Fenix Zebralight H50-Q5 Headlamp

Simon…

Have you tried the Zebra yet? I also love the 2, 13, 66 brightness steps. 2 inside the tent checking something, 13 for many camp chores, 66 for navigation. Doh! It always uses a flood style beam. Have you had a chance to use it. I passed on it because I figured the throw wouldn't be long enough for decent way finding.

I have found that the click on the L1D is nice one handed… but I can operate the ring one handed (between normal and turbo mode) so long as my hands aren't frozen. I wish I just which I could get the intensities on my fenix L1D to be more like the zebra – 2, 13, 107, rather than the current, 13, 53, 107.

–mark

godamit now i want it

Hi Mark,
No, I don't own a Zebra, I'm still sitting on the fence. I corrected my original post: the L0D's Low setting is 7.5 lumens–at least the one I have (Fenix is now using Q4 bin Crees on all L0Ds, which is 11 lumens on Low).

Anyway, here are the comparative lumens, Low to High):
Zebra (1 – AA):
2.6
13
66

L0D (1 – AAA):
7.5
20
50

L1D (1 – AA):
9
40
80
90 (Turbo)

The Zebra is 30% or so brighter than the AAA L0D, but not as bright as the AA L1D. Not conclusive since we don't have beam data, but my L0D (flood type) has quite a good throw on High, about the same as my Princeton Tec EOS 1 on High.

What are the odds that 90^ head will screw onto an L1D body and be available as an accessory?

The updated LOD (Q4) has the following lumens:

9
25
75

Therefore the updated version is more powerful than the Zebra at all levels (though with reduced run times). Still, the form factor of the Zebra is compelling, and almost convinced me to buy one. My big concern, however, is the warning from their website on the use of Lithium AAAs; they state that Lithium batteries will not last as long and create a dimmer light. This says to me the light circuitry is not optimized for Lithium. Compare this to the Fenix reviews, in which Lithium gives brighter light for longer periods.

I definitely like the form factor of the Zebra; it's a brilliant way to minimize weight and bulk of a headlamp vs. an EOS-shaped design. But I'm going to wait until Zebra improves the circuitry. Even then, I think I would want a more focused beam pattern for navigation.

googled the light and landed on candlepowerforums-com. These guys are all into lights. Pretty interesting considering right now this afternoon there's over 400 people reviewing and writing about anything to do with flashlights. Anyway, everyone who's posted in their forums love it. They say it doesn't throw a far enough beam for aggressive hiking but for everyday chores or setting up camp, night reading, it's perfect. So, I'm going to give it a shot.

How would this compare to a tikka plus?

Just received the light today so just some initial impressions on the Q5. Very comfortable, very light,seems like it's going to be a great little addition. The lowest setting is great for night reading in the tent and the highest output puts out a nice wide light for setting up camp, finding firewood, etc. I've owned a tikka plus and used it for fishing purposes. That as well is a great light and is probably better for hiking on the trail. The tikka is a narrower beam with the ability to throw more light in front of you making it better for getting to camp but not good for reading or close at hand tasks where you don't want to lose your night vision. Overall, so far, very happy I ordered it. For those of you on the fence, make it a present to yourself. Buy it!! Eric

Eric,
Thanks for sharing your first impressions.

Can you operate the twisty switch with one hand? If you can, does the light swivel in the bracket?

Thanks,
Simon

Hey Simon, no you can't really operate it one handed because the light does spin inside the silicone holder. I'm sure it can be corrected somehow eg. wrapping the light with a piece of electrical or duct tape to make the light diameter itself thicker but still able to take out of the headband if need be and would provide some resistance against the spinning. Eric

Sounds great. Im thinking about getting the zebralight and an L1D to use together. The L1D will be mounted on the zebralight strap with an extra silicon attachment. My only worry is that the spill from the light will irritate the closer eye, especially if im wearing glasses. Any suggestions/comments?

Eric: the two-handed operation is what I was afraid of. Not the end of the world, but every headlamp I own I can operate one-handed. Hmmmm….

Jon: Using the L1D in the extra silicone bracket would be like using any other flashlight with a JakStrap headband (Google it), the further back (closer to your ear) the better the forward spill of the beam, but the greater the shadow your head creates (on the opposite side). It's not a big deal and mine works very well with the L1D, but the real problem is with eyeglasses: the reflection from the lens can be a real bother. Does the Zebra baracket swivel vertically? (I think not). The JakStrap has two elastic slots; one in-line with the strap (hardly ever use that one), and another angled down about 20 deg. or so. However, using the L1D in a straight-ahead direction will probably be OK if it's used for pure spotting.

Just as an FYI, I emailed Zebralight the other day about their lights and I received this response. It may be worth waiting for…

"For navigating on trails,
our new H30 should be a much better choice. The H30 will be on our website in a few days."

“My big concern, however, is the warning from their website on the use of Lithium AAAs;…”

If you’re talking about zebralight, they state “One AA alkaline, NiMH rechargeable or lithium. Limited Li-ion support: when used with a 14500 Li-ion battery, the light output levels are the same at Low and Medium but lower at High. Runtimes will be shorter.
Reverse polarity protection”

This tells me they do very well with primary lithiums but not with li-ion. This is true w/ fenix lights too. Runtimes are shorter w/ li-on (not primary lithiums) because there’s less energy in li-ons (per volume).

But the poster “Jkrew81” had some exciting news about hiking w/ a zebralight!

Probably very few here would use a ‘blinky’ mode but this would make the zebralight more universal for me. I use the L1D backpacking and biking. When biking, I put it in flash mode and other cars claim they see me a mile a way! In daylight! Good!

-Barry

I use the L1D for hiking and running as well and it rocks. To bad they do not make a light like this in true headlamp form (I know you can use a Jakstrap, but I think it is kind of awkward)

Thanks for the clarification, Barry. That's great to know. I might pick up one of the H30s when they come out in a few days, and use my Fenix LOD Q5 as my backup/everyday light.

“I might pick up one of the H30s when they come out in a few days,”

Good news: they’re here: http://www.zebralight.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=184
Bad news: They are out of stock
Bad news for Barry: They use a CR123 :( Since I use my Fenix L1D every single day, AA’s are much less hassle to acquire.

-Barry

I purchased one myself this morning. Check out the review below, it looks super promising…

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=194427