Please enjoy the following review from the recent (December) batch of Zeusrays provided by
Dealmetic (non-aff) currently $ 7.99 including free shipping
Package and First Impression:
The light was packaged inside a small bubble-wrap bag inside a thin cardboard box inside a standard bubble-wrap mailing envelope. It came by Swiss Post to the West Coast of Canada in about 3 weeks with no damage. The host has decent anodizing for this price point and my sample had no flaws. The tailcap was not fully screwed in, leaving a small gap between itself and the black flange of the battery tube. I initially thought this was a bad aesthetic decision, but later realized that the tailcap threading was just sticky. It didn’t appear too dirty, but it must have been, because after a few battery installs the tailcap screwed in flush quite easily. The host accepted the longest protected cell I own (69 mm).
Comparison to other budget 18650 zoomies:
(mouseover to see the zoom head extended)
For comparison, on the left, an XML T6 5-mode (~$ 8.77) and on the right a $3.50 eBay Zoomie The Zeusray is about as small as an 18650 can get and has attractive proportions. The silver-colored crown, clip, and tailcap complement each other. An exceptional feature of the host is that the clip can be reversed for head up or head down carry, and also used in a pinch to make a headlamp out of a baseball cap. The stiffness of the clip is just about right. I wouldn’t go running with it on the outside of my belt, but it’s not so stiff that it’s difficult to use. The Zeusray does tailstand. The zooming is smooth and firm enough that it does not wobble when held or shaken.
Front view:
The Zeusray has a polymer aspheric lens that looks to be a fairly high magnification. The tactical crown does not have sharp edges that would be a problem for fabric of your pocket.
Glow in the dark tailcap:
After an hour on the windowsill, the 14 mm fluorescent button on the Zeusray glows well enough to find the right end of your flashlight for a little while. I’ve seen better and I’ve seen worse. An interesting aspect of the silver tailcap is that the concave sides actually reflect the glow, making it more visible from the sides.
White wall beamshot on High:
The brightness of the Zeusray is exceptional. I don’t have the proper equipment to measure it, but would estimated it at around 900 lumens. The tint is cool white, but more on the neutral side with no blue or purple hues. There is no significant halo. The beam color is slightly yellower toward the edges. The flood isn’t as wide as the larger XML T6, but is impressive in a room. At 1 m distance, it casts a spot of 1.55 m, which calculates to a 75.5 degree beam angle. The emitter generates a lot of heat on high, which is effectively conducted to the battery tube. I did not have any trouble holding the light barehanded after 15 min of running.
White wall beamshot on High - Zoomed:
(mouseover to see emitter details visible at a faster shutter speed)
When the Zeusray is zoomed, brightness per target area is on par with the other lights. It’s inherent in the design of aspheric zoomies that a lot of photons waste themselves against the inside walls of the head when zoomed. The actual area of the zoomed beam from the Zeusray die is much larger than typical.
Low / Medium / High beamshots of Zeusray:
(Click image for larger view in a new window)
Photos were taken with identical shutter speeds and aperatures. Relative current measuments indicate that Low is about 24% and Medium is about 43% of High. Mode spacing is a matter of personal preference, but many people would likely prefer a lower low. The mode order is High > Medium > Low > Strobe > SOS with no memory. The driver starts on High after it has been off for 5 seconds. The strobe is fast. The SOS is understandable with a longer pause between series. The driver is completely silent to my ear in all modes.
Disassembly of major components:
There is a rubber washer between the crown and lens. An o-ring separates the head from the pill and another o-ring seals the tailcap. All were lubricated, the tailcap could use more grease. The inside diameter of the battery tube is 19.01 mm. The light path through the lens has a diameter of 20.8 mm. The outside diameter of the lens is 27.98 mm. One problem with the tailcap is visible in this photo. The button on my unit is slightly slanted instead of being square with the outer surface.
Partial disassembly of Tailcap:
Further disassembly reveals that the clicky switch is not mounted straight in the press-fit adapter collar. I was able to correct this during reassembly. The other problem with the tailcap is visible in this photo. My unit has a manufacturing misalignment in drilling the hole for the lanyard. I could drill a new hole if I wanted to use a lanyard, but I will definitely need to file off the sharp edges from this bad hole.
Further disassembly of Tailcap:
The press-fit adapter collar is tight enough that the contact between the clicky switch and the tailcap should be reliable long-term.
Driver side of Pill:
A solid aluminum pill is exceptional at this price point. The 17 mm driver is connected with decent gauge high temperature leads. The driver cavity is 3.98 mm deep. The total pill height is 15.00 mm.
Closeup of Driver:
The driver board is marked YN-5117-08 and 02569 and has decent soldering.
Emitter side of Pill:
The star is held in place with a brown plastic press-fit washer (backside visible in photo). I did not damage the washer during disassembly. The edges must had broken off in the factory. The washer sits on an 18.2 mm inside diameter shelf that is 2.2 mm deep. The star sits on a 16.1 mm inside diameter shelf that is a further 2.2 mm deep (4.4 mm total depth). Subtracting these values along with the driver cavity from the total pill height, leaves us with 6.6 mm of solid aluminum in the middle of the pill. Note the 2 holes drilled in the perimeter of the pill for easy install/removal (one hole on my unit was not drilled all the way through).
Spacer below Star:
There is a spacer between the star and pill shelf. This may be to improve heat transfer over the machining hole in the center of the shelf. A better guess might be that it’s needed to achieve enough pressure with the brown washer. You wouldn’t want to lower the emitter, as this would move it away from the lens at the expense of perhaps 5-10% beam angle. Heat transfer certainly seems to be sufficient as built, but I will be adding thermal compound below the spacer during reassembly.
Overall:
The Zeusray is good value at this price point because it is bright (XM-L2, high current driver), designed to handle the heat that goes along with that (solid pill), and produces a good-looking flood. The versatility of the clip is a nice bonus. The tailcap, at least on my sample unit, although functional, needs improved quality control in manufacturing and assembly. I have not seen a better 18650 zoomie near this price range.
Please limit any replies in this thread to questions or comments directly relating to my review. Please direct all general Zeusray posts to the consolidated thread at trying to consolidate all ZeusRay posts
