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Zebralight SC64c LE

PUBLISHED ON 16/10/2019 — EDITED ON 11/12/2023 — TECHNOLOGY

Intro

The best 18650 city EDC.

Zebralight SC64c LE

Official site

Official user guide

Review

Pros

  • Great tint
  • Great beam profi;e
  • Great spot vs flood ratio for EDC
  • Long runtime
  • Really small form factor for the 18650 powered light
  • Lightweight
  • Great UI
  • Nicely lubed from the factory
  • Super grip, even if it does not look like it from the pictures as there almost is no knurling
  • I guess it is not a limited edition anymore
  • Best moonlight modes
  • Full power until the battery is really low
  • I love the minimalistic package with no plastic, only cardboard

Cons

  • If you need a throwy light, pick the HI version
  • Clip could be better, if you remove it, there is a part that sticks out and it is pretty sharp.
  • No designated hole for lanyard

Specifications

LED emitter

One of the more popular LED choices in flashlight enthusiast world, the Samsung LH351D.

Beam Type:

  • 80 degree spill
  • 12 degree hot spot

Battery

  • Operating Voltage Range: 2.7V - 6.0V
  • Battery: One 18650 size (i.e. unprotected, 65.0-65.2 mm long) 3.6-4.35V li-ion rechargeable. Batteries are not included in the package.
  • Parasitic Drain: Negligible (much less than the self discharging of a battery)
  • Battery reverse polarity protection

Dimensions

  • Head Diameter: 24.5 mm
  • Length: 92.5 mm

Weight

  • 38 gram without battery
  • 87 gram fully loaded (my measurement)

Features

  • PID thermal regulated outputs (two highest output levels)
  • Builtin battery protections with continuously monitored temperature, current, and voltage, plus a (2.7V) low voltage cutoff
  • Battery capacity indicator (LED flashes 1-4 times, 4 short clicks to start)
  • Automatic stepping down from High to Medium, and from Medium to Low when battery capacity is low
  • Durable electronic soft-touch switch
  • Smart user interface provides fast and easy access to all brightness levels and beacon-strobes.
  • Precision machined unibody casing from premium grade aluminum bar stocks
  • Proprietary heat sinking design bonds the LED board directly to the unibody aluminum casing
  • Durable natural hard anodized finish (Type III Class I)
  • Sealed and potted LED driver circuitry
  • Tempered optical grade glass
  • Orange peel textured reflector
  • Pre-installed pocket clip
  • Waterproof to IPX8 (2 meters, 30 minutes)

User interface

User Selectable Levels: 3 main levels (High, Medium and Low). Each main level can be programmed to one of its two sub-levels. The second sub-level of the each main levels can be further programmed to different brightness levels.

My settings

Here is how I have my light programmed. I am not a fan of hacking the G6 and G7, to get shortcuts to behave differenly. Mine is set up, so G6 is “low/bedside night light” mode and G7 as “outside” mode.

You can change the mode with 5, 6 or 7 clicks from OFF respectively.

LumensG5 - EDCG6 - LOWG7 - HIGH
828 PID*H1H1
533 PID*H2
314H2M1
168M2
83M1L1
37L2
15.3M2H1
5.7H2
1.9L1M1
0.62M2
0.17L1
0.05L2L2

*PID = Proportional, Integral and Derivative controller

Bold settings are immutable.

Strobe modes

  • 0.2Hz Beacon at Low
  • 0.2Hz Beacon at H1
  • 4Hz Strobe at H1
  • 19Hz Strobe at H1

*(access with triple click from OFF, cycle with doubleclick)