Body: The entire H50 is extremely light weight (advertised as 40g with battery) and very compact for a single CR123 powered light. This is very convenient since it’s meant to be used as both a standard handheld light, as well as a head lamp when used with the included headband. Speaking of which, the H30 sales package comes with a lot of useful accessories which have been listed above. This allows the H30 to be held in a number of positions. With the silicone brackets, the H30 can be attached to a belt, backpack shoulder strap, lanyard or head band. The pocket clip, obviously allows it to be held on a pocket. This is especially convenient when clipped onto a shirt pocket which leaves your hands-free. As you can see from the image to the right, the H50 is only slightly longer and thicker than a standard AA cell. One drawback to its compact size it that the aluminum used is somewhat thin, but should hold up without problems under normal use. The battery tube is plain and smooth with no knurling. I would have appreciated if there was at least some knurling since the silicone brackets doesn’t hold the H30 very snug. The light may shift its position if you happen to use it during jogs or other similar activities. The internal diameter of the battery tube accommodates protected 16340 cells snugly and slides in and out just fine. The entire light is very well finished in a dark green Type 3 anodizing. Coating is smooth and consistent throughout, even on the threads. The threads are very well machined and there’s no issue of cross-threading or grinding. There's a rubber o-ring just above the threads as well. The H30 activates via a simple push button switch which clicks with almost no travel, much like the tactile feel of the buttons on mobile phones. There’s a spring inside the tail cap which ensures there is not battery rattle. Electrical contact is made when the rear end of the battery tube touches the “-“ contact ring at the bottom of the tail cap. There’s a band of vertically textured knurling on the tail cap which helps nicely with grip. With the flat surface of the tail cap, it is able to tail stand very easily on flat surfaces.

Bezel/Head: The ZebraLight H30 is different from the average flashlight. Instead of shining light pointed from the end of its head, the LED points at a right angle. The H50 doesn’t use a reflector nor focusing lens of any sort. Instead, the head which is adhered onto the main body of the light houses the electronics, LED and a Lexan polycarbonate lens which protects the LED. This Lexan lens is impact resistant and helps prevent the emitter from getting damaged. The lens is recessed within the head and surrounded by a raised lip. This lip acts as an anti-glare shield which was a separate add-on accessory with the earlier H50 model.

Output:The H30 works extremely well for its intended purpose, a hands-free flood light. Because there’s no lens or reflector to focus the light produced by the LED, the beam profile produced is pure flood. This is a normal characteristic of the Cree XR-E emitter, unlike the common 5mm LED's which are already pre-focused.

The H30 maintains regulation well and has very good runtime for the amount of light being produced. The flood beam produced is nice and smooth with no visible artifacts, noticeably narrower than the H50 version due to the more recessed LED placement. The color temperature of the light produced is slightly on the cool side. The H30 is able to produce light at 3 levels which are cycled through by holding down the switch. The levels cycle about every 0.5 seconds. There is no noticeable PWM (pulse width modulation) effect on the lower levels. There’s also no memory feature which means the light always comes on the low level every time. I never thought I'd say this about a light, but the regulation works a little to well. I say this because the light totally turns off without warning when it can't hold regulation any longer, unlike the H50 which dims noticeably before totally turning off. This could be an issue when your using this light while doing work or walking in the dark. Also, the output does consistently jitter on the high level, but isn't significant enough to be noticed in practical use. Take note that due to the nature of the floody beam profile, the control shots show extremely subtle intensities.

Output modes are as follows:
Off > Low (4 lumens) > Medium (20 lumens) > High (80 lumens)

Runtime Plot: Runtime with a CR123 and 16340 are shown below.

Switch: The switch is a rubber covered textured clickie and is fully recessed in the tailcap which allows the light to stand on end and be used as an electric candle. Despite the fact that the switch is recessed, it is very easy to use. Click on, click off, press for momentary, twist to change output from bright to dim, and back again. The dimming system is very unique, using a piston-like ring inside the tailcap to change output.

Batteries: For batteries, this light is approved by the manufacturer for use with a single rechargeable Li-Ion 16340 cell or CR123. All others are at your own risk.

To change out the batteries: unscrew the tailcap, drop out the old cells, place in new cells observing proper polarity. Reattach the tailcap and you're ready to go.

Accessories: Several accessories are included with the light. Inside the package you will find one Pocket clip, one Clip ring, one Elastic head band,one Lanyard, one Spare GITD switch cap, two Spare o-rings and two Silicone brackets

Photo Gallery

Picky Little Things: Nothing

Conclusions:The Good - Excellent build quality and finishing. Very light weight and small form factor makes for a comfortable hands-free light. Good runtime and maintains regulation very well. Includes many useful accessories. The Bad - Fitting with the silicone bracket isn't very snug and may cause the light to shift during activities. Switches off without warning at the end of the battery life. The Relative - Beam profile is purely flood with a slightly cool color temperature. Is able to tail stand. Doesn't have memory mode for the multiple output levels.

Quick Facts Table: