on the other hand…i hardly ever turn off my h51w in the past two years because i’m operating mill machine during the day and i use it all day to closely inspect the machined parts…i use it on one of the two medium modes and with eneloops (4 of them rotating non-stop between my voltcraft ipc1l (lacrosse 900) no problems so far…i even bought another zebra (sc600 the first version with screwed (threaded) lens cap) and i can only say the best for both of them…
Wow, he’s rough as hell on them. He’s doing something abnormal for sure. I have 5 ZL’s and never came close to breaking the lenses.
Never had any lenses break on any of my Zebralights.
However, when I opened up my SC52w, I had a chance to look at the lens. It is a VERY thin glass lens and there isn’t much in the way of a protruding bezel to protect it.
Having seen how thin it is, I’m not surprised someone experienced a broken lens on the Zebralight. The person who had problems with multiple lenses breaking obviously doesn’t take much care to avoid things hitting the lens.
I don’t know if all Zebralights have such thin lenses as my SC52w, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
I don’t take any special care with my Zebralights. I treat them the same as all my other lights. I’ve never had any problems with the lenses on them.
Closest I’ve come to a broken Zebralight lens are my thoughts of smashing the lens so I can remove the bezel to try to mod them. I’ve only ever successefully removed the press-fit bezel on that SC52. I’ve had no luck with every other Zebra… can’t get anything under the edge of the bezel… not even the tip of an x-acto knife blade.
It’s a shame, because I have 2 non-functional Zebras just itching to be modded (barely used SC32w which does not work at all, and slightly used SC5w that only runs at very low output).
That guy in the review had 4 H600’s. The glass on my H600’s are quite robust. At least no less than any other lights I have. Been using them for years, and not putting them in the front pocket of tight pants along with a wad of keys, like this guy was apparently doing. Imagine what his cell phone must look like?.. lol
What about putting on a protective glass cover on the lens, …like on a cell phone? Would that affect the quality of the light?
I think that person who had broken lenses was actually smashing them. His/her pocket must have been really packed with stuff!
A cell phone protector is very thin and just protects against scratches. It would do nothing against abuse strong enough to actually shatter the lens. Also, it would reduce the output of the light and depending on the light might have issues with heat.
I haven’t had any problems with the lenses in any of my Zebras. And I carry them loose in the pocket with keys all the time. Not even a scratch on any of the lenses. Same for the vast majority of Zebralight users. It does not seem necessary to take any special care to protect the lens so a lens protector would not be helpful.
I think that person who had 5 Zebras with shattered lenses was the aberration not the rule.
That said, taking a closer look at the picture of the 5 Zebras with shattered lenses:
- I notice that all of them are frosted lenses. I do vaguely recall some years ago there were complaints that the frosted lenses used by Zebra sometimes had durability issues that were not present with the clear lenses.
- Also he was pocket-carrying the headlight model Zebras. With the lens on the side of the light rather than the bottom I suspect there was a higher chance the surface of the lens would press against his keys. Much more so than if he were carrying a non-headlight Zebra with the lens facing down.
thanks for all the input on the broken Zebras……the H600Fc is on my list
Correct.
Those breaks look like impact damage, as if they were hit by a BB gun pellet.
Sparks
I love ZL though.
EDIT
It says later on in the above thread that ZL has changed to Gorilla Glass in both clear and frosted lenses. Gorilla Glass Credit to eaglespeed
I have bean using several ZL for 10 years, only one lens broke (H600II) and it was just a crack that didn’t really matter in normal use (but wasn’t water proof anymore), at some point I had to repair the switch so I decided to replace it with the 19.2x1mm lens from kaidomain.
It’s true that the lenses are thin (1mm), even the one in the SC700 and thus are probably weaker than in other lights.
why re-animate a zombie thread from 8yrs ago?
Sheesshhhhh!
Start a new one!
I’ve never had a lens in a Zebralight break, but I admit seeing they are only 1 mm thick does not inspire confidence.
If it were a problem, it is fixable.
- Replace the stock lense with a UCL acrylic lens from flashlightlens.com.
- The acrylic lens will be too thick to fit in the light as-is. File half of the edge of the new lens down with a rectangular needle file. I like to use a file whose edge is about half the thickness of the lens. Place the lens between thumb and index finger of left hand and grip hard. Then hold file in right hand and using the edge of the file go around the lens shaving half its thickness off just at the edge. It is important to grip hard with your left hand as you do not want the file to slip and scratch the lens.
- Replace the stock glass lens with your modified acrylic lens. When placing the new lens into the light make sure the thicker portion faces into the reflector rather than sticking out in front of the light.
- Use the stock retaining ring. You may need to destroy the stock lens in order to get the retaining ring out.
The result should be a much thicker lens made from shatter resistant plastic. It should stand up to any pocket abuse without breaking.
I have an H600Fc & H600c. My H600Fc (frosted lens) shattered within a week, and the clear lens replacement shattered within a month of use. I just use it without the glass now. Most people seem to prefer the even beam of the frosted lens, but the clear lens was actually more useful for me. I could be imagining it, but the H600Fc beam seems better with no glass at all compared to the H600c. ZL confirmed both my H600s were built with tempered glass, but the clear glass is stronger for obvious reasons. Consider that your phone glass is also tempered glass, and those shatter often. If a tempered glass “screen protector” were offered for the H600, I’d definitely buy it. Those are useful for protecting the original glass from impact damage, not only scratches as mentioned up thread.
I love ZL for their efficient drivers, non-proprietary cells, neutral emitters, lightweight designs & customer support. I hate ZL for the UI, limited emitter options and weak glass. From my experience, I doubt the Amazon reviewer intentionally damaged his ZLs.
As for abuse, I guess that depends on ZL’s definition of abuse. Personally, I don’t like pocket jewelry, and I don’t “EDC” a flashlight. If I randomly need a light in the city or the power goes out or something, my phone has a 50 lumen flashlight built-in. If your idea of a well-designed flashlight is a McGizmo Haiku, or if you consider carrying a flashlight in the same pocket as your keys abuse, you’ll probably think my H600’s have been tortured. If that’s what ZL had in mind when they designed the H600, then I’ve definitely abused mine. When I decided to buy a ZL, I didn’t choose it over cheap lights like the H1 or SP40; I chose it over the Olight Perun, H30, Black Diamond Icon 700 & Petzl Duo.
My wife and I used headlamps 4+ nights per week October through February last year, and at least once per week the rest of the year, exclusively for rock climbing in the desert. I’m pretty sure headlamps like the H600 were designed to handle much harsher conditions than a pocket filled with keys. Mine are often mounted on helmets, banged against rocks, and the first one was dropped from the side of a cliff. Its durability should be comparable to a similarly priced Olight, but in my experience it isn’t, mostly due to the thinner glass. We’re usually in the desert, so I’ve just been banking on clear night skies for water resistance. Being stranded in the mountains with a useless headlamp would really suck though, so I may order that acrylic lens for monsoon season.
I don’t mean to trash ZL at all. I use them more than any other lights. For what it’s worth, I still went with another H600 despite the glass. Mostly for the sustained output and non-proprietary batteries, since a single 18650 doesn’t always cut it. With Olight Peruns for example, we’d each have to carry 2 spare proprietary Olight 18650/21700 cells, and they would be useless in other lights. Not to mention Olight’s disorienting blue tint.
In my opinion, this isn’t abuse:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUxLNzJrEr\_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
