Headlamp

[Strider]

Floody (F) is 90° and uses a reflector coupled with a frosted lens, whereas Pure Flood is 120° and have no reflector or lens.

[Strider]

Floody are best for all round usage IMO.

[Strider]

Just noticed that Cool White Zebra lights are available for pre-order. Nice!

[Strider]

H52's that is

[Joomy]

Cool white why?

[Strider]

Much nicer outdoors than the Warm versions IMO

[forest]

Much nicer outdoors than the Warm versions IMO

Very strongly debated topic there Strider. I still don't mind cool white and most of my lights are cool white.
I haven't owned a "warm" zebralight but my spikelight V3's main flood beam is warm and it's so so much nicer at night in the bush compared to my now sold cool white Ay Up. The colours are just heaps more realistic with a warmer tint (for me)
Very much looking forward to seeing how I like the H52FW, both in beam type and tint.
I'll report in when I have it.

[Nuts]

Those e-lites are so good they appear to grow their own sets of legs.
Pretty hopeless other than open tracks though. Iv'e got a zebralight, no dramas the few times iv'e used it.
I'm thinking Cool white would have much better 'penetration' in thick scrub?

[Strider]

I think for a WW to be truly effective, it needs a few more lumens behind it to overcome the loss off apparent brightness.

[Joomy]

Well I bought a neutral white so we'll see how it goes. Plus it's been shipped ahead of schedule!

[Strider]

Looking forward to hearing how it goes. My H51F is turning on by itself lately so its going back on Monday.

[Strider]

Ok I've heard back from the supplier and my light for reasons unknown is drawing massive current when "off". They have offered to replace my H51F with a H52F once they have them in stock

[GPSGuided]

So, are you happy with the arrangement?

[Strider]

Yep!

[Travis22]

Your the first person ive ever heard say they prefer cool white to warm 'outdoors' Strider (and by outdoors im assuming you mean in the bush).

Personally i prefer neutral to warm everywhere but i do understand some people like cool white in urban area where they is quite a bit of artificial light already present but in the 'bush' away from the city lights... no question! Warm or high CRI all the way

Travis.

[forest]

My H52FW arrived on Tuesday, happy with the shipping time.

Great little light, the "F" is very nice, enjoyed not having my eyes focus on the hot spot of the regular beam when trail running last night. Pumped up to full power the H52 has some sting, more that I thought it would. Plenty to clearly spot track juntions etc from 20odd meters away as I pelted down the trails. Most of the run was just in H2 as it was plenty of light. The warm tint is nice but I will say compared to my spike light V3 it is a lot "warmer". My V3 just seems to fill that nice colour zone between the old yellow tinted lights and the almost blue LED tint of some new lights. The H52FW is certainly a lot warmer (ie; yellower) than I thought it would be.
That's no bad thing and the bush colours were great at night, made distiguishing everything clearly much easier.
I'm certainly still a "warm" tint fan but I wouldn't want much warmer than the zebralight tint.
I purchased mine with the new headband with the additional top strap, add's a whole 6 grams over the regular wrap around band and it eliminates the bounce issues I have found with my H31 in the regular strap (When running that is, it's fine for normal walking and camp). I also have one of those nylon nitize straps but I like the soft elastic strap much better.

[Strider]

Your the first person ive ever heard say they prefer cool white to warm 'outdoors' Strider (and by outdoors im assuming you mean in the bush).

Personally i prefer neutral to warm everywhere but i do understand some people like cool white in urban area where they is quite a bit of artificial light already present but in the 'bush' away from the city lights... no question! Warm or high CRI all the way

Travis.

Yes in the bush. I just find I don't get enough definition with the warm tints where I am surrounded by natural tones. Come to think of it just now, this could have something to do with my red-green colour blindness - I often have great difficulty distinguishing very dark greens from very dark browns so it makes me wonder if this is just compounded at night and the warm tint isn't enough to overcome it.

I do, however, far prefer the Warm tints for indoors or around the backyard where there are lighter surfaces to rebound the light.

