Flashlight for Mariners

[Viper031]

Hello guys!
I was wondering if someone can recommend a good flashlight for mariners? I like Maglite 2D cell as my primary and my Surefire Z2s as my EDC/pocket flashlight but because they are both metal I cannot use them on the ship. Here are the specs I am looking for:

Primary light:
• LED (good amount of throw)
• D cell
• Must be plastic or rubber NO METAL
• Must be able to fit a red lens
• Must come with or be able to fit a belt/pocket clip
• It would be a huge plus if you can find one of those “L” shaped lights


Secondary Light:
• LED
• CR-123A (it would be great if you can find one that takes 123’s, I have a stockpile of them)
• Must be plastic or rubber NO METAL
• Must be able to fit a red lens
• Must be able to fit in pocket
• Must come with or be able to fit a belt/pocket clip

While they do not have to be watertight, if they come with some type of IPX rating that would be great!
Thanks!

 

[tubed]

Hi there.
I too am perpetually looking for the perfect boat light. THere are a bunch of threads on this site discussing them. If you search for boat light you'll get some ideas.
Most of the lights discussed here are metal - so you've limited the field quite a bit. Also - most of the high quality lights these days don't seem to use D cells - You can get so much power out of smaller batteries these days. So, i don't think i can come up with much for your specs -but here are some ideas.

Primary - if plastic and throw (and ? disposable batteries) are important, I would recommend a great inexpensive light from Dorcy ( 41-4750 180 Lumen LED flashlight 4AA). Costs $20, great throw and great beam. Takes 4 AA batteries. I have 3 of them and always keep one on the boat. Only bad thing about this light is that it has only one setting.
Secondary - if you're looking for a smaller light, there are so many single CR123 choices these days you cant go wrong with any of them. I have a 4-7s Quark 123 that i love because its small enough to keep in pocket, has a great moonlight mode (see below) and a backward facing clip so you can put on brim of hat -I do this all the time.

As for the red filter. I'm assuming you're doing this to not loose your night vision. From what i've experienced (and read on this forum) there is no magic to red. More important it just be LOW. A good mariners' light needs a very low setting (perhaps around 1 lumen). Ideally, you should be able to access this setting directly so you don't fry your eyes. the Quark has this but so do many others.

Good luck

 

[BillSWPA]

The Surefire G series lights are polymer, and can be obtained in 2-mode format. Red filters are available. Raven Concealment Systems makes a pocket clip for these lights. Kydex belt pouches are available from Blade-Tech, Comp-Tac, and others.

I am not sure what a 2 D cell light could do that these lights cannot do, so your primary and secondary lights could be the same. Then you would only need to worry about one size battery.

From what I learned in my Human Factors class (Industrial Engineering), using light at either end of the visible spectrum does help preserve night vision. This could of course be combined with a low more or not as your needs may dictate.