I apologize in advance that this got long winded. Hopefully it's helpful to someone.
I've been running a Zebralight H600w MKII XM-L2 for the last few years and I really like it. In conjunction with that light I always have a Petzl E+lite in my bino harness as a backup. I saw a few people talking about the (unfamiliar to me) Fenix HL60r on Rokslide and I liked some of the features enough to give it a shot. I just sold it and wish I would have gotten a few more photos and comparisons beforehand but I didn't really think about writing this up until I had already sold it (which got me thinking about why I sold it). Everyone has different wants/needs in gear so let me tell you why I sold the Fenix.
The Fenix HL60 is a great headlamp and there really is a lot to like about it. Let me go over some of the things I really like about this model before going into why I sold it. It is waterproof to IPX-8 standards. It uses my preferred main headlamp battery, an 18650 rechargeable. It puts out 950 lumens on the highest setting (very bright and hard to distinguish a difference between the extra few lumens of the Zebralight). It has a neutral white led as well as two small red led's to not ruin your night vision. This light also has a micro usb port to recharge the battery without taking it out of the lamp. I liked this feature since I always take an Anker battery pack to charge my phone (gps w/OnX maps) anyway so I could actually leave the spare 18650 in the truck and save some weight (1.66 Oz.). In comparison to the Zebralight the beam is a much more even flood type pattern without the hotspot. For close up stuff I really liked the beam pattern but the throw isn't quite as good as the Zebralight; a trade off that comes down to personal preference. I thought I'd point it out as it certainly doesn't have the hotspot my model of Zebralight has so it would be more comparable to the floody or possibly flood version of the Zebralight. I really like that the light has a memory so it starts out on the last setting you had it on. This is handy because I don't want to blind myself and/or my buddies and lose all night vision when I turn the headlamp on at first. I can leave it on the red LED setting and move up in brightness from there. Lastly, they can be purchased for around $75 and that includes one 18650 battery and a way to charge it. Not a big deal to me as I already have a few 18650's and a charger but when comparing to the Zebralight it's a nice bonus, especially if you are looking at your first 18650 powered light. The Zebralight costs $89 and you still have to buy a battery and charger so all in your are closer to $120+.
Now, for the reasons I stayed with the Zebralight. Most of the reasons are personal preference. First, while I like the even beam on the Fenix, the standard beam of the Zebralight is a better all around beam for my use. It works well enough for map reading, camp chores, etc. and is unbeatable when you need to see the what's ahead in the dark. That's obviously personal preference but Zebralights provide more options here so it's worth pointing out. Next, the settings on the Zebralight allow for more customization. I can set different sub settings, I can quickly jump to the highest setting or start off on the low setting as the situation demands just with different sequences of the one button. It is more complicated to figure out at first but once you get it down it provides a lot more versatility, IMO. The Fenix also weighs more (though overall it's less if I don't bring a spare battery because of the charging port). Each with one 18650 battery and no top strap on the headband weighs: Fenix- 5.26 Oz, Zebralight- 4.06 Oz. I found that the extra weight was noticeable to me and I had to run the top strap on the headband which adds a bit more weight as well (I don't use the top strap on the Zebralight). The beam is offset on the Zebralight, but it's design keeps it closer to your head so it's more stable. Speaking of the headband, for extended use I found the rubber mount on the Zebralight is more comfortable than the hard plastic on the Fenix. Maybe it's just the shape of my head but I prefer the softer rubber. Lastly, as with most headlamps I've used, the red LED's on the Fenix didn't put out enough light to be very useful for me. They would work for really close up stuff but wouldn't be any better than the red LED on my Petzl E+lite for hiking, etc.
In summary, both are great headlamps and it just comes down to personal preference which you choose. For the comfort and program-ability I stayed with the Zebralight. For the price, the Fenix is going to be tough to beat, especially for someone just starting out with 18650 batteries. Though I didn't test the battery life to failure on the Fenix, I used it long enough to feel confident that battery life shouldn't be a problem with either of these headlamps. Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll do the best I can to answer them based on my experience.
