. Do like it


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## Stefano

I think Zebralight has changed yet switch.
The switch of the new H502w is harder and noisy than those of the H52 series 
(It is very comfortable)
If I have not miscounted It should be my nineteenth Zebralight.

I have also a H602w purchased at the beginning of 2014 that has the very soft switch.
It 'a shock go from a soft switch in a switch rigid :-(
I Want all my Zebras with a switch rigid

Below:
My H602w - H502w L2 - H52Fw









H602w vs H502w L2








H502w L2 vs H502 cool withe (old XM-L)








H502w L2 with Eneloop















Sorry for OT 
I've seen threads for H502 are very old. 

(Translate with Google)


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## davidt1

Might have to get me a H502w. Don't think I can wear H602 around my neck and not being a standout in public.


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## ColdZero

Great read...Now I will have to place an order for another ZL_...._:twothumbs


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## Orange Glow

Stefano said:


> I found this image (russian review) date: october 2013



Why do some of the of the H602 boxes show "H602w II" (like the image above) and some are just "H602w" (without the II)?


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## Stefano

UTV2TiVo said:


> Anybody know why the H602's do not come with clips?
> I have several AA Zebralights and use the clips much more often than the headband.
> Is there any way to get clips for these lights?



Other clip info
Olight S20 clip (photo available)
view http://forolinternas.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10322&start=20


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