Great little light, the "F" is very nice, enjoyed not having my eyes focus on the hot spot of the regular beam when trail running last night. Pumped up to full power the H52 has some sting, more that I thought it would. Plenty to clearly spot track juntions etc from 20odd meters away as I pelted down the trails. Most of the run was just in H2 as it was plenty of light.

Just the right amount of flood/hotspot isn't it. Perfect!

[Joomy]

Forest beat me to it but I've had my H52fw for a few days now and it's living up to my expectations. On max brightness this thing is a beast, and I have to say I really like the customisable brightness levels. I've got mine set on low1, med2 and high3 now, so the brightest "low" (2.6lm) setting for reading etc., the med2 (23lm) is the setting I'll likely use around camp for cooking etc., and the H3 at 102lm should be plenty for most other situations, but H1 is only 1 click away which is nice.

[Strider]

It starts put like that. But you'll soon find yourself swapping between levels as required and your whole three level thing goes out the window!

[ULWalkingPhil]

Been following this topic for some time now. Just placed an order from zebralight for a H52F cool white. Now the waiting begins.

I wonder if I should change my order for a H602W or the H600FW, both in stock and I like the specs on those two.

How heavy are those 18650 batteries? I been looking for the specs on there weights, but not been able to find the info thus far.

[forest]

I forget the brand of my 18650's but they are 3100mah and they weigh 45 grams each.

IMO Phil the H600 would be more light than you would want (Especially if going UL) for general bushwalking and camp chores, unless you like heaps of light or really, really long run times.
If your planning extended night walkings, caving, longer distance animal watching etc, The H600 would be a good option then.

[ULWalkingPhil]

I forget the brand of my 18650's but they are 3100mah and they weigh 45 grams each.

IMO Phil the H600 would be more light than you would want (Especially if going UL) for general bushwalking and camp chores, unless you like heaps of light or really, really long run times.
If your planning extended night walkings, caving, longer distance animal watching etc, The H600 would be a good option then.

The 600's might be a good option for me, as it will come in very handy for the upcoming turtle nesting season, The light will be used for both Bushwalking and night duty's on the beach as part of my Research and they are in stock. It certainly would be an overkill for me for my bushwalking. I find the Petzl E-Lite is more than sufficient for me. It's the only light I pack into my pack for the past 6 months.

[ULWalkingPhil]

I am almost tempted in ordering the two. The H600F looks pretty good to me. I can see both lights will come in very useful. I wonder how they handle salty environments (beach activity), not necessarily will be dunked into the salt water, Salt spray and sand is what I am concerned with.

Update,
I decided to also purchase the H600F. If I find the H600F is satisfactory for bushwalking on some of my UL walks, I will sell the H52F here on the forums.

Just been on Ebay to purchase charger and 18650 batterys. Bit confused on the battery I should purchase, If anyone knows anything about the H600F. Which battery should I purchase out of the following?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2x-Panasonic-NCR-18650-B-3400mAh-Lithium-Li-Ion-NCR18650B-battery-ncrb-3400-/281004553562?pt=AU_Electronics_Batteries_Chargers&hash=item416d2d355a

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2x-BLAZAR-PROTECTED-Panasonic-NCR-18650-B-3400mAh-Lithium-Li-ion-Battery-NIPPLE-/281004345565?pt=AU_Electronics_Batteries_Chargers&hash=item416d2a08dd

[Travis22]

You want to buy quality batteries and chargers when using Li-Ion, the consequences can be deadly should you have cheaper inferior products fail when in use or charging.

Yasser - the fellow selling the Panasonic cells is a great bloke and very knowledgeable on all things batteries, he will steer you in the right direction and usually look after you quite well should you end up buying quite a few things from him.

In the 18650 cell, i would only use these Panasonic made cells. They are the best available and they will perform exactly as advertised unlike 99% of the other similar cells out there.

Which model of cell you go with depends really on what equipment you will use it in.

Zebralight's lights are protected for reverse polarity and low voltage so you do not need to use protected cells.

I use these cells in most of my lights which have protection built into the light ; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2x-Panasonic ... 41707b180b

This cell is also the skinniest 18650 cell you can buy - i use them in my Surefires which i bored out to 18mm myself and wanted to keep the flashlight body as thick as possible thus i use the skinniest cells possible with it.

