Zebra Light S6330 has landed!

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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The S6330 is the first bright multi-cell torch I’d consider as my only EDC, though honestly I think Zebralight’s other products (H51, SC52, SC600) give a lot more benefit for EDC use per cubic cm and per dollar.

I see the S6330 as too large and awkward for common EDC purposes, and a bit underwhelming and un-throwy for use as an auxiliary high-power torch. If I pull out a large or multi-cell light, it’s because my smaller lights aren’t letting me see far enough… and the S6330 isn’t about lux or throw so it’s not a huge improvement there.

I’d be better off with a XinTD C8, Skyray King, or Nitecore EA4, which all have significantly better throw without being too large. Actually, the TK75 would be an awesome auxiliary super-torch if it had a lock-out option and was small enough to EDC in my pocket or purse… but the S6330 is simply not appealing for most of the reasons I bother carrying a bigger light.

The S6330 would be an upgrade from my SRK in terms of size, but not if it’s going to turn itself on when it bumps against my brush or a tube of chapstick in my purse with no option for lock-out. Otherwise, it’s actually less useful to me than the SRK since it doesn’t let me see as far. On the far end, the S6330’s range is on par with a cheap zoomie like a SK-68… and on the near end, the SK-68 with its bezel removed is floodier and easier to handle for up-close tasks.

When I first heard about the S6330 I thought it was the Best. Thing. Ever. … I really wanted to buy one, so I’ve looked into it in detail, repeatedly, to try to find an excuse to get one. But the more I look, the less appealing it seems. I really wanted to love it, but I failed.

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These outdoor beam shots (from amaretto at TLF) are interesting.

It’d be nice if he had compared against the cool white versions of SRK and EA4 instead, since the S6330 is a cool white torch… using NW versions makes the other items look dimmer than their CW versions would be. Even in NW though, it looks like the SRK has a much brighter hotspot than S6330 with only a tiny reduction in flood.

Also the SC600w… different class of light, but still relevant:

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strange I have totally opposite view with you. I resisted all ZL lights in the past because of their price. This S6330 is the one I think worth the price. She will definitely not throw as good, just like some don’t like PD32UE for being too floody. But throw is not really useful practically. Flooder is more useful in most situation. Your expectation of good throw in this small size 2400 lumens flashlights might happen 10 years later or might not happen at all.

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I don’t understand why everyone wants a thrower. Flood lights are far more useful.

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Ok, it might happen if 16340 batteries can output maybe 3A safely. Then ZL can have deeper reflector with 3*16340 battery configuration, but it will only run for 10 minutes. Then people will complain again for short runtime or short battery tube.

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I think it’s a little more than that. If you follow both lights through all the tests the ZL quality really shines.

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The early reviews I’ve seen for the S6330 suggest it gets about 1750-2000 lumens and maybe 12000-15000cd lux in something about 80% the size/weight of the SRK (S6330 = 105mm x 57mm, 283g, 429g full). However, there’s a lot of controversy about those lumen measurements since no reviewer has had a proper integrating sphere of sufficient size to test it. Ceiling bounce estimates are all we’ve got so far.

The tests and review’s I’ve seen show the gold SRK gets about 2200-2300 lumens and ~22500cd lux, in something just a bit smaller than a soda can (133mm x 59mm, 341g, 535g full). The black U2 one supposedly gets about 2500 lumens, and probably about 25000 lux.

That works out to the S6330 being ~79% as big, ~83% as heavy, 70–80 as many lumens, ~60% as much throw, and 300% to 500% as much money. Are the size, floodiness, and improved levels/UI worth that much of a price difference? (I didn’t mention the battery features because I really don’t care… it solves problems I’ve never had)

Floody lights aren’t really appealing to me except for up-close indoor tasks, and I already have more appropriate items for those — H51 with scotch 811 tape over the lens, SK-68 or UF-838 (optionally with the bezels removed), HD2011, or (at the S6330’s output levels) a common light bulb. If it’s thousands of lumens, I mostly want to use it outside at longer distances and that means I want more throw.

The UI and extra levels would be nice though, to reduce the need for carrying a second, smaller light. However, I carry a H51 regardless due to hands-free use (and soon probably a SC52 or SC600 too for other purposes) so I’m very unlikely to use a SRK or S6330 for anything except the brightest modes. (the SRK has been particularly useful as a personal “bat signal”, sending a flashing beacon into the sky to help people find me)

It might be better to compare the S6330 against the TM11 since it has a similar price and lumen output to the S6330, but it’s even bigger than the SRK and it took them multiple post-production revisions to get it to stop cooking itself… so, not a shining example of quality.

The Nitecore EA4 is an interesting comparison. It has about 73% the volume and 56% the mass of the S6330, 30% to 50% as many lumens (depending on which S6330 estimates are used), 133% to 166% as much throw, and costs 27% to 49% as much money ($70/$141 to $54/$200). Can be as low as 24% the cost if you include batteries too (4 Eneloops vs 3 ZL 18650s). It lacks the low or ultralow modes though, which get more relevant as the light gets smaller. Regardless, I’ve still been very tempted to get one as a smaller and less floody alternative to my SRK. It doesn’t really serve the same purposes as a S6330 though — look at the beam shots above to see why.

The Lupine Betty TL (IIRC) might be a better comparison, since it’s just slightly smaller than a S6330, has similar output and flood, and is a top-quality brand. However, it’s also $800+, uses 7 emitters instead of three, and I think it uses a proprietary battery pack.

As far as I can tell, nothing else is quite like the S6330.

