ZebraLight H60

 
 
5 Stars
Excellent
         

Light Type: Cree XR-E
Light Class: Outdoor / Rough Use / General


Body: The H60 sales package comes with a lot of useful accessories which have been listed above. This allows the H60 to be held in a number of positions. With the silicone brackets, the H60 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. The internal dimensions of the batteru tube is rather snug and not all 18650 cells will fit. AW's flat top 2600mAh and 2200mAh button top protected cells will fit fine, however others such as EagleTac cells will prevent the tail cap from fully screwing on. Most of the exterior battery tube is covered three segments of raised rings, these serve to keep the H60 from sliding along its length when used with one the the rubber brackets. However a downside to this is that they don't stop the light from twisting in the brackets. Also, there is not much grip on the battery tube which is in sharp contrast with its tail cap which has very aggressive knurling. They are cut extremely sharp and can easily cause abbrasion on your fingernails or fabric. The tail cap screws on securely and has a flat rear end which allows the H60 to tail stand without problems.

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 H60 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 H60 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 levels cycle about every 0.5 seconds. There is no noticeable PWM (pulse width modulation) effect on the lower levels. Like the H30, 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.

The H60 has 6 levels of output which are set in pairs which basically act as alternate levels. From the off position, a single click switches the light on the high level, while holding the button down start from low and cycles through medium then high. While the light is on at any of the three levels, double clicking the switch activates the alternate level for that mode. The H60 does memorize your choice of regular or alternate levels even after the light is switched off. Do take note that when activated on the highest 190 lumen level, the light will automatically drop down to the 110 lumen level. This is to protect the user from the accessive heat produced.

Output modes are as follows:
Off > Low (0.5 lumens) > Medium (15 lumens) > High (110 lumens)

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

Batteries
Level
Runtime
Percentage
1x 18650 2600mAh AW
190
2 hrs 19 mins
50 %
1x 18650 2600mAh AW
110
5 hrs 02 mins
50 %
1x 18650 2600mAh AW
45
12hrs 45 mins
50 %
1x 18650 2600mAh AW
15
50 hrs
50 %
1x 18650 2600mAh AW
3
~ 9 days
50 %
1x 18650 2600mAh AW
0.5
~ 26 days
50 %

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 18650 cell. 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

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:

Item Reviewed.......................... ZebraLight H60
Review Date ............................. July 2009
Case Material ........................... Anodized Type III aluminum
Case Features .......................... Faceted sides around center, texture around tailcap, lanyard attachment
Case Access Type .................... Unscrew Tailcap
Switch Type ............................. Clickie
Reflector Type ......................... N/A
Lens Type ................................ Lexan Polycarbonate
Bulb Type ................................. Cree XP-E
Beam Type ............................... Flood
Beam Characteristics ............... Central smooth spot with slight corona and wide spillbeam
Throw (Lux) at 1m (click for description) see table above
Overall Output (click for description) see table above
Battery / Power Type................ 1x 18650
Battery Life (advertised) ........... Not Given
Battery Life (test results) ........... see Abrove
Environmental Protection ......... 1x Pocket clip
1x Clip ring
1x Elastic head band
1x Spare GITD switch cap
2x Spare o-rings
2x Silicone brackets
Weight (oz.) with batteries ....... 1.16 oz
2.71 oz with 1x 18650
Special Items of Note ............... Many accessories included
Warranty .................................. Unknown
Retail Cost ................................ $79 US at time of review at Zebralight.com
content, test data and images of this page were referred by light-reviews.com

 

 
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