These ones ; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2x-Panasonic ... 416d2d355a are the same as the ones above but they are 'newer' and have a slightly high capacity (3400 v's 3100) and they were quite a bit more expensive but now i see they are only a couple of dollars apart. These cells are also double wrapped so they are slightly thicker then the ones linked to above and they do not fit into my bored Surefires.

These ones ; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2x-BLAZAR-PR ... 416d2a08dd are the same as the unprotected 3400 cells but they have added built in Protection for under voltage, over voltage, short circuits and reverse polarity and these are either double or tripple wrapped. This makes these cells even thicker again and also a couple mm longer in dimension.

It can be rather frustrating with Li-Ion cells are there really are no rock solid dimensions and every brand is a little different, Zebralight has increased their battery tube size a few times over the years so that these days they pretty much fit all of the 18650 cells on the market but i think you might still struggle with the Protected Blazars.

IMO Protected cells are not absolutely necessary with using them in single cell applications. If you were using 2,3,4, etc of them in series then it can become very dangerous and using a Protected cell is certainly necessary but again with a single cell Zebralight it really is overkill and again dimensionally they might not fit...

It might be worth just asking Yasser what the 3400 cells are like, how many cover wraps are around the cells - even the stickers can be a problem and some guys either remove a layer of wrap or remove the stickers to get them to fit. I have the 3100 versions of all the Panasonic's so im not 110% sure about the thicknesses of the 3400's, ive tried the unprotected 3400's and as i mentioned about they wont fit in my Surefire lights bored by me.

These are the best chargers out there for Li-Ion; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Soshine-1865 ... efid=store

Or if you have a mix of different Li-Ion cells you could use this one; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Soshine-1865 ... 4167e770e8

Hope that helps a little, sorry to waffle on a little.

Travis.

[ULWalkingPhil]

Thanks Travis.

I ordered the following charger: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/380648430659?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I will take your advice and purchase the Panasonic battery, Probably the newer 3400's. Need to first check that they will fit the torch.
According to the specs on the Ebay site for the battery your using and the newer 3400's, the 3400's are 18.4 x 65.2. The battery your using are: 18.6 x 65.2

[Travis22]

Definitely something wrong there in the specs, the new 3400 unprotected cells are definitely thicker then the older 3100 unprotected cells.

You won't have any issues fitting any version of an unprotected 18650 into any 18650 Zebralight it's the protected versions you need to watch.

The older 3100mAh unprotected cells I have measure 18.2 at the thickest point near the + end and 18.07 for the rest of the cell.

Travis.

[ULWalkingPhil]

Definitely something wrong there in the specs, the new 3400 unprotected cells are definitely thicker then the older 3100 unprotected cells.

You won't have any issues fitting any version of an unprotected 18650 into any 18650 Zebralight it's the protected versions you need to watch.

The older 3100mAh unprotected cells I have measure 18.2 at the thickest point near the + end and 18.07 for the rest of the cell.

Travis.

Think I might go for the 3400's in that case, I like the little extra capacity in them, whether that makes a difference, don't know. I really appreciate your advice.

[Travis22]

I just checked my blazer cells and they measure 18.68 at their thickest point.

I strongly suspect the unprotected 3400mAh would be around the 18.4mm mark.

Travis

[andrewa]

I've had some 18650 batteries from deal extreme in China (dx.com) for the last 12 months or so for my bike lights. I haven't measured them in any way, but have been pleasantly surprised at how long the charge lasts with some surprisingly bright lights. Also been surprised at the quality and longevity of the various Cree lights/headlamps/watches I've bought.....

Disclaimer: I am a GP, and have no financial interest in dx. There are other sites selling similar stuff.

Andrew A

[Joomy]

I opted against getting a 18650 cell head torch because of the potential headaches involved in recharging Li-Ion batteries. I figure 250+ lumens should really be plenty for anything I plan to do and having to carry a few extra NiMH AAs on a longer trip doesn't seem too onerous.