Please find a replacement for my Zebralight H604c flood headlamp, that I can purchase today. That one has a Cree XHP50.2 LED, which was good in 2021 with no green tint; produced later it has a green tint. I want a 3500K-4000K flood headlamp with no green tint which takes one 18650 battery and has a good headband. The flood part is very important; no beam, just a bare LED that illuminates everything in front of me. Like a Zebralight H604c, which I can't purchase any more anywhere now. I rely on the headlamp all day long... maybe look into specialty headlamp vendors for industry or cavers.
Thanks for the detailed request—it helps a lot. Just to be sure I find the best options for you, could you please clarify the following:
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Is high CRI (color rendering index) important to you for accurate color perception?
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Do you have a preferred beam angle or lumen range?
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Are you open to custom or modded lights, or only production models?
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Any budget constraints I should keep in mind?
Once I have that, I’ll get started right away.
1. Not really, I just want the right color temperature and a lack of green tint. High CRI doesn't exclude green tint, and also vendors can just lie 2. 120 degrees is fine, more would be fine but unnecessary 3. I can mod things or purchase weird stuff 4. No
Thanks! I’ll look for 3500K–4000K flood headlamps with a bare LED or true floody optic (no beam), that use an 18650 battery and have no green tint—regardless of CRI. I’ll prioritize options available for immediate purchase, including specialty or modding-friendly vendors.
I’ll get back to you shortly with the best matches.
To match the Zebralight H604c (a pure flood 18650 headlamp ~4000K), a replacement should have:
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Warm-neutral tint (3500K–4000K) – a pleasant warm/neutral white similar to sunlight, without the green tint that later H604c units exhibited. (High CRI LEDs are preferred as they often have better color rendering and tint)
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Pure flood beam – very wide illumination (around 120° or more) with no pronounced hotspot, essentially a “mule” style beam that lights everything in front of you (like the bare LED flood of the H604c).
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18650 powered – uses one 18650 Li-ion cell (for long run-time and compatibility with your setup).
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Robust build & headband – durable for daily use (waterproof, impact resistant) and a comfortable, secure headband for hands-free all-day wear.
Why avoid Cree XHP50.2? The H604c used a Cree XHP50.2 LED, but many batches of this LED have an unpleasant green tint at low levels. As flashlight experts note, “the XHP50.2 is one of the ugliest emitters... used in lights boasting high lumens, but for a headlamp and general use it is terrible”budgetlightforum.com. Therefore, most good alternatives use different LEDs (like Nichia or Samsung) known for better tint.
Below are several headlamps that meet these criteria and are available as of 2025:
Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia headlamp (4500K high-CRI) – a robust, wide-beam 18650 headlamp.
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Emitter & Tint: Uses a Nichia 144A >90 CRI LED at ~4500K (“warm” neutral white). This LED produces light “close to sunlight... high CRI >90 and color temperature of 4500K for near-perfect natural color reproduction”killzoneflashlights.com. The tint is very neutral with no green tint; in fact, reviewers report the Nichia 144A “excels” in color qualityzeroair.org.
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Beam Profile: Very floody 120° beam (with a 70° wide bright center). The TIR optic gives a uniform field of light without distinct hotspots or sharp edgesbudgetlightforum.combudgetlightforum.com – similar in effect to the Zebralight’s “mule” flood. This comfortably illuminates a broad area up close.
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Build & UI: Extremely rugged (IP68 waterproof and 10m drop-rated) – designed for caving, trades, etc.budgetlightforum.com. It includes a magnetic tail and USB magnetic charging. The headband is high quality with a top strap and secure silicone mount; it’s easy to mount/detach and holds the light firmly (Armytek’s quick-release rubber ring)budgetlightforum.com. The kit comes with a 18650 battery and 10-year warranty.
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Why It’s a Top Pick: Armytek is known for reliability, and this model was built for high-CRI flood lighting. It outputs up to ~1600 lm in a very wide, even beam, making it an excellent all-day work headlamp in the spirit of the H604c. (The 4500K CCT is just slightly above your range, but provides a neutral tint with no green.) It was originally a limited edition due to enthusiast demand, but is now available (e.g. via Armytek or KillzoneFlashlights)killzoneflashlights.com.
