A beam that adjusts itself from a doorway to a treeline without a button press. 300 metres of reach on the ZB6T, and 340 when you need the ZB8T searchlight. Twelve hours on a charge, a red mode that protects your night vision, and a battery you can change mid-shift.
Every model here is USB-C rechargeable, drop-rated and switchable one-handed in gloves. Where they differ is reach, runtime and weight.
The patrol torch. Auto Focus reads the distance and adjusts the beam itself, so it goes from an ID document in your hand to the end of a car park without a button press. Ten hours at 500 lumens covers a full night shift, and the red mode lets you read a notebook without losing your dark adaptation.
The searchlight. 4,000 lumens and 340 metres for open ground, yards, treelines and waterways — the situations where you need to see who is there before you get close. Returns to its charging station between shifts rather than needing a cable found in the dark.
Hands-free for search work, where you need both hands for radio, terrain or a casualty. Twelve hours at 400 lumens on a single cell, which is the difference between finishing a search and going back to the van for a spare.
124 grams, so it comes on the shift whether or not you expect to need it. The same Auto Focus as the ZB6T, hands-free: it widens and dims as you move in close, then reaches back out to 200 metres. Takes AAAs if the charge goes.
Hands-free with the same Auto Focus as the ZB6T: it reads the distance and sets the beam itself, from a notebook in your hand to the far side of a compound. Ten hours at 500 lumens covers a shift, and the red rear light keeps you visible to your own team.
For nights that run long: twin batteries give twenty hours at 500 lumens, with 2,500 lumens in reserve for open-ground search. Red front and rear light. The heaviest head torch here, and the one that outlasts the shift.
15 mm across and 60 grams, clipped to a shirt or vest pocket. Enough light to check a licence, a plate or a vehicle interior at close range without the glare of a full-size beam coming back at you. If the charge goes, pull the cell out and drop in two AAA alkalines — no adaptor needed.
The compact option for static duties: 600 lumens, 124 grams, a red mode for reading without losing your night vision, and a battery you can swap for a charged spare mid-shift.
28 grams on the keys as a second light. Throws 200 metres on boost, but full power runs 30 minutes — this is the backup for when the main torch is flat or in the vehicle, not a working light.
The full range side by side. Read across for the model that matches how and where you work; the notes under the table explain how each figure is measured.
| Model | Type | Max output | Beam distance | Working runtime | Weight | Red light | Water & impact | Carry | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZB8T | Handheld | 4,000 lm | 340 m | 5 h at 1,500 lm | 236 g | Yes | IP66 · IK07 · 2 m | Holster, lanyard | £139.99 |
| ZB6T | Handheld | 3,000 lm | 300 m | 10 h at 500 lm | 213 g | Yes | IP67 · IK07 · 2 m | Clip, holster, lanyard | £89.99 |
| ZB11H | Head torch | 2,500 lm | 260 m | 20 h at 500 lm | 371 g | Yes | IP66 · IK07 · 2 m | Helmet mount, bag | £149.99 |
| ZB9H | Head torch | 2,000 lm | 260 m | 10 h at 500 lm | 252 g | Yes | IP67 · IK07 · 2 m | Helmet mount, bag | £109.99 |
| ZB7H | Head torch | 1,200 lm | 240 m | 12 h at 400 lm | 233 g | Yes | IP67 · IK07 · 2 m | Helmet mount | £89.99 |
| ZB5H | Head torch | 1,000 lm | 200 m | 7 h at 300 lm | 124 g | Yes | IP67 · IK07 · 1.5 m | Helmet mount, pouch | £79.99 |
| ZB3H | Head torch | 600 lm | 150 m | 7 h at 300 lm | 124 g | Yes | IP67 · IK07 · 2 m | Helmet mount | £49.99 |
| ZB4P | Penlight | 400 lm | 90 m | 3 h at 250 lm | 60 g | No | IP67 · IK07 · 2 m | Pocket clip | £34.99 |
| ZB1T | Key light | 500 lm | 200 m | 1.5 h at 150 lm | 28 g | No | IP67 · IK07 · 2 m | Keyring | £26.99 |
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 shift, and what we have done about each.
