Zebralight SC700d HI Flashlight Review
The Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight nearly scratches the itch of a “big, flashlighty” thrower by Zebralight. The domeless “HI” emitter is neutral and high CRI!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight product page.
Versions
There’s just one Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight but there are other SC700s by Zebralight. I’ve even reviewed one already.
Price
The Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight has an MSRP (and street price) of $129. That doesn’t include a cell, but Zebralight also sells those.
Note: When I bought this it was listed as “Backordered.” Right now it’s showing as “In Stock.” Mine still shipped within just a few days of being ordered, despite being listed as backordered. I wouldn’t really worry too much if it’s listed as back-ordered, and you want to order it.
What’s Included
- Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight
- Pocket clip
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Standard Zebralight box here! Nice and recyclable.
Build Quality and Disassembly
Zebralight is known for this “natural” anodization that’s used on all their lights. The Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight has this too.
I’m not saying it’s a polarizing color, but you’re likely to either be ok with it or not really care. It’s fairly safe. But it’s not black, as are most of the other flashlights available, so in that sense, it’s a nice break.
Furthermore, this flashlight is extraordinarily flashlighty. When I see a flashlight in my head – the “ideal” flashlight – it’s very much this shape. It’s not specifically nostalgia (but it’s also not not nostalgia), but man does the SC700d scratch an itch about flashlights for me. The SC700d can basically become the answer to “what is ‘flashlighty?’”
Part of what’s so great about this light is that it’s not overrun with options. Do you want to swap the cell? You remove the tailcap. There’s no option to remove the cell tube and put the cell in through the head. I truly appreciate the efficiency of fewer choices.
I’ll mention these threads here, too. They’re exceptionally smooth threads, aided by the excellent tailcap grip. These threads are square-cut, anodized, lubed, and not really very long. Since they’re anodized, you have the option of mechanical lockout with the tailcap – just loosen the cap the slightest bit to break the connection.
Interestingly the tailcap has springy parts that aren’t specifically springs – there are these 8 little springy pins for contacting the 21700 cell. Zebralight has had other lights with these pins, and the pins didn’t work too well – they could dent a cell when the light was impacted. But these are greater in number, and I believe placed more appropriately to prevent such an issue.
On the head end (inside the cell tube) are also pogo pins, but they’re fewer. This makes sense because those pins contact the positive terminal of the 21700, which is a smaller area. Again, I don’t think these will cause cell damage from an impact, but that’s just my intuition speaking and not experience.
Here’s the head. I love how the head flares, and contains this big deep reflector. Also, these cooling fins while not deep, do function quite nicely to manage heat. More on that later though.
Size and Comps
Dimensions
- Head Diameter: 1.5 inches (38.1 mm)
- Body Diameter: 1.1 inches (28 mm)
- Length: 4.2 inches (106 mm)
Weight
- 3.2 oz (91 gram) without battery
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a custom laser-engraved Convoy S2+ host by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or just go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!
Also above is the light beside a TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats. I also reviewed that specific edition, the “Oveready BOSS FT Collector Vintage Brass” 35. I love it!
Retention and Carry
There’s a removable pocket clip with the Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight.
About the clip: This is not the run-of-the-mill clip that is on so many lights lately. Those clips are good, but this clip is better. It’s more of a deep carry clip, which also has a shiny finish that allows easy on and off a pocket. The carry is almost deep enough to put the light flush with the top edge of the pocket – the light sticks over the clip by just a few mm. I like those ubiquitous clips just fine: I really like this clip. (Note this isn’t just Zebralight fanboy talking: the JETBeam Jet-II Pro had a clip in this same style, and I loved that clip too.) The clip is not reversible since there is no groove on the head of the light for it.
It’s hard to really say this is a “pocket clip” though since the head really flares too much for the SC700d to ride comfortably in a pocket. Belt clip, maybe, and it’d work great for that. Backpack strap clip, maybe.
The clip doesn’t require too much force to remove. It’ll come off with little worry of being the clip. Bear this in mind if you clip your lights in such a way that they could be lost if the clip comes off. Not to say that it’s loose, though. It’s more snug than, say, a Convoy S2+ friction clip.
The Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight offers no lanyard attachment point, which is noteworthy. I don’t miss it, but it’s something you might want to know.
Power and Runtime
The Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight is intended to run on a single lithium-ion cell. The cell tube is sized for a 21700 cell. Zebralight recommends and sells this Samsung 40T.
