Zebralight H52w first impression

LED Flashlights – General Info 1 x AA / 1 x 14500 Flashlights
1

I just got my light from cellguy. Since I haven't seen any impressions or reviews of this light yet, and there were big concerns about the beam pattern, I'll do a quick write up.

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This light is tiny. It's dwarfed by the H600mkII.

It fits protected 14500's. I put in both Keeppower and Trustfire flame cells. Both fit great.

The fins had some waxy residue. It scared me at first because I thought it was some major flaws in the anodization. It comes off easily enough.

The anti glare coating may be the strongest I've seen yet.

The low is so low that I thought it was off, so I was using the next higher setting until I went back in to program it again. It definitely has the lowest low of all my lights, although I don't have a Jetbeam RRT01...yet.

The beam profile appears similar to the H600mkII, which is pretty close to the Xeno e03. That is, it has plenty of usable spill, and a soft hotspot. I think the beam pattern of the H600mkII is pretty good for hiking, and the H52w should do just as well. I prefer the incredibly even beam pattern of the Armytek Wizard Pro, but there isn't a 14500 version of that light.

The clip came off without marring the finish of the light.

Like the H600mkII, I think I'm going to have problems with accidentally turning on into high instead of low. I also had a related problem where I couldn't get it to turn on into low at all, it just wouldn't turn on at all with a slow click. The workaround is to do a quick click, and then eventually follow it with a slow click. A second workaround is to leave it on all the time in the lowest low, at least while I'm hiking. From there it's easier to reliably switch it into L1 or the other modes.

I wanted a small lightweight backpacking headlamp/flashlight that could use AA's in a pinch and provide enough juice for 4-5 days of long distance backpacking. I think this is going to do a very good job of fulfilling that role aside from the difficulty of turning on into low. Unfortunately I won't be able to verify if it has enough juice for those backpacking trips for at least a couple months.

2

Thanks for the write-up! I have seen the waxy substance on a few lights. I would guess it is lubrication barrier to protect the finish during assembly. It comes right off. You can use a bit of rubbing alcohol if you need to. Same with the lens. It will not effect the AR coating.

I was very happy to find the KP 14500 fit well. They are a bit too wide for the SC52/w.

You should not have any problems with anno. The clip coating will come off before the anno does and that is the residue you see. A rough cloth general will polish it right off.

I have tested the tint on a handful as well and have been very happy. No green meanies!

3

Yeah, after realizing it was just wax, I was no longer worried. I'm okay with the small amount of wax staying there.

I think some of the clip coating came off as you said, but it wiped off with my thumb and the light looks no worse for it.

I'm glad you commented on the tint. I got the NW version, which is warmer than my Wizard Pro and H600mkII. The true test will be on the trail. Maybe on the road too. The other night I realized that cool white tints do a terrible job of lighting up street signs. They're bright for sure, but illegible. Those same signs look great when lit up with a high CRI light, although that light has a very warm tint. I'm interested in seeing if the warm tint of the H52w NW works as well even though it's not high CRI.

4

The H52w was great on the hike this morning. The spill is slightly wider than the Xeno e03, and has a softer hotspot. That seemed to help make it better for trail illumination. I used it in my hand most of the time in M2 (25 lumens). That speaks highly of how ideal the beam pattern is for night hiking on a trail. With how well it performed at low output levels, on long backpacking trips I'll almost certainly use it with Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA's since they're so much lighter.

5

Thanks for sharing, leaftye!

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I got some new lighting equipment today so I decided to test it out with H52W glamour shots.

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Thanks for the comparison photo! Shorter and slimmer.

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I was surprised how different they looks side by side. Especially the reflector change.

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FWIW, I posted a review of the ZL H52w:

(still somewhat in progress, but already has lots of details and pictures)

10

wow that is a funky new design