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Emitter & Tint: Uses a Nichia 519A R9080 LED, available in 4000K (and 3000K/5000K options)skilhunt.comskilhunt.com. The 519A is known for its pleasing tint and high CRI. Independent testing of the 4000K version measured ~4211K with CRI ≈97.5 and essentially no DUV tint shift (no green or pink cast)liquidretro.net – meaning the beam tint is nearly perfect neutral white. (Some users of the 4500K variant noticed a slight yellow-green hue, which enthusiasts often eliminate by “dedoming” the LEDbudgetlightforum.com, but the 4000K appears very neutral out-of-box.)
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Beam Profile: The H04 uses a textured TIR optic to produce a wide, even beam. It has a large, smooth flood without a pronounced hotspotliquidretro.net. The beam width is generous for close work (around ~100° useful field). If even more spread is needed, you can add a diffuser film, but most find it sufficient.
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Build & Features: Compact and lightweight aluminum body with magnetic tailcap. It’s IPX8 waterproof and impact resistant. The headband is excellent – “truly the best in the business”, as one user notedbudgetlightforum.com, with a comfortable elastic strap (including top band) and a secure silicone holder that can even accommodate the light with its pocket clip attached. The light has magnetic USB charging and a modern UI with multiple brightness sub-levels (including moonlight and turbo).
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Why It’s a Top Pick: The Skilhunt H04 RC Nichia hits all the marks: 18650-powered, high CRI 4000K with no green tint, and a flood beam. It’s also relatively affordable compared to Zebralight/Armytek. Many enthusiasts view it as a “budget Zebralight” offering great tint and qualitykillzoneflashlights.comreddit.com. If you want a warm floody headlamp right now, this is one of the closest matches to a H604c in feel and output.
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Emitter & Tint: Triple LED headlamp with options – the relevant version is 3× Nichia 219C high-CRI LEDs (90+ CRI). The Nichia 219C in neutral white (~4000K) provides good color rendering without the pronounced green tint of many cool-white LEDsillumn.comillumn.com. (Acebeam also made an LH351D version, but the Nichia CRI version is preferable for tint accuracy.)
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Beam Profile: The H50 uses three LEDs behind TIR optics to achieve a very broad 125° flood beamillumn.com. In “Triple on” mode it puts out around 1200 lumens with a wide, even spread (and you can also run it with 1 LED or 2 LEDs for lower output/narrower beam if needed)illumn.com. The idea is to illuminate “everything in the user’s field of vision”illumn.com, similar to a mule flood – and it succeeds in providing a wall of light at close range.
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Build & Features: Powered by 1×18650 (or 2×CR123). It has onboard USB-C charging. Rated IPX8 waterproof and 1m drop resistantillumn.com. The headband includes an overhead strap for stability. The H50 is lightweight (62 g without battery)acebeam.com. One unique feature is the ability to toggle between using 1, 2, or all 3 emitters, which can be handy to balance brightness vs. runtime.
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Why Consider It: The Acebeam H50 (Nichia) is a great high-CRI flood option, especially if you want a truly wall-like flood illumination. It was even marketed for caving and adventure – “the 3 LEDs allow your vision to be wider, even in a dark cave”acebeam.com. While its availability may be limited (the H50 has been succeeded by a v2.0 using SST-20 LEDs), some stores still carry the Nichia version (it has been seen for ~$50 on clearanceillumn.com). It offers a nice balance of flood coverage and color quality, very much in line with what you loved about the H604c.
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Emitter & Tint: A more niche headlamp from “Your Led Pro” (YLP), popular in flashlight communities. The Panda 2M CRI uses 2× Samsung LH351D 4000K CRI90 LEDs for its main white lightbudgetlightforum.com. These LEDs produce a warm-neutral 4000K beam with high CRI. Tint can vary by bin, but YLP selected them for color quality (far better than typical cool LEDs in hardware-store headlamps).
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Beam Profile: It’s designed as a pure flood work light. The two LEDs are set at angles to cover a wide field (roughly 120° combined). Throw is only ~60 metersbudgetlightforum.com – indicating it’s all flood, no real spot. In practice it lights up an entire room or workspace evenly, ideal for close-up tasks. (There is also a small secondary red LED for night vision, and a locator flash mode.)