The cell fits into the flashlight in the usual way – positive terminal toward the head. There’s nothing sticking out when the cell is installed, either.
I used a Molicel P42A, a 4200mAh 21700. That’s in line with the 4000mAh 40T that Zebralight sells.
Below you can find runtime tests. Output is great, especially for a 5000K High CRI light. It’s not until the third mode that output is completely stable without being adjusted for temperature reasons.
Note that on the runtime test below, the light did not shut off and ran the cell all the way down to 2.27V!! That is not ideal, but it’s also what I experienced with the SC700d (the floody one) on bench power.
The output is very low and the light does give a blinking warning. You’ll notice that the cell is low, certainly.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | 2600 | “PID” ~ 2.0h | 2598 (0s) 2558 (30s) |
2.96^ |
| H2 | 1360 | “PID” ~ 2.1h | 1303 (0s) 1295 (30s) |
2.86 |
| 900 | “PID” ~ 2.4h | 915 (0s) 868 (30s) |
1.76 | |
| 550 | 4.1h | 540 | 1.03 | |
| M1 | 180 | 13.5h | 172 | 0.31 |
| M2 | 48 | 2.1d | 48 | 0.08 |
| 24 | “days” | 25 | 0.04 | |
| 11 | “days” | 11 | 0.01 | |
| L1 | 2.0 | “days” | 2.07 | [low] |
| L2 | 0.24 | “month” | 0.25 | [low] |
| 0.08 | “months” | 0.08 | [low] | |
| 0.02 | “months” | 0.03 | [low] |
^ This value doesn’t pass the sniff test between levels, but I tested over and over on bench power. I suspect there was a limiting factor, and the reality is that the draw on the highest level is much higher than 3A. But I do not have a way to confirm.
Pulse Width Modulation
There is no PWM here, thankfully. There’s some sawtooth output on L1 and all three M2 modes, but nothing at all that you’ll notice. The modes are lowest to highest from top left to bottom right (just like in the other serial photos below.)
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor. Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
The Zebralight UI, a thing of legend. This light uses an e-switch and a very nice one. It is clicky, with very positive action.
The switch falls in a perfect “user” spot when the light is in hand. I appreciate that it’s not the least bit exposed, too.
First of all, this user interface is basically as hard (or “featured”) as you want it to be. You can run this as a very simple user interface with easy (or “direct”) access to four modes (low, medium, high, strobe). But you can do more! If you dare. If you wish. But again, you don’t really have to!
I’m going to try to capture the UI in a table, but I have to be honest, I’m not sure how this will go. But let’s give it a shot. Note that there are three mode groups (G5, G6, G7), and the light ships in G5 group.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | High (Your last used of four high possibilities) H1 3000 Lm H2 1458 Lm 945 Lm 583 Lm (hours) |
| Off | Click 2x | Medium (Your last used of four medium possibilities) (and technically, the light goes to High first, then medium) M1 192 Lm M2 52 Lm 25.2 Lm 11.6 Lm |
| Off | Click 3x | Strobe (Your last used of four Strobe possibilities) 0.2Hz Beacon at Low 0.2Hz Beacon at H1 4Hz Strobe at H1 19Hz Strobe at H1 |
| Off | Hold >0.6s | Mode cycle: Low^ > Medium > High (repeated) |
| On | Hold | Mode cycle: Low (always starts with Low no matter what mode you’re in!) > Medium > High (repeated) |
| On | Click | Off |
| On | Double Click | Toggles between Mode and Sublevel.
For example, between H1 and H2. |
| On | Double Click 6x | Enters programming for sublevels of a mode.
For example, if you’re in Medium, Double Clicking 6x will enter sublevel selection for M2.) |
| Sublevel selection for any mode | Double Click | Cycles the sublevel mode options.
