Poor Mans Zebralight?

+1 :+1:

+1 :beer: :wink:

I think you need to look at what sets Zebralight apart from other lights in order to answer your question.
To me, the following things set it apart:
-Super efficient buck/boost drivers
-Regulated output at all settings (cooling required at highest settings)
-Amazing and compact build quality
-Amazing UI
-Various Emitter, CRI, and CCT options
-Various Sizes and battery versions

If you can find a light that strikes the balance of characteristics above at a cheaper price, then I guess a poor man’s Zebralight exists.
The Emisar D4 is a completely different light that cannot output regulated light at higher settings, doesn’t have a buck/boost driver, build quality is inferior.
What the Emisar D4 does share is great emitter options, and great UI, and benefits from 4 LED’s for higher max output.

In my opinion, a poor man’s Zebralight is a used one you find for sale here at BLF or CPF, or an older model thats discounted on their website.
Armytek has some lights with good buck/boost drivers, and build quality is also very good, but not quite as refined as a Zebralight. Armytek often has promotions so you could potentially get one at a very good price.

The other way to access a poor man’s Zebralight is to trim down on budget lights and buy yourself a Zebralight.

I believe Manker does use very good and efficient drivers, but the LED options are very limited. The Manker UI is not for everyone and there have been many complaining that the button on Mankers is not durable.

All in all, it depends on what you value most and what you are willing to compromise on. I would personally rather eat at home and skip the restaurant 2-3 times and then buy a Zebralight instead.

D4 Parties harder.

They are not directly comparable. The Emisar is much chunkier, and the extra thermal mass means it doesn’t heat up as ridiculously fast as the ZL on max. It is also throwy-er.

Surely you’re thinking of the D4S, not the D4? The D4 is basically the same size/shape as your average ZL and it gets way hotter, much faster than any ZL on high.

You’re right. I’ve only had the D4Ti (SST-20 4K) a few days. It’s heavier than my ZL SC600FdIV+, probably due to the copper head, but the exact same size. It also heats up faster (then again it’s nearly twice as bright), because Ti doesn’t conduct heat as well as Cu or Al.

I think it depends what you expect from a flashlight, what makes it the best for you. I have bought one emisar, one ZL first. After that, I bought another emisar and decided not to buy any ZL (at least until they make some significant change). Their original UI is just terrible. The programmable one is ok-ish. Still, I can choose from several led emitters, clear/frosted optic and I can have 2x D4 for price of 1 ZL. Easy choice for me. YMMV

+1 :+1: I agree!

Actually it’s the other way around.
If material conducts heat better, the surface will heat up faster. Your D4 heats up fast because it’s superb thermally and very bright but not really efficient.

I meant the copper head on the D4Ti heats up very quickly, to a dangerous point, but the titanium body remains relatively cool. On the ZL the whole body heats up, if less quickly than the Emisar.

Back to comparability… I think it’s a matter of perspective.

From a practical use perspective, a D4 and a frosted SC600 series work well for pretty much the same things. The Zebralight is more efficient, has stable output in all modes, and has a lower low. The Emisar has a higher high and some more optic/emitter options. They’re both floody lights with optional high-CRI, about the same size, have shortcut-based UIs. There’s not much you’d do with one where the other would be a bad option except, perhaps loaning to the uninitiated where the D4 could be more dangerous.

From the perspective of why you’d buy one or the other aside from being suitable for some lighting task, the two are quite different, and I see no need to repeat the differences here.

Why choose? You need to buy a few different flashlights …
I have SC600w, D4, D4s and many more and I do not have to wonder which one I should choose. How cool it is to have it and that’s it.

Don’t worry so much about the price. Get the 600w HI or Plus, or the 64w HI, and you’ll be a lot more happy with it than several budget lights that don’t quite measure up.

The real problem is stopping buying so many damn Zebralights!

My first suggestion is get the SC64w HI. It’s a fantastic all-purpose light. If you find you want something a little better for outdoors, then get the SC600w IV HI. Fantastic pocket light for a little throw outdoors, while still being useful for closer distances. Or get the SC600w IV Plus, if you need a lot of output in a small light; it’s probably closest to the Emisar D4.

Besides the great programmable user-interface, the best thing about Zebras is their efficiency and flat regulated output. I like having 2300 lumens, whether my battery is full or almost empty.

Budget lights with their FET drivers are impressive on a full battery, but it’s annoying that they dim so fast and go through batteries so quickly.

Yes…copper is very conductive, unlike Ti. Furthermore there’s threading between the head and the tube on Emisar but not on a Zebra.

If you can keep(care) your flashlight/headlamp, you should get ZL. It’s a very cheap investment if you think the money spent per uses over time. Definitely incomparable to Emisar. The closest to “budget ZL” is Skilhunt H series.

EDIT: If you need throwaway headlamps (seriously, this happened to me many times) just get Energizer. There was a time period when I had to armed my men for night shift works. They were super careless bunch of workers, treated the tools as nail and hammer. Use them, get the jobs done, period.

- Clemence

Zebralight UI does not have a ramping even as an option….pretty last decade….(even if it did it would not ramp up to half of the competition :wink: ) and potting your driver with some putty does not make it mil-spec….people bitch about zebralight problems here often….its all pretty much the same CE stuff from China, just a little different design ‘philosophy’……(OH! ….and the brand loyalists.)

I know you are just looking to start a fight between people, but what is better than a Zebralight for the price?

I’m not looking to start anything - just seen before how this goes. Loyalists get personally invested in a brand - of flashlight - and take it as a personal insult when a little objectivity is offered.

Better than Zebralight? - Depends what you are looking for and for how much doesn’t it? Sometimes it may be the best answer - sometimes it’s not. Nothing personal.

Just save up, I got lucky and got mine as a present. If I’d known how cool this light was I could have saved hundreds of dollars looking for my favorite light. I carry it everywhere and the rest are riding the pine.