I think I will be needing a new edc. I prefer warm tints. Durability is very important to me.
Anyone handle these lights?
Somewhat. I’ve got a Partner C1, a Zebralight SC600 mk2 and an Olight S30R II. Those are all very different lights. I can’t really say which would be better for your usage since you didn’t tell us anything about your usage, but I can give some general thoughts:
- The Partner would be very durable and is available in multiple tints. That’s good. Its also small and easy to carry. I’m not a big fan of Armytek’s UIs but that could just be me.
- The Zebra is quite a bit wider and not very comfortable to carry, at least my mk2 light isn’t. The mk3 is smaller but I haven’t bought one yet so I can’t compare for you. There are…concerns about battery fitment though, so you should research that if its important to you. Its also a very well made light though and should be very durable. These lights are also available in multiple tints and have a great UI.
- The Olight is only available in cool white (boo…), but its crazy simple to do an emitter swap in so that’s easy to fix. My S30R II has an XM-L2 5C in it and is very warm. They’re also good lights and should be quite durable. Plus its available with a neat charging base. Mine lives in on my bedside table. I like it. I’m a big fan of recent Olight UIs and really like this light after its emitter swap. It would make a very good edc light, but it is kinda larger than it really needs to be for some reason. Or maybe small Zebralights have just spoiled me.
Really there’s not a bad light on your list, just three very different lights.
I don’t have the others, but I really like the S30 UI - you can go directly from off to moonlight, turbo, and whatever last mode you were in. the tailcap magnet is also nice, but not as useful as in say the S1 because of the size. the 1000 lumens turbo is more than adequate for EDC. Actually I would suggest the olight S1 over S30 for EDC; same UI but much smaller though the turbo is capped at 500 which again is about the max i would need for EDC. You can get it at pretty good prices from some of the coupons you can find in this forum.
I had the s30, lost it. The cool white is not my favorite. But the light served me well.
I use the light from a night light at home or camping, to looking in ceilings or anywhere dark that an come across in a school building. Feeding my animals at night, tracking deer. I use my lights for everything. That is why I like a low mode, but also a bright mode. My s30 at times did not illuminate things at a distance well enough.
I prefer built in over discharge protection. I prefer regular panosonic cells.
I do occasionally drop my lights, it happens. They do get used in rain, and bad weather.
I like direct access to turbo, and also to moon light.
I know I am asking a lot, these lights are probably my best bet, unless you think of any better.
Thank you
The S30 is rated at 160m throw. The Partner C2 (warm) is only rated at 180m. In real life that’s probably unnoticeable. So if extra throw is the goal then that light is out. There’s no solid numbers on the SC600 mk3 HI yet but I did see one guy on CPF claim 20,000 cd. That’s a suspiciously round number so I’m not sure how much I trust it, but if its true that equates to about 283m throw, which is obviously much better.
You could also take a look at something like the Manker U11. Its an XP-L HI light and I tested my unit at 228m throw. Its got a funky UI but is a really good light. There’s several reviews here you can check out. There are other XP-L HI lights out there, too, like the EagleTac DX30LC2 which gets to about 255m. Its got a good UI and is very small, but it doesn’t have a moonlight output level. Nitecore P12GT may also work for you, but I have no first-hand experience with that light.
To get much more throw than any of these offer you’ll probably have to step up into larger lights with larger reflectors. Or build your own. I’ve got a C8 that does 795m. Its such a thin beam its not especially useful unless you just need all that range, but it can be done.
I suppose I don’t need longer throw than the s30, it would sacrifice spill, and bring up the head diameter. I do have other lights that throw well.
Is the zebra light a lot bigger than s30? Or is it just slightly larger? 20000 seems like it would throw very well.
The armytek would give me the same throw as Olight, but I feel like the warm tint would make things easier to distinguish
I don’t know that its a lot larger. The Olight measures 0.98” diameter and the Zebra measures 1.2” So about a quarter inch (5mm)? The Zebralight is actually shorter by quite a bit if that matters. I find that diameter matters more to me in an edc light.
Warm tint makes a big difference for me as well. I much prefer it. The Zebra can be bought with warm tint. So can the Armytek and the EagleTac. The Olight and the Manker can’t, but they can be easily modded. I have very little experience with the Nitecore P12GT so I don’t know if it can be modded easily or not.
That eagletac looks nice too. But does it have low voltage protection?
Seems the armytek zebra light and eagletac would suit my needs better than my s30 did
Tough decisions.