Sensor-driven Auto Focus on the ZB6T, ZB5H and ZB9H reads the distance and focuses and dims on its own. You go from a document in your hand to the far side of a car park without touching a control — which matters when the other hand is on a radio. Patent filed.
Most torches quote an output they can sustain for about two minutes before heat forces them to step down. The LED board here is copper rather than aluminium, moving heat away up to 70% faster, so the beam stays strong right through a major incident. On the ZB8T, ZB6T and ZB7H.
Exposure to a white LED costs you around 20 minutes of night vision. A red mode on the ZB6T and ZB8T handhelds and on all five head torches lets you read a notebook, a screen or a map and still see into the dark straight afterwards.
Colour matters when you are giving a description over the radio or writing it up afterwards. These run at 5,700K with high-CRI emitters, so clothing, vehicles and surfaces read as their real colour instead of washed out.
Every battery is replaceable, which is not true of most sealed rechargeables at this price. On the ZB4P you pull the rechargeable cell out and drop two AAA alkalines straight in — no adaptor, no tools. The ZB5H does the same on three AAAs using its included adapter. A spare set in the vehicle keeps you working to the end of the shift.
A rotating collar on the torches, a sliding switch under the head torches. You choose the mode before you switch on, instead of clicking through four settings while holding something in the other hand.
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.
A lumen figure on its own tells you almost nothing. It is measured at the LED, for an instant, at full output — before the lens loses some of it and before heat forces the torch to step down. Plenty of torches are sold on a number they can hold for about two minutes.
What you need to know is different: how far the beam actually reaches, whether it holds that for the length of a shift, and whether it puts the light where you are looking rather than spilling it around you.
For the full explanation of lumens, lux and beam distance, read our plain-English guide to lumens.
There is no single issued torch — UK forces procure individually, and a lot of officers buy their own. What the role tends to demand is consistent: enough reach to identify someone across a car park before you get close, a beam that changes focus quickly, a red mode for reading without losing night vision, and a runtime that covers a full shift. The ZB6T is the closest match in this range, with Auto Focus, 300 metres of reach and ten hours at 500 lumens. For open-ground searching, the ZB8T reaches 340 metres.
The ZB6T comes with a clip, a holster and a lanyard; the ZB8T with a holster and lanyard. The ZB4P penlight has a pocket clip, and the ZB1T is a keyring light at 28 grams.
Yes, on the ZB6T and ZB8T handhelds and on all five head torches. Exposure to a white LED costs you around 20 minutes of night vision, so a red mode is what lets you read a notebook, a screen or a map partway through a shift and still see into the dark straight afterwards. The ZB4P and ZB1T are white only.
At a level you would actually patrol with, between three and twenty hours depending on the model. The ZB11H runs 20 hours at 500 lumens on its twin batteries, the ZB7H 12 hours at 400 lumens, the ZB6T and ZB9H 10 hours at 500 lumens, the ZB5H and ZB3H 7 hours at 300 lumens. Boost settings drain far faster, which is why we quote the mid figure rather than the headline. Every battery is replaceable, and if you run out the ZB4P takes two AAA alkalines straight in with no adaptor.
The ZB8T reaches 340 metres at 4,000 lumens; the ZB6T reaches 300 metres at 3,000 lumens. Either covers a car park, a yard, a field boundary or a treeline. For search work where you need both hands, the ZB7H is hands-free and still reaches 240 metres.
Every model except the ZB8T and ZB11H is IP67 — dust-tight and able to survive short immersion in shallow water, so rain, a hose-down and a dropped-in-a-puddle situation are all fine. The ZB8T and ZB11H are IP66, rated for heavy water jets but not immersion. All are IK07 for impact and rated to a 2 metre drop, apart from the ZB5H at 1.5 metres.
Not currently in the range. However, we will be launching a right-angled rechargeable torch in the New Year, which will have a magnetic base.
What the role actually demands from a light, and how the options compare.
GuideStatic guarding, mobile patrol and the kit that holds up on a night shift.
ExplainerWhat lumens, lux and beam distance mean when you are choosing.
Other use cases