The ZebraLight SC53c is an AA flashlight with a 4000K warm white Cree XP-L2 LED.
The first impression is that it's quite small, not much larger than an AA battery. The plain cardboard box contains the light, a warning recommending Panasonic Eneloop batteries, the operator's manual and two spare o-rings.
The recessed button ensures it won't activate accidentaly in your pocket, it is however a lint magnet.
It has 3 main levels, H1 at 285 lumens, M1 at 56 lumens and L1 at 1 lumen. However, each of these levels has a programmable sub-level, meaning we can choose for high one of 285, 238, 171, or 106 lumens, for the medium level one of 56, 26, 10.3, or 3.5 and for low 1, 0.26, 0.06 or 0.01, which makes it very flexible. I've set the high to 238 lumens, because it's visually close to 285 (there's not much difference between the two) and it has significantly longer runtime (1.6 hr vs 0.9 hr).
The beam itself has a good flood/throw balance, with a continuous transition from spot to spill. At close range you can see some imperfections on the beam due to the reflector texture, but it's not an issue in normal usage.
Comparing this Cree XP-L2 LED with Nichia LED of the Lumintop IYP365 (Lumintop IYP365 Nichia Review), and in my opinion, the Cree seems to have a warmer tint (even if they are both 4000K), however the Nichia has better CRI. Nevertheless I prefer the ZebraLight, as the light feels less harsh.
Conclusion
Pros:
- Small
- A very flexible UI and modes
Cons:
- The clip is rather stiff
Rating: 5 out of 5