Sorry my light is so awesome

[gustophersmob]

Thanks for the tips in this thread about the led type.  For the avg person, it should really be made clearer on the 'fancy' light sites about what cool white and neutral and CRI mean.  NOW I understand at least. 

Long story short thanks to this new info, I have three on the way since I couldnt decide.  Zebra H51w, Zebra SC51Fw and a Peak El Capitan (neutral/medium beam/keychain).  I couldnt figure out what exactly I wanted so I had to get the zebra most folks like, and then a floody, and then one of those peak ones to see how I like the infinite variable type.  LOL.  OH well I wanted a light, now at least one of these should satisfy the need.   

Also since those are all aluminum frames I figured I could strip them and hard anodize in OD green, or Red since I do that for my SAK mods I can just throw in flashlight parts along with those.

I think you'll be pleased with your choices.

I personally wouldn't try stripping any of the zebralights down to anodize them.  Every story I've read of someone trying to take one apart just destroys it due to the way they are built.

The peak's head is potted, so even that would require some patience to de-pot without messing it up.

Not that you shouldn't do what you want with your lights, just wanted to warn you in advance

[Beerplumber]

The zebras are really well anodized to begin with IMHO. My H31 still looks brand new and the colour is close to an OD as well. I would begin to guess at how they would come apart but I be interested to watch someone do it.


Stay multi my friends

[Syph007]

Oh there I go assuming that everything is moddable and comes apart.  Oh well, no big deal, but it seemed like a perk to change the color.  I tried googling for peoples attempts to disassemble them but couldn't find any.  Any links to failed attempts?

[Beerplumber]

Oh there I go assuming that everything is moddable and comes apart.  Oh well, no big deal, but it seemed like a perk to change the color.  I tried googling for peoples attempts to disassemble them but couldn't find any.  Any links to failed attempts?

hah no but I'm going to start looking! I dont think anyone can say it can't be done I just haven't seen it yet.


Stay multi my friends

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Oh there I go assuming that everything is moddable and comes apart.  Oh well, no big deal, but it seemed like a perk to change the color.  I tried googling for peoples attempts to disassemble them but couldn't find any.  Any links to failed attempts?

Don't know of any myself either; I've only ever seen external mods.  There's a thread over at CPF called "Zebralight Mods" in the headlamps forum; it'll give you and idea of what some people have done.  I personally like mine just the way they are and have felt no need at all to do anything to them other than use some diffusion film.

[Syph007]

Oh there I go assuming that everything is moddable and comes apart.  Oh well, no big deal, but it seemed like a perk to change the color.  I tried googling for peoples attempts to disassemble them but couldn't find any.  Any links to failed attempts?

Don't know of any myself either; I've only ever seen external mods.  There's a thread over at CPF called "Zebralight Mods" in the headlamps forum; it'll give you and idea of what some people have done.  I personally like mine just the way they are and have felt no need at all to do anything to them other than use some diffusion film.

Oh Im sure they are fine as they are.  I just have a problem where I cant leave things alone and have to see how I can 'improve' them or at least tinker.   

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Oh there I go assuming that everything is moddable and comes apart.  Oh well, no big deal, but it seemed like a perk to change the color.  I tried googling for peoples attempts to disassemble them but couldn't find any.  Any links to failed attempts?

Don't know of any myself either; I've only ever seen external mods.  There's a thread over at CPF called "Zebralight Mods" in the headlamps forum; it'll give you and idea of what some people have done.  I personally like mine just the way they are and have felt no need at all to do anything to them other than use some diffusion film.

Oh Im sure they are fine as they are.  I just have a problem where I cant leave things alone and have to see how I can 'improve' them or at least tinker.   

Heresy!!!

Zebralights are perfect just as they are!!!

       

[Beerplumber]

Stay multi my friends

[Syph007]

Oh there I go assuming that everything is moddable and comes apart.  Oh well, no big deal, but it seemed like a perk to change the color.  I tried googling for peoples attempts to disassemble them but couldn't find any.  Any links to failed attempts?

Don't know of any myself either; I've only ever seen external mods.  There's a thread over at CPF called "Zebralight Mods" in the headlamps forum; it'll give you and idea of what some people have done.  I personally like mine just the way they are and have felt no need at all to do anything to them other than use some diffusion film.

Oh Im sure they are fine as they are.  I just have a problem where I cant leave things alone and have to see how I can 'improve' them or at least tinker.   

Heresy!!!

Zebralights are perfect just as they are!!!

       

Naaa, there's always room for improvement.  How about a threaded bezel to swap lenses from clear to the dispersion type? 