I've been running a Zebralight H600w MKII XM-L2 for the last few years and I really like it. In conjunction with that light I always have a Petzl E+lite in my bino harness as a backup. I saw a few people talking about the (unfamiliar to me) Fenix HL60r on Rokslide and I liked some of the features enough to give it a shot. I just sold it and wish I would have gotten a few more photos and comparisons beforehand but I didn't really think about writing this up until I had already sold it (which got me thinking about why I sold it). Everyone has different wants/needs in gear so let me tell you why I sold the Fenix.
The Fenix HL60 is a great headlamp and there really is a lot to like about it. Let me go over some of the things I really like about this model before going into why I sold it. It is waterproof to IPX-8 standards. It uses my preferred main headlamp battery, an 18650 rechargeable. It puts out 950 lumens on the highest setting (very bright and hard to distinguish a difference between the extra few lumens of the Zebralight). It has a neutral white led as well as two small red led's to not ruin your night vision. This light also has a micro usb port to recharge the battery without taking it out of the lamp. I liked this feature since I always take an Anker battery pack to charge my phone (gps w/OnX maps) anyway so I could actually leave the spare 18650 in the truck and save some weight (1.66 Oz.). In comparison to the Zebralight the beam is a much more even flood type pattern without the hotspot. For close up stuff I really liked the beam pattern but the throw isn't quite as good as the Zebralight; a trade off that comes down to personal preference. I thought I'd point it out as it certainly doesn't have the hotspot my model of Zebralight has so it would be more comparable to the floody or possibly flood version of the Zebralight. I really like that the light has a memory so it starts out on the last setting you had it on. This is handy because I don't want to blind myself and/or my buddies and lose all night vision when I turn the headlamp on at first. I can leave it on the red LED setting and move up in brightness from there. Lastly, they can be purchased for around $75 and that includes one 18650 battery and a way to charge it. Not a big deal to me as I already have a few 18650's and a charger but when comparing to the Zebralight it's a nice bonus, especially if you are looking at your first 18650 powered light. The Zebralight costs $89 and you still have to buy a battery and charger so all in your are closer to $120+.
Now, for the reasons I stayed with the Zebralight. Most of the reasons are personal preference. First, while I like the even beam on the Fenix, the standard beam of the Zebralight is a better all around beam for my use. It works well enough for map reading, camp chores, etc. and is unbeatable when you need to see the what's ahead in the dark. That's obviously personal preference but Zebralights provide more options here so it's worth pointing out. Next, the settings on the Zebralight allow for more customization. I can set different sub settings, I can quickly jump to the highest setting or start off on the low setting as the situation demands just with different sequences of the one button. It is more complicated to figure out at first but once you get it down it provides a lot more versatility, IMO. The Fenix also weighs more (though overall it's less if I don't bring a spare battery because of the charging port). Each with one 18650 battery and no top strap on the headband weighs: Fenix- 5.26 Oz, Zebralight- 4.06 Oz. I found that the extra weight was noticeable to me and I had to run the top strap on the headband which adds a bit more weight as well (I don't use the top strap on the Zebralight). The beam is offset on the Zebralight, but it's design keeps it closer to your head so it's more stable. Speaking of the headband, for extended use I found the rubber mount on the Zebralight is more comfortable than the hard plastic on the Fenix. Maybe it's just the shape of my head but I prefer the softer rubber. Lastly, as with most headlamps I've used, the red LED's on the Fenix didn't put out enough light to be very useful for me. They would work for really close up stuff but wouldn't be any better than the red LED on my Petzl E+lite for hiking, etc.
In summary, both are great headlamps and it just comes down to personal preference which you choose. For the comfort and program-ability I stayed with the Zebralight. For the price, the Fenix is going to be tough to beat, especially for someone just starting out with 18650 batteries. Though I didn't test the battery life to failure on the Fenix, I used it long enough to feel confident that battery life shouldn't be a problem with either of these headlamps. Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll do the best I can to answer them based on my experience.
