# Zebralight H502w with the new Neutral XM-L2 LED!!



## Outdoorsman5 (May 7, 2013)

The neutral version of the H502 has just been released for pre-order on zebralight's website. The new one is called the H502w, and is using the new XM-L2 neutral tint LED....nice. So far the stats on their website are identical to the H502, but that may get updated in the near future as the neutral version genearlly has fewer lumens that the cool white version. I don't think the new XM-L2 Neutral LED is enough of an upgraded LED to equal the output of the cool white XM-L LED...but I have not confirmed this.

I passed on the H502 last year simply because I prefer neutral tint for my general use lights. So, finally I can get one of these. Looking forward to using it around the campsite and around the house!


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## lampeDépêche (May 7, 2013)

Yup--I am excited about this one, too.

I'm a little disappointed, though, that they did not upgrade it with the same circuit that is in the SC52, which provides better management with 14500's. The announcement does not say anything about 14500s, so I assume that it does not have a burst-mode as the SC52 does.

Maybe the reason is the very low thermal mass of the H502? But the SC52 is not a whole lot bigger, so that cannot be the whole reason.

I would also like it if they would use the much stiffer switch from the SC52. We'll see if they did.


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## Outdoorsman5 (May 7, 2013)

lampeDépêche said:


> Yup--I am excited about this one, too.
> 
> I'm a little disappointed, though, that they did not upgrade it with the same circuit that is in the SC52, which provides better management with 14500's. The announcement does not say anything about 14500s, so I assume that it does not have a burst-mode as the SC52 does.
> 
> ...



I agree, that'd be nice if it supported the 14500 Li-ion rechargeable battery as well. When I go on weekend hiking trips, I currently prefer to carry a zebra H51fw (general use headlamp,) a zebra SC52 (general use handheld,) and a quark QB2A (running on a single AA body with a 14500 battery for awesome throw & output in a really small package.) The zebra H51fw does not support 14500's, and I am planning on the new H502w to replace it. Wish it would run on a 14500 like the other two lights I carry dang it. Not a big deal I guess because my backup batteries are either eneloops or lithium primaries or both, and the H502w will run on either of those.


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## smokey616 (May 7, 2013)

The description on their website mentions that 14500s are not supported. Fine by me though, I don't think that an all-flood headlamp necessarily needs a ultra bright burst mode.


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## JS_280 (May 7, 2013)

Can't wait to get my hands on one of these! I've got the H51Fw and use it all the time, but I'm really looking forward to a pure-flood, neutral XML.


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## KDM (May 7, 2013)

I saw the email and got excited they were announcing the 602w. Glad they are offering something else in the neutral version, but AA format I'll pass.


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## melty (May 7, 2013)

Whew. Looks like the wait for neutral XM-L2 lights to hit the market is almost over.


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## Mr Floppy (May 7, 2013)

Outdoorsman5 said:


> I don't think the new XM-L2 Neutral LED is enough of an upgraded LED to equal the output of the cool white XM-L LED...but I have not confirmed this.



The CREE specs list the Neutral XM-L2 T5 bin as 260 lumens, the same as the cool white XM-L T5 bin. Both at 700mA but the XM-L T5 is at 25 degrees where as the XM-L2 is 85 degrees. If anything, it should be brighter as the relative flux of the XM-L drops by about 12% at 85 C

I'm really looking forward to this light but am not pre-ordering as June 7 is long time away. Surely someone will get a sample to review before that date


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## Outdoorsman5 (May 8, 2013)

Mr Floppy said:


> The CREE specs list the Neutral XM-L2 T5 bin as 260 lumens, the same as the cool white XM-L T5 bin. Both at 700mA but the XM-L T5 is at 25 degrees where as the XM-L2 is 85 degrees. If anything, it should be brighter as the relative flux of the XM-L drops by about 12% at 85 C



Wow, that's great news! Do you know how the difference between 25 degrees & 85 degrees affects the output of the LED?


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## AnAppleSnail (May 8, 2013)

Outdoorsman5 said:


> Wow, that's great news! Do you know how the difference between 25 degrees & 85 degrees affects the output of the LED?


This information is in each Cree datasheet. I believe it's 12%, as he stated.


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## Outdoorsman5 (May 8, 2013)

AnAppleSnail said:


> This information is in each Cree datasheet. I believe it's 12%, as he stated.



Ok, I get it now. Thanks.

I pre-ordered the light yesterday, and hope it gets here in time for our troop's summer camp up in the North GA mountains in early July.