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I have one and would say the EA4’s more like a TK35, only smaller and powered by AAs.

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Okay, sounds like it’s mostly a matter of taste then. I can dig that. :slight_smile:

My taste is different. I think most of Zebralight’s products are awesome… almost every current product they make is best in its class (as far as I can tell), and I don’t mind paying the mid-range price they ask. It’s a pity they’re all such ugly colors though.

I guess the best-in-class thing might be true to some extent with the S6330 too, or especially with the S6330b if it ever comes out, but it seems to me that’s mostly because they’re the only products in their class.

Excluding common light bulbs, I find flooders nice only for very specific tasks that I don’t do often. I also find narrow-beam throwers like a Thrunite TN31 to only be useful on rare occasion. So, I prefer items with a good mix of flood and throw. I feel like the S6330 (and especially S6330b) are too close to the flood end of the spectrum, while the SRK and TM15 and EYE30 are more usefully balanced. I’d still prefer more throw though, if I’m going to carry something so large.

For the price of a S6330, I’d rather buy a SC600, a SC52, and some spare batteries. Or maybe gift a Convoy S3 with batteries and a charger to eight of my closest friends.

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I am really enjoying this light. Everyone has some good pros and cons about this one. I really feel that for the size and what it does it cant be beat. It is almost half the size of my TN30 and it keeps up with it. It does not throw as far, but the beam has zero artifacts and a wider spill. Plus the UI is amazing! I got it with batteries and for the price I really think it was a good deal for the performance that I am getting out of it.

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Mouse over

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I think it is seriously flawed to think high price equals to non-budget.

I personally buy high price budget flashlights with break through for example SR95S UT and TN31, just to support the brand for their effort, and also enjoy their performance. I don’t support copycat as they are harming budget light brand. I think all these brands are “forced” to make it higher performance with distinguishable features, so that copycat can’t copy so easily. And this will end up higher price, but their price is still budget if you compare to Surefire or other premium brand outside China.

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I like you. :slight_smile:

I don’t think I’ve met many people who would call a $450 highly-specialized flashlight a budget item.

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Can you imagine budget lights are all below 80 USD? It will be super boring.

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Most of the flashlight muggles I’ve talked to lose interest in “budget” lights as soon as I mention a price with more than one digit, simply because their needs don’t justify anything over ~$10 or so. I guess I’m not so different from that… With my needs, I consider any flashlight over $10 or $15 to be a luxury item… luxury because I don’t really need it but it’s nice to have.

For that matter, most of the muggles I’ve talked to think I’m crazy for EDC-ing a flashlight bigger than a Photon Micro-light. But I’m okay with that. I like crazy people so I don’t mind being one. I think you’re crazy too, a good kind of crazy. :slight_smile:

However, “budget” is relative to other similar products and personal needs. A $3k car is often considered a budget purchase, but a $3k notebook computer is usually not. Most people I know don’t bother to spend more than $20 on external data storage (cheap USB stick or cloud storage service), but I think my $800 dedicated NAS was a fantastic bargain (because I actually need one and it’s a lot cheaper than a typical data-center-class storage server).

A $450 top-of-the-line LED thrower might be a bargain you or for a search and rescue team, compared to the non-LED alternatives or the products from a few years ago. However, for an average torch enthusiast I’d generally consider a TN31 (or even de-domed TN31) to be the budget version of an Olight SR95S-UT, or the HD2010 to be the budget version of a TN31. Still not something I have a need for though, so that makes it a luxury item for me instead of a budget item.

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Technology need money to progress. If no one buy those break through and innovative budget light just because their price is high, we will be progressing very slow. You can try to find which flashlight that has SBT-70 and built-in batteries in it that cost less than 450 dollars.
I don’t need most of my flashlights. I just want them. Why you need a 800 dollar NAS? I am curious to know why people need NAS.

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I think it pays to remember that the premium end of the market, which has the budget for R&D helps bring us the budget offerings we all enjoy.

Do you think KIA or Hyundi (in the early days anyway) were the trail blazers for new automotive advancements? Or do you think it was the European manufacturers introducing new ideas?

We need people supporting the leading edge flashlight makers so in time the advancements flow through to lights we can afford.

To those who can afford these lights, my hat off to you and my thanks. Hopefully occasionally I may join your ranks!

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That’s exactly what she said. Jokes aside, I agree!

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Fortunately, it seems that Zebralight is having no trouble selling the S6330; instead they’ve had a hard time keeping up with the demand. Good for them! They’re my favorite torch company and I like to see them succeeding. However, I don’t have to like all of their products. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

It’s a pretty nice torch, honestly. But when I bother to pull out such a large light (the S6330 is still quite large for EDC), it’s because I want something ridiculously bright which throws a long way. And I already have a SRK which serves that purpose better for a quarter of the cost. For other uses, I can use smaller, more convenient lights like ZL’s fabulous H51 or a cigar-sized 1x18650 torch.

As for the NAS, my true calling to geekdom is computers. Free software, specifically, but also anything related to information theory, programming, filesystems and databases, revision control, computer graphics, sound, video, networking, service-oriented architecture, and a variety of other entangled topics. The NAS is a small piece of my overall home network infrastructure which serves both my personal and professional needs. I have a minimum of seven computers running at any given time, each with its own purpose, and the 8TB NAS is less than half of the network’s total storage capacity. It’s actually a pretty modest setup relative to many of my colleagues, but I get by okay with it.

But that’s pretty far off-topic. So, have you heard about that new thing that glows in the dark?

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Will this impress you? Fully thermally monitored and controlled. Hope that it is not too senstive though.