[Runtimes Review] - Zebralight H604c 1x 18650 Cree XHP50.2 4000K - 93@95 CRI headlamp

Today I publish runtimes for my Zebralight H604c 1x 18650 Cree XHP50.2 4000K - 93@95 CRI headlamp.

Unfortunately, Zebralight moved this model into the discontinued section of their website at the end of April. The results should be exactly the same as the H600c Mk IV.

I initially had trouble measuring the lumen output of this light in my shoebox due to the super flood nature of it. With a 120° beam flood, the light was shining directly onto the phone’s light sensor. At first, I added baffle, but it was too big and got inconsistent results. I only needed a small baffle. Small enough just to avoid the light to shine onto the phones light sensor. Then I used an array of lights to calibrate the shoebox. I am very happy with the results and am now getting very consistent results with other reviewers like zeroair or grizzly. Still, it is a rudimentary amateur setup so don’t take these numbers as the absolute truth.

I bought the light in October 2022 directly from zebralight•com, then used stackry•com mail forwarding services to ship the item to Canada. I had a flawless experience with them.

Here’s the actual version I bought:


All tests were done with a Sanyo NCR18650GA 3500mAh battery.
All tests are carried out at room temperature in my basement (19°C) and an extra runtime is performed if the level is high enough for the heat to build up, just to avoid the thermal protection to kick in. The thermal regulation is set to default.

Let’s start with Level 12 (turbo):


Cooled runtime: After 30 seconds at 1499 lumens, the output dropped to 1466 lumens and was steady until the 24th min mark.
Uncooled: Here the output quickly dropped into a ~357-425 lumens zone for a total run of nearly 3.1 hours.

Level 11:


Cooled runtime: After 3 min at 1007 lumens, the output dropped to 985 lumens and was steady until the 67th min mark.
Uncooled: Here the output quickly dropped into a ~379-460 lumens zone for a total run of 3.1 hours.

Level 10:


Cooled runtime: 544 lumens for 147 mins.
Uncooled: Again, the output quickly dropped into a ~359-435 lumens zone for a total run of 3.2 hours.

Level 9:


Uncooled: 283/289 lumens for 5.3 hours (322 min)

Level 8:


Uncooled: 127/124 lumens for a boring ~12.8 hours (767 min). I watched the light all the time :rofl:.

First 200 minutes:

I don’t have any other 1x 18650 headlamps to compare with. My other headlamp is the AA version of this one: the H503c. I have one in the mail, but it’s the H600c Mk IV so I expect to get the same results within normal variations.

See ya !

3 Thanks