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Oh there I go assuming that everything is moddable and comes apart.  Oh well, no big deal, but it seemed like a perk to change the color.  I tried googling for peoples attempts to disassemble them but couldn't find any.  Any links to failed attempts?

Don't know of any myself either; I've only ever seen external mods.  There's a thread over at CPF called "Zebralight Mods" in the headlamps forum; it'll give you and idea of what some people have done.  I personally like mine just the way they are and have felt no need at all to do anything to them other than use some diffusion film.

Oh Im sure they are fine as they are.  I just have a problem where I cant leave things alone and have to see how I can 'improve' them or at least tinker.   

Heresy!!!

Zebralights are perfect just as they are!!!

       

Naaa, there's always room for improvement.  How about a threaded bezel to swap lenses from clear to the dispersion type? 

Okay... yeah, you got me.     That would be really nice, I have to admit.  (I think I even mentioned it in a post a year or so ago over on CPF.) 

For me, I'd love to have a true deep red filter, and a night-vision green filter.  My wife and I have done a lot of amateur astronomy, and I'd love to have those filters for star parties and the like.  And a detachable frosted lens would be pretty sweet too.

[Gareth]

My boss was more than a little impressed with my torch this morning when he borrowed it to find something that had fallen in a dark corner under his desk.  What was the light?  Just a measly little Thrunite Ti with a mere 60 lumen.   An excellent light and all that but I did have to tell him that it's a long way from my brightest light.

[RayzBladz]

I got a Thrunite Ti a little over a month ago, and it quickly replaced the Fenix E01 as my pocket carry. For $3 more than the Fenix you get far superior knurling, 2 brightness levels (I got the 3 L/60L version), and a glass lens. Amazon only had the black one, but I like it so well I have a red and blue one ordered from Illumination Supply, along with a Preon P0. They also have a version with .4 lumens on the low setting, with great advertised run time, but I haven't tried that one yet. These Thrunites are a great bargain IMO.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

I got a Thrunite Ti a little over a month ago, and it quickly replaced the Fenix E01 as my pocket carry. For $3 more than the Fenix you get far superior knurling, 2 brightness levels (I got the 3 L/60L version), and a glass lens. Amazon only had the black one, but I like it so well I have a red and blue one ordered from Illumination Supply, along with a Preon P0. They also have a version with .4 lumens on the low setting, with great advertised run time, but I haven't tried that one yet. These Thrunites are a great bargain IMO.

I keep hearing good things about those little Thrunites... I'd like to pick one up, but my HCRI Preon does everything I need in terms of a keychain sized light, and I really like having the extra level.  Medium and High aren't that much different with a 1xAAA body, but they are with the 2xAAA body.  It really makes the Preon into a true general EDC light, having that high output level.  I vacillated between the two, switching the head and clicky tail cap I have back and forth between the 1xAAA and 2xAAA bodies, but now I've settled on the Preon 1 body.  I have other torches I can carry when I know I'll need more output, and the P1 body is really excellent for pocket carry.  My next torch purchases will be a Zebralight H502c, and a high output warm XML P60 drop in and a new host for it; probably one of the new Solarforce P1 composite bodies.

[New_World]

There's a couple of Maglite users at work and there shocked at how my torches comprehensively destroy there 4x C cell mags

I pull out my 1x AAA light and its brighter than someones 4x c maglite.   

[gustophersmob]

Oh there I go assuming that everything is moddable and comes apart.  Oh well, no big deal, but it seemed like a perk to change the color.  I tried googling for peoples attempts to disassemble them but couldn't find any.  Any links to failed attempts?

Don't know of any myself either; I've only ever seen external mods.  There's a thread over at CPF called "Zebralight Mods" in the headlamps forum; it'll give you and idea of what some people have done.  I personally like mine just the way they are and have felt no need at all to do anything to them other than use some diffusion film.

AFAIK, the SC600 is the only zebra that may be somewhat easily modded, at least the LED.  See here

I think the reason it is hard to find posts about disassembled zebralights is that pretty early on it was found out they don't come apart easily.  See here, for example.  It is an older H30, but the new lights are made in a similar fashion, minus the screws holding the switch cover ring on.

Some other threads of interest that, while not showing disassembly, help give a good idea of how difficult it is to do:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?328729-has-anyone-had-a-Zebralight-re-coated
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?329727-How-to-replace-a-cracked-Zebralight-lens.&p=3830990&viewfull=1#post3830990
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?341805-Who-can-do-an-SC60-emitter-swap-for-me

Not all the most useful threads if you are wanting to tear it down, but its all I could find

[Syph007]

Oh there I go assuming that everything is moddable and comes apart.  Oh well, no big deal, but it seemed like a perk to change the color.  I tried googling for peoples attempts to disassemble them but couldn't find any.  Any links to failed attempts?