For example, if you are programming M2, continued double clicks will cycle 11.6lm, 25.2lm, and 52lm repeatedly. Release and wait (or click) at the desired output. |
| Sublevel selection for any mode | Click | Selects sublevel. |
| Off | Click 4x | Battery indicator
The main emitter flashes brightly between 1 and 4 times to indicate cell capacity |
| On at H1 | Click off then on to H1 | Enter PID Thermal Regulation Temperature Programming for three highest output levels |
| PID Thermal Regulation Temperature Programming for three highest output levels | Press and hold to cycle from Low to High 6 times | On the 7th (or more) cycle, release the switch
|
| Off | Click 5x | Select G5 (Group 5) |
| Off | Click 6x | Select G6 (Group 6) |
| Off | Click 7x | Select G7 (Group 7) |
| Sublevel programming for G6 or G7 | Click 2x | Goes up a level in programming |
| Sublevel programming for G6 or G7 | Click 3x | Goes down a level in programming† |
| Sublevel programming for G6 or G7 | Click | Exit programming |
| In G6 or G7‡ | Click 5x | Reset G5 to factory settings |
| In G6 or G7‡ | Click 6x | Reset G6 to factory settings |
| In G6 or G7‡ | Click 7x | Reset G7 to factory settings |
^ Note that this is technical access to Low from off, despite not being written exactly that way in the manual.
† Successive triple clicks at the lowest output stay at the lowest output (and don’t cycle “backward” to H1)
‡ It does seem like factory resets (for all groups) can be done only when in G6 or G7. So to reset G5, you’ll need to enter G6 or G7.
Here are some group specifics:
In all three mode groups
- H can be either H1 or H2; M can be either M1 or M2; L can be either L1 or L2
- from OFF: 1-click to H; 2-click to M; press and hold to cycle from L, M to H
In G5
- H1 is fixed at 3000Lm, H2 can be 1458, 945, or 583Lm
- M1 is fixed at 192Lm, M2 can be 52, 25.2 or 11.6Lm
- L1 is fixed at 2.1Lm, L2 can be 0.32, 0.12 or 0.04Lm
In G6 and G7
- H1, H2, M1, M2, L1, and L2 can be programmed to any of the 12 available brightness levels
- Double-click 6 times at the H1, H2, …L2 to enter the programming mode for that level. Once in the programming mode, use double-click to go up one level and triple-click to go down one level. Use 1-click to exit the programming mode
Three consecutive 5-click (or 6-click, 7-click) to reset the G5 (or G6, G7) back to the factory default settings.
The fact that G6 and G7 allow all steady outputs to be any mode is not to be understated. If you wanted all high modes, you could program every level to H1. It’d be a little weird, but you could be absolutely certain that you’d only ever get H1 output. On the flip side, you could program every mode to be from the lowest to highest mode, and the light could peak at around 25 lumens (and basically last forever).
You could also reverse the mode cycles in whatever way you wish. Want High to be accessible from double click? Then program H1 to the M1 or M2 slot.
And finally, it’s not to be understated how easy it is to switch between groups. And easy to remember – 5, 6, or 7 clicks from off and you’ve switched groups. Unfortunately, there is no feedback that you’ve switched groups – a readout of maybe 5, 6, or 7 blinks on the lowest output would be nice. Or maybe a low blink with G5, M2 blink with G6, and H2 blink with G7 or something. Some feedback would be appreciated.
As far as I know, the user interface between the SC700d and SC700d HI is the same. I’ve copied the user interface from that review to this review…
LED and Beam
Of course, one of the hugest advancements here is that this is a domeless (“HI”) emitter. A “high intensity” emitter. It’s a Cree XHP70.3 HI, rated at 5000K.
That emitter is surrounded by a nice and deep lightly orange peel reflector.
Low on this light is very low!!
The beam is more throwy than the domed, floody version of the SC700d. I still do not feel entirely satisfied by the throw, though. Basically, I’m not compelled to call this a “thrower” (and I really want a thrower in this
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
Zebralight makes the claim that this is a 5000K emitter, and it is. The CCT does drift upward as the modes advance higher. The high CRI claim is also met, averaging around 90.
Beamshots
These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left, and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Summary and Conclusion
The Big Table
| Zebralight SC700d HI flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XHP70.3 HI (Neutral White) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $129.00 |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes (Mostly?) |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 2600 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 2558 (98.4% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 7.27 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 762lux @ 5.87m = 26256cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 324.1 |
| Claimed CCT | 5000 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 5000-5500 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Me |
| All my Zebralight reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What I like
- The size and shape.
- I really do like 21700 cell lights and this is a great sample
- The Zebralight user interface
- Output on all modes is fantastic
- Flat output at-spec for the duration of all modes under H1
- Neutral white is the option!
- It’s high CRI!
- It’s “a thrower” (but maybe not really?)
What I don’t like
- Doesn’t have low voltage protection (at least on some modes)
- Little-to-no feedback from programming
Notes
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