I would prefer to keep them stock so I do not void warranty.
Zebra light looks like only one year warranty? Armytek says ten years.
Warm tint definitely are better in my opinion.
Have you considered the Armytek Prime Pro ?
The ZL UI is one of my favorites. I generally like the tail switching, off-time memory type of UI of the Armytek Partner (and Dobermann, Predator, etc). However the Armytek memorization is slow and I sometimes advance modes unintentionally which is mildly annoying — but only mildly. My favorite feature of the Partner UI is the twist to turbo function. Direct access to turbo (and back to the previously chosen mode) is fantastic. I’d love to have that on all of my Convoy M1/C8 lights…
The biggest difference will be the beam profile. The Partner has a great floody beam profile. It has a broader hotspot (due the the TIR, I’d wager) than other lights in its class. I love the way the broad spot uniformly lights my path.
The HI emitter in the ZL will be much different — much, much throwier. Likely just as wonderful as the Partner but for very different reasons.
TL:DR — IMO it comes down to beam profile — how much throw do you want/need.
Lastly the new ZL electronics must be much different from the previous generation. I’d wait for the reviews to make sure this new generation has all the bugs (if any) worked out.
I am sorry I said partner, I meant prime. Prime is the xpl hi warm
I really like my Armytek Prime Pro.
My opinion the Prime Pro UI is superior to Zebralight.
I consider it a floody beam. Much like Convoy S2+ or S3
I don’t think they make it in a XPL Hi at least I don’t see it on there website.
I’ve not seen an XP-L HI Prime — just the XP-L Prime.
I much prefer the ZL UI to the Prime UI. I find myself pressing and waiting for the the Prime interface. The Prime interface is well liked by some but IMO it’s slow and annoying compared to the ZL. I’d prefer a Partner to a Prime because of the Prime’s UI.
I have the Prime Pro I don’t know what you mean by slow. It is just as fast as any of the Z lights I have had.
EDIT- Might be slightly slower from off to moonlight but you will never get blasted with hi as long as you see moon level.
It is faster just about everywhere else.
For me it is a lot slower to get to the low mode, that I prefer, from any higher mode.
On a ZL I use the 3l mode a lot. It is my preferred low. I memorize that mode as low. Then I can always get to that 3l mode immediately with a press and brief hold. The initial press takes it immediately to low and the brief hold keeps it there — so getting to low is very fast and consistent. The fact that the initial press can go immediately to low, without the UI pausing to wait to see if it’s a click, is an indication of the care that the ZL UI designers exercised.
My preferred low on the Prime is the 2l mode. To get there “from on” I must first turn the light off. Then I press and hold to turn it back on, but it doesn’t come on immediately. After it pauses it activates in the firefly mode and then I wait some more until it cycles to my preferred 2l low mode. All of that requires more cognitive effort than the nearly pure muscle memory required by the ZL.
I like the immediacy and consistency a lot. There’s more that I appreciate about the interface, but I’ll leave it at that.
I feel like I am leaning to the armytek, just because of the warranty and specs. 10m waterproof 10m Shock proof. Weapon mountable. And 10 year warranty.
The zebra looks like it has a better led, and can also out throw armytek. But zebra does not seem to be as rugged. I know I will drop this light more than once.
In my reading zebra has broken from waist high drops.
I wish zebra was as solid as armytek.
But now I’m looking at partner pro c2 warm vs prime c2 warm. What’s the difference?
Gypoflex5000- That sounds like the Prime non pro. Not the Prime Pro.
Partner has a tail switch and a side switch.
O.P. said “I am sorry I said partner, I meant prime.” So, yes I was describing a Prime. The Prime Pro may have a better interface. For a long while I read every manual and it seemed to me Armytek was all over the map with their “Pro” UIs. Some seemed inspired but flawed. Others not so good. Obviously there is a lot of personal preference involved. I’ve learned I don’t like pressing and waiting…
The Partner has a tail switch and a twist to turbo. The Partner Pro has a tail switch and a side switch.
I think you’ll be happy with either the Armytek Prime or Zebralight. I have both, and like them for different reasons. I like warm tints, so the Armytek warm is very nice (4000K). Although Zebralight’s neutral is nice too, though quite a bit cooler.
I tend to use the Armytek outdoors, because it’s more rugged. Its mode memory is also handy. The Zebralight makes for a nice indoor light, where I can easily switch between modes as needed, and it’s very compact.
Get both! 