Don't know of any myself either; I've only ever seen external mods.  There's a thread over at CPF called "Zebralight Mods" in the headlamps forum; it'll give you and idea of what some people have done.  I personally like mine just the way they are and have felt no need at all to do anything to them other than use some diffusion film.

AFAIK, the SC600 is the only zebra that may be somewhat easily modded, at least the LED.  See here

I think the reason it is hard to find posts about disassembled zebralights is that pretty early on it was found out they don't come apart easily.  See here, for example.  It is an older H30, but the new lights are made in a similar fashion, minus the screws holding the switch cover ring on.

Some other threads of interest that, while not showing disassembly, help give a good idea of how difficult it is to do:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?328729-has-anyone-had-a-Zebralight-re-coated
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?329727-How-to-replace-a-cracked-Zebralight-lens.&p=3830990&viewfull=1#post3830990
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?341805-Who-can-do-an-SC60-emitter-swap-for-me

Not all the most useful threads if you are wanting to tear it down, but its all I could find

Hey thanks! I was searching for threads like those, but couldnt dig up any. 

Edit: Ok I see how its not the easiest and it might need a new lens, but now it seems like a challenge I gotta try.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

That's definitely good info to know.  Not that I myself am going to try it any time soon, but I'd love to have an HCRI XPG in my SC600... That would be pretty sweet, even if it didn't have quite the same output, because of the efficiency difference between the XML and the XPG...

Honestly though, I'm going to go an easier route to get the HCRI barn burner I want... I've got my eye on one of the new Solarforce P1 composite hosts, and a mulitmode Nailbender P60 drop-in for it with a highly amped HCRI XPG.  600 lumens of rosy goodness out the front from one 18650! 

[Syph007]

Honestly though, I'm going to go an easier route to get the HCRI barn burner I want... I've got my eye on one of the new Solarforce P1 composite hosts, and a mulitmode Nailbender P60 drop-in for it with a highly amped HCRI XPG.  600 lumens of rosy goodness out the front from one 18650! 

Sir, I dont speak flashlight, but whatever you said here sounds cool!

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Honestly though, I'm going to go an easier route to get the HCRI barn burner I want... I've got my eye on one of the new Solarforce P1 composite hosts, and a mulitmode Nailbender P60 drop-in for it with a highly amped HCRI XPG.  600 lumens of rosy goodness out the front from one 18650! 

Sir, I dont speak flashlight, but whatever you said here sounds cool!

Sorry, let me translate...

HCRI = high color rendering index... produces an output spectrum with a broader range of wavelengths in it, closer to what real sunlight is actually like, shows colors better because the wider range of wavelengths is more likely to be reflected by an object so we see its actual color.  Typically these emitters are neutral or more often warm tinted, and have a "rosy" or sometimes "peachy" tint to their beams, making them very aesthetically pleasing to the eye as well.

(Color as we perceive it in objects is a product of what's called 'subtractive color mixing'.  As you add pigment to an object, it absorbs more and more of the light that hits it.  Once you've added enough different color pigments, the range of wavelengths they absorb overlaps enough that it appears black, because very little (if any) light is being reflected by the object.  However, we can still typically see the object because all surfaces have at least a minimal amount of albedo, or reflectance.  This is how the brightness of printer paper is measured; when you buy a package of printer paper that says it has a '92 brightness', that means it has an albedo rating of 92; it reflects 92% of all the light that hit is.  If we could make a surface that was both perfectly black and with absolutely no albedo, we'd perceive it as basically a disembodied hole in the fabric of reality.)

Solarforce: A flashlight company in Hong Kong that makes 'bare' or empty flashlight 'hosts'.  You have to buy a separate 'drop-in' module to go in the host.  The beauty of the P60 system is that you can mix and match modules and hosts.  Solarforce (and SureFire too) have a lot of interchangeable parts, heads, bodies, and tail caps, so that you can play Lego with them and put together most anything you can think of.  The new P1 composite host they have has an aluminum body structure, with a layer of FRN around it that's available in different colors.

Nailbender: a custom P60 module maker known for the quality of his work, and the high output and performance of the modules he makes.  Can be very pricey compared to mass produced modules, but if you pony up the $$$ for a full custom module from him, he can make some very awesome stuff.

[Syph007]

Ahhh I see.  So there is quite an industry around this flashlight component modularity... huh.  Thats pretty cool! 

[gustophersmob]

I would love to get into some of the lego stuff, but I'm afraid once I start my wallet wold empty in a flash!   

Thanks, Heinz, for the explanation of albedo.  Something I didn't know about.

[Beerplumber]

Great info! I love where this thread went!


Stay multi my friends