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Build & Features: Runs on 1×18650. Max output ~700 lmbudgetlightforum.com – YLP intentionally didn’t drive it too hard to avoid heat and to sustain output (it can run in high output without stepping down quickly)budgetlightforum.com. It’s not a heavily water-proof light (rated IPX6, splash-proofbudgetlightforum.com), so it’s better for dry environments or incidental rain rather than underwater use. The headband is a full three-strap (including top band) and designed to be worn on helmets if neededbudgetlightforum.com. The UI is quite sophisticated (dual button with both simple and “pro” modes configurable)budgetlightforum.combudgetlightforum.com.
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Why Consider It: The Panda 2M CRI is an enthusiast favorite for trades and tinkering. It offers true flood illumination in the 4000K high-CRI realm, much like the H604c. If you don’t need extreme waterproofing, it’s a comfortable all-day headlamp. Availability might be a bit regional (it’s a Russian-designed light), but it can sometimes be found through online specialty retailers. It’s worth it if you value excellent color rendering and a broad, smooth beam for up-close work.
If you’re willing to tinker or want a budget backup, here are additional ideas:
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Convoy H2 with Nichia 219B 4500K: This is a simple 18650 right-angle headlamp from Convoy that some enthusiasts mod with a 219B SW45k LED (4500K, Ninety CRI). The Nichia 219B is legendary for its beautiful rosy tint. In fact, one reviewer noted the Convoy H2 with 219B is “the most rosy of all my Nichia 219b 4500K lights...bringing out distinct colors of nature”budgetlightforum.com. The beam is very floody (the H2 has a diffused lens) – there is a slight outer ring artifact on white walls, but in real use it’s not noticeablebudgetlightforum.com. This headlamp is extremely affordable (~$20) and gives you that coveted no-green, high-CRI output. The downsides are a basic driver/UI and mid-tier build quality (okay for casual use, not as robust or waterproof as the high-end options). Still, for the price, it’s an excellent floody warm headlamp or a modding host.
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Modding a Headlamp to a “Mule”: Since you mentioned you can mod things, you could convert certain headlamps into pure flood mules. For example, the Sofirn SP40 (a budget 18650 headlamp) has a removable reflector – one could replace it with a diffused lens or faux “zero degree” optic and swap in a 3500K LED of your choice (like a Nichia 519A or Cree SST-20 in a good tint bin). This would yield a cheap H604c-like flood. The Armytek and Skilhunt models discussed above can also be further floody-fied by adding a stick-on diffusion film to their optics (if for some reason you need >120° coverage). These DIY approaches can achieve the goal, though they require some handiwork and the results depend on the quality of the LED you source (to truly guarantee no green tint).
For a ready-to-use replacement that closely matches the Zebralight H604c’s beloved 4000K floody beam, the top picks would be the Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia and the Skilhunt H04 RC 519A. Both offer neutral-white high-CRI light with a wide, even flood and no green tint, running on a single 18650 cell (and both have comfortable, secure headbands for daily wear)budgetlightforum.com. The Armytek is a bit more heavy-duty (better for wet or rough conditions), while the Skilhunt is a compact and excellent-value choice with superb tint.
Other options like the Acebeam H50 or YLP Panda also fulfill the warm flood criteria – they might appeal if you have specific feature preferences (e.g. Acebeam’s 3-LED design or YLP’s advanced UI). And if you’re feeling adventurous, the budget Convoy or a custom mod can get you very close to that H604c experience for a low cost.
Overall, there are lights out there today that can recreate what the Zebralight H604c gave you: a beautiful neutral-white flood that “illuminates everything in front of you” with no irritating tint issues. Good luck, and enjoy brilliantly lighting up your work all day long with your new headlamp!
Sources: High-CRI headlamp recommendations and user reportsbudgetlightforum.comkillzoneflashlights.com; product specifications from Armytek, Skilhunt, Acebeam, etc.budgetlightforum.comillumn.com; independent beam/tint measurementsliquidretro.netliquidretro.net; enthusiast discussions on tint (519A vs 219B, XHP50.2 issues)budgetlightforum.combudgetlightforum.com.