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## Kaban (May 8, 2013)

how far can this light shine? i am looking for one to use for work and need it to illuminate at least ten to fifteen feet out in the area I am working in. Can this do that?


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## markr6 (May 9, 2013)

Kaban said:


> how far can this light shine? i am looking for one to use for work and need it to illuminate at least ten to fifteen feet out in the area I am working in. Can this do that?



Yes, maybe, but you'll probably end up burning through batteries FAST. Here's a good post I started, with some help from others and a great comparison shot towards the end:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?341754-H502-too-wide-trying-H51


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## Mr Floppy (May 14, 2013)

so in the spreadsheet, this has made initial release. The date is down as 5/6/2013 (assuming I'm reading that right and it's USAian date format). Trying to read between the lines but I think it's a go for the 7th of June shipping.


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## kwak (May 15, 2013)

Kaban said:


> how far can this light shine? i am looking for one to use for work and need it to illuminate at least ten to fifteen feet out in the area I am working in. Can this do that?



Been using the H502 and H502d for a fair while now and to be honest they're ALL flood, to the point where i found the H502 pretty much useless as a night hiking light.

Your not going to get much light out at 15 feet with these lights.

SC52 sems to throw a bit further though.


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## lightcycle1 (May 15, 2013)

Kaban said:


> how far can this light shine? i am looking for one to use for work and need it to illuminate at least ten to fifteen feet out in the area I am working in. Can this do that?



No. I'm sitting on my back deck with the H502D right now. It's on HI. Illuminates usefully about 5-6 feet away. Great for closeup work, the total flood beam is nice, very wide and even illumination.
10 to 15 feet will just have a low level of illumination, definitely NOT what youre looking for. Great light, but its my last Zebra. Their **** poor customer service is just too much to swallow with a premium light price tag that comes with Zebralights.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2


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## marcis (May 17, 2013)

Outdoorsman5 said:


> Ok, I get it now. Thanks.
> 
> I pre-ordered the light yesterday, and hope it gets here in time for our troop's summer camp up in the North GA mountains in early July.


 You will love this light for camping, but do not expect to hike with it at night. I have the H502 and love it for camp chores like, cooking at night, reading in th tent, using the restroom, things of that nature, but It is not a good hiking light. get the H51w for night hiking!. I have the H51f and it has been great, but I wish i had purchased the H51w for night hiking.


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## Outdoorsman5 (May 22, 2013)

marcis said:


> You will love this light for camping, but do not expect to hike with it at night. I have the H502 and love it for camp chores like, cooking at night, reading in th tent, using the restroom, things of that nature, but It is not a good hiking light. get the H51w for night hiking!. I have the H51f and it has been great, but I wish i had purchased the H51w for night hiking.



Good advice. I have the H51 and the H51w. Both are great for night hiking & night runs (I wake up early to go running.) I also have the H600 which is my preferred night hiking & running light. Better runtimes and more lumens on tap for anything needed. The H502w will serve my needs for close up work around the house & around the campsight. My H501w has been great in this role, but am looking forward to the upgrade (in lumens, features, options, and the new & improved switch.)


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## Cereal_Killer (May 22, 2013)

Outdoorsman5 said:


> Ok, I get it now. Thanks.
> 
> I pre-ordered the light yesterday, and hope it gets here in time for our troop's summer camp up in the North GA mountains in early July.



Im just not excited about a all flood headlight, I wanted to say thank you tho. As an Eagle Scout I went to 10-12 summer camps, I even worked there (camp falling rock in eastern Ohio) a couple years, and never did I run into one person, adult or other scout that was really a true flashaholic (of course LED's didnt even exist back then) but about the best flashlight there was a mag, its awesome your letting these boys see what a truely good quality flashlight can do. Of course idk many young kids that can afford something nice like a ZL but atleast they can see what they can look forward to.


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## pobox1475 (May 22, 2013)

WOW, did I miss the boat on this one? Listed as "Not For Sale" on Zebralight's site  . Have been wanting to upgrade from my H30w to gain more output and ability to run an Eneloop.


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## markr6 (May 22, 2013)

pobox1475 said:


> WOW, did I miss the boat on this one? Listed as "Not For Sale" on Zebralight's site  . Have been wanting to upgrade from my H30w to gain more output and ability to run an Eneloop.



They're almost ready to ship, just sitting on the shelves next to the Q50's!

