A red mode that keeps your night vision and your swim undisturbed. Twenty hours at 500 lumens, so a session does not end because the torch does. IP67 for rain on the bank. And a beam that pulls back in when you look down to tie a hook.
Every model here is USB-C rechargeable, has a red mode and a replaceable battery, and is rated IP66 or IP67. Where they differ is runtime, reach and how much you want to carry.
124 grams, so you forget it is on your head through a long session. Auto Focus pulls the beam in when you look down to tie a hook and pushes it back out when you look at the water. Three AAAs will finish the night if the charge goes.
Twenty hours at 500 lumens and eighty on low. For overnight and multi-night sessions where you are not going to be near a charger and you do not want to think about it. The heaviest in the range, which matters less when you are sitting still.
Auto Focus plus 260 metres of reach, so it handles close work on the mat and finding your far-bank marker without you touching it. The red rear light means the next angler along knows you are there.
Twelve hours at 400 lumens covers a full winter night without a recharge. The middle of the range: more endurance than the ZB5H, less weight than the ZB11H.
The handheld to keep in the bivvy or the quiver. 300 metres to check a far margin, an island or a marker, and a red mode so you can move about the swim without lighting the whole lake up.
340 metres, for open water and open ground. This is the one for seeing the far bank of a big pit, or for lamping across a field where nothing else in the range reaches.
The full range side by side. Read across for the model that matches how you fish; the notes under the table explain how each figure is measured.
| Model | Type | Max output | Beam distance | Session runtime | On low | Weight | Water rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZB11H | Head torch | 2,500 lm | 260 m | 20 h at 500 lm | 80 h at 30 lm | 371 g | IP66 | £149.99 |
| ZB9H | Head torch | 2,000 lm | 260 m | 10 h at 500 lm | 50 h at 30 lm | 252 g | IP67 | £109.99 |
| ZB7H | Head torch | 1,200 lm | 240 m | 12 h at 400 lm | 233 g | IP67 | £89.99 | |
| ZB5H | Head torch | 1,000 lm | 200 m | 7 h at 300 lm | 124 g | IP67 | £79.99 | |
| ZB3H | Head torch | 600 lm | 150 m | 7 h at 300 lm | 35 h at 30 lm | 124 g | IP67 | £49.99 |
| ZB8T | Handheld | 4,000 lm | 340 m | 5 h at 1,500 lm | 236 g | IP66 | £139.99 | |
| ZB6T | Handheld | 3,000 lm | 300 m | 10 h at 500 lm | 213 g | IP67 | £89.99 |
Runtime is quoted at the mid setting, which is where most people work. Boost figures are on each product page. All weights include the battery.
Six places the difference shows up on a session, and what we have done about each.
Exposure to a white LED costs you around 20 minutes of night vision. A red mode lets you re-tie, unhook and find something in the tackle box, then look back out at the water and still see it. Every model on this page has one.
Auto Focus on the ZB5H, ZB9H and ZB6T reads the distance and adjusts itself — tight on a hook length at 30 centimetres, wide and long when you look up at the far margin. No switch, no free hand needed. Patent filed.
Twenty hours at 500 lumens on the ZB11H, twelve at 400 on the ZB7H, eighty hours on low. Most torches quote a boost figure they hold for minutes. These are the numbers you would actually fish on.
IP67 on everything except the ZB8T at IP66 — dust-tight and able to survive a short dunk in shallow water. IK07 for impact, rated to a 2 metre drop, and specified to work down to −10°C for winter sessions.
340 metres on the ZB8T, 300 on the ZB6T, 260 on the ZB9H and ZB11H. Enough to pick out an island, a far margin, a marker or a bailiff's gate without leaving your swim.
Every battery in the range is replaceable, so a charged spare in the bag covers a multi-night session. The ZB5H will also run on three AAAs if it comes to that.
The ZB6T took Best of the Best, the competition's highest award, given only for groundbreaking design. The ZB7H head torch was also honoured. Judged by an international design jury against the field, not self-declared.
On the bank you spend most of the night somewhere between red and 300 lumens. You need the big number occasionally — checking a far margin, walking back to the car — and almost never for the close-up work of tying on a hook.
So the figures worth comparing are how long it holds a usable setting, how far it reaches when you do turn it up, and whether it drops back to red without a fight. Not the number on the box.
For the full explanation of lumens, lux and beam distance, read our plain-English guide to lumens.
For most sessions the ZB5H: 1,000 lumens, 124 grams so you forget it is there, a red mode, and Auto Focus that tightens the beam when you look down at a rig and widens it when you look at the water. For overnight and multi-night sessions the ZB11H runs 20 hours at 500 lumens and 80 on low, at the cost of being the heaviest in the range. If you need to see a far margin, add a handheld — the ZB6T reaches 300 metres and the ZB8T 340.
Every model on this page does — ZB5H, ZB7H, ZB9H, ZB11H, ZB6T and ZB8T, plus the ZB3H. Red matters because exposure to a white LED costs you around 20 minutes of night vision, so you can unhook, re-tie or find something in the box and still see the water afterwards. The ZB4P and ZB1T are white only, which is why they are not on this page.
At a level you would actually fish on, between seven and twenty hours. The ZB11H runs 20 hours at 500 lumens, the ZB7H 12 hours at 400, the ZB9H 10 hours at 500 and the ZB5H 7 hours at 300. On low, the ZB11H goes to 80 hours and the ZB9H to 50. Every battery is replaceable, so a charged spare covers a multi-night session without carrying a power bank.
Every model here is IP67 except the ZB8T, which is IP66. IP67 means dust-tight and able to survive short immersion in shallow water, so rain, spray and a torch dropped in the margin are all fine. IP66 handles heavy water jets but is not rated for immersion. All are IK07 for impact, rated to a 2 metre drop and specified down to −10°C.
The ZB8T reaches 340 metres and the ZB6T 300, both handhelds. Among the head torches the ZB9H and ZB11H both reach 260 metres. That is enough to pick out an island, a far margin or a marker from your swim. Beam distance is measured to the point where the light drops to 0.25 lux, which is the industry standard, so these figures are comparable with other brands that publish them.
It will protect your own night vision, which is the part we can stand behind. Exposure to a white beam costs you around 20 minutes of dark adaptation; on red you can unhook, re-tie or find something in the box and still see the water straight afterwards. Plenty of anglers also use red because they believe it disturbs fish less. That is not something we have measured, so we make no claim about it.
Our picks by session type, with the reasoning behind each.
ExplainerWhat lumens, lux and beam distance mean when you are choosing.
ExplainerCold-weather performance and which suits long sessions.
Other use cases