I bought the ZebraLight H53Fc N headlamp while visiting China.
Here is my review:
4 Thanks
Thanks for the very informative review.
PSA, for people interested in using LiIon in the SC53c N.
(corrections and additional info welcome):
Zebralight deleted LVP from the driver, to make room for more mode groups, and officially the light is not LiIon compatible. info source
USB Rechargeable Protected 14500 LiIon from Lumintop, fit and work in SC53c N.
When going from 14500 LiIon, back to AA, remove the LiIon and Press the Switch for a moment, while the light has no battery inside, before inserting the AA battery.
This resets the battery meter so it works w AA Voltage after using LiIon…
—
update, further testing of LVP of the 53 series suggests that
10A batteries will turn off around 3V, whereas
3A battery will overdischarge… more details here
—
3 Thanks
I’m tempted to try an Acebeam 14500 with USB-C and sweep from 4.20V to 0V with a bench power supply. 
fwiw, no one has reported any damage from using LiIon. the benefits are
a brighter H1 (about double), afaik all the other outputs remain unchanged.
a LiIon 14500 weighs 7 grams less than an AA Eneloop
I dont know if there is any runtime advantage from LiIon.
If you test LiIon, please share whether it eliminates the M2 output fluctuation, or not.
I do think its great that Zebra has finally started using Nichia LEDs. I agree it is unfortunate the light is so hard to open.
fwiw, here are some pointers on tool options to remove the bezel:
This post describes one way to get the bezel out, in order to dedome the stock 4000K 519a in the SC53c N. Dedoming can be accomplished without removing any of the potting.
This post shows a different tool option used to remove the bezel.
1 Thank
It might be an issue with the TSL2591 sensor that I’m using. I’m taking measurements every 100 milliseconds.
Apologies! I’ll update my review.
I tried to measure the flicker with an Opple LM3 and LM4 several times and the results were ok.
30% modulation depth with L1. Any fluctuation that I might have perceived for M2 definitely isn’t as strong as L1.
ZebraLight H53Fc N - M2 - first 10 minutes
Another test:
ReyLight Pinapple Mini - first 10 minute
I tried an Acebeam 14500 3.7V 920mAh Li-ion cell with USB-C charging in the ZebraLight H53Fc N and it didn’t immediately burn anything (Group 5, H1).
Discussions on here and reddit about ZebraLight firmware previously supporting 14500 Li-ion 3.7V cells gave me some confidence to try a Li-ion cell with protection and built-in charging.
I’ll do some Li-ion runtime tests for Group 5 to compare with Ni-MH.
1 Thank
14500 and send it. I absolutely despise my Eneloop pro’s. They discharge too fast when just sitting there to the point they aren’t useful anymore. Whereas, the 14500 do not discharge as quick. H10’s btw.
1 Thank
glad all is well 
Im a fan of the convenience of USB charging
455 lumen @ 30 seconds with an Acebeam 14500 
1 Thank
I’ll ask to be 100% sure - You can use 14500 in H53Fw and it won’t kill the driver?
Nice review TimMc!
Agreed that it’s great ZebraLight is using 519A LEDs which addresses the whole tint lottery issue they’ve had over the years. Fortunately the 2 XM-L2s I have are fine.
I like the AA/14500 versatility built into my SC52w L2. The Li-ion brightness for such a little flashlight is impressive! But the parasitic drain on the Li-ion battery is bad enough that I have to unscrew the tailcap when not in use.
1 Thank
Thanks for reading!
Oh, I may need to measure the parasitic drain with a Li-ion cell inserted. I measured 2.2 µA with a Ni-MH cell.
H1, H2, M1 and M2 runtimes with a 14500 are almost complete. I’ll add some more graphs and details.
UnOfficially, that is True,
but, there is no Low Voltage Protection in the 53 series Zebras,
that is why Tim used an Acebeam 14500 for his UnOfficial test, it has LVP in the battery.
Zebralight the company, does Not Officially support using LiIon in the 53 series…
Nice review.
One error I saw in the review is the battery check (4C): it blinks out 1-4 flashes for the battery level, whereas you started it blinks out the voltage.
Whoops! Thank you. I’ve updated it.
I measured 6.5 µA with an Acebeam ARC14500 920mAh 3.7V Li-ion cell inserted.
I’ve added runtime results for a 14500 cell.
M1 lasted longer with a Ni-MH battery.
| Cell | Mode | User manual | Runtime | Turn off | Final voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14500 | H1 | 1h 4min 15s | 1h 4min 15s | 2.99 | |
| 14500 | H2 | 1h 41min 58s | 1h 41min 58s | 3.19 | |
| 14500 | M1 | 4h 27min 21s | 4h 27min 21s | 3.29 | |
| 14500 | M2 | 13h+ | 13h+ | 3.80 | |
| Ni-MH | H1 | 1h 18min 49s | 2h+ | 0.86 | |
| Ni-MH | H2 | 1h 47min 20s | 2h+ | 1.05 | |
| Ni-MH | M1 | 7h 0min 18s | 8h+ | 0.83 | |
| Ni-MH | M2 | 13h+ | 13h+ |
1 Thank
suprising results…
thanks for the great data
I dont personally see much advantage to LiIon in this case…
Im not a H1 user, for M1 Eneloop lasts 2.5 hours longer…
1 Thank
That’s much better than the 0.13mA I measure with my SC52w L2!
1 Thank