HA! Sorry I had to get that in there. I bet they just got swamped with initial orders and it threw them off still being over a month away from shipping those.


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## Mr Floppy (May 22, 2013)

markr6 said:


> I bet they just got swamped with initial orders and it threw them off still being over a month away from shipping those.



You know, I think you may be right. They probably underestimated the popularity and realised that production may not match orders for that time frame so slammed on the brakes on the website


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## elbowtko (May 23, 2013)

Outdoorsman5 said:


> Good advice. I have the H51 and the H51w. Both are great for night hiking & night runs (I wake up early to go running.) I also have the H600 which is my preferred night hiking & running light. Better runtimes and more lumens on tap for anything needed. The H502w will serve my needs for close up work around the house & around the campsight. My H501w has been great in this role, but am looking forward to the upgrade (in lumens, features, options, and the new & improved switch.)




+1 on the H51w,

But I want one with a XML-L2 Neutral upgrade with SC52 like 14500 support.

One can only dream.


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## Outdoorsman5 (May 28, 2013)

Cereal_Killer said:


> Im just not excited about a all flood headlight, I wanted to say thank you tho. As an Eagle Scout I went to 10-12 summer camps, I even worked there (camp falling rock in eastern Ohio) a couple years, and never did I run into one person, adult or other scout that was really a true flashaholic (of course LED's didnt even exist back then) but about the best flashlight there was a mag, its awesome your letting these boys see what a truely good quality flashlight can do. Of course idk many young kids that can afford something nice like a ZL but atleast they can see what they can look forward to.



I used to not be interested in "all flood" headlights until I got one (the H501w.) The only reason I got it was because it was on the flashaholic's top 10 list of Must-Have lights. Once I got it I understood what an outstanding light is was/is. I still use it regularly. I used it just last week to clean some of my guns, and used it on our last campout for cooking, cleaning, & reading. It really is the best of the best for close up work (within a few yards.) I can walk around in the woods with it no problem, but you just can't see very far with it. I always have a handheld with me though to see further away, but if I was using a headlight for the purpose of running or hiking, I'd choose a headlamp with at least "some" throw. I find the H51 or H51w and especially the H600 well suited for these purposes with plenty of throw and flood.

I grew up as a scout too, but didn't make Eagle dang it. I'm a Life for life scout. My son loves it, and will hopefully stay interested enough to get his eagle in a few years. 

My awesome lights are lost on a lot of folks in our troop, but NOT ALL OF EM. I'm working on getting a few folks equipped with some good lights & other gear.


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## Outdoorsman5 (May 28, 2013)

elbowtko said:


> +1 on the H51w,
> 
> But I want one with a XML-L2 Neutral upgrade with SC52 like 14500 support.
> 
> One can only dream.



Me too!


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## Ace12 (May 28, 2013)

I just got a 502 cool white. It is alot cooler than my H31, although the specs show them to be the same. I think I will be sending it back to zebralight and get the 502W. Cant wait to see comparison pics when you guys get your lights.


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## Mystiqz (May 29, 2013)

thanks for the info!


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## firemedic (Jun 11, 2013)

My h502w arrived the other day and man was I dissapointed!
I allready have a h502c, and with over 100 more lumens you would think would be brighter. It is not! I would like to see a comparison between the standard h502 and this h502w. From what I've seen there the same light. It has a very cool tint for 4400k. Don't say I didn't warn you!


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## Mr Floppy (Jun 11, 2013)

firemedic said:


> Don't say I didn't warn you!



Hard not to, I see you've posted your review on the zebralight product page too. Perhaps they sent you/you ordered the H502d? Cool tint, just as bright as the H502c, sounds like the H502d.


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## bbb74 (Jun 11, 2013)

Mr Floppy said:


> Hard not to, I see you've posted your review on the zebralight product page too. Perhaps they sent you/you ordered the H502d? Cool tint, just as bright as the H502c, sounds like the H502d.



And which battery did you use firemedic? A fresh eneloop? Try it with a L91 lithium AA and see if its still the same to rule out the battery.


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## firemedic (Jun 15, 2013)

Well i wish the h502d was the case, but the emitter is clearly bigger and not a luxeon rebel. I first tried fresh eneloops, then tried lithium ultimates and neither battery made a obvious difference. I posted my review to help others thinking this light at 4400k and 260 lumens would be a obvious improvement on what they already sold "h502 wise" would probably not be happy. I find it helpful for reviews to be honest when i'm shopping for a $70.00 flashlight.:ironic:


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