Recomendations for flashlight at sea.

[TechnoDuck]

Hello, having experienced three 12am to 4am watch shifts i have my doubts about the issued Fulton angle head light. The light output is just seriously lacking and is almost useless on rounds topside and when you start hearing strange sounds in the holds and engine room...i want something a little brighter. I have read through some posts that seem to praise the Surefire series lights. I have also been given recomendations that Pelican lights are also very good. Ive always been a MagLite person, but they are just too heavy to carry around in my boiler suit.

What are some recomendations for a medium sized, probably two d-cell or maybe three c-cell light? Im not really sure what i should be looking for in a light. Some important specs that it must include are..

- good light output (dosent need to be a spotlight...but something more powerfull than the Fulton would be nice).
-Reasonable size and weight. MagLites are too heavy to carry, a light around the size of the Fulton would be ideal. If its a little longer than thats not too much of a problem.
-Battery life must be good as watches usually run in four hour shifts.

I have read that the Surefires only have about 75 minutes of runtime, while the Pelican lights area able to run for about seven hours. Why is this? Also do you need to run the Surefire lights with Lithium Ion cells or are you able to use regular alkalines with a loss of peformance. Any recomendations that match my needs? Thank you!

 

[Catman10]

I'd recommend an Inova X03 or T1. Great lights, bright with good throw and no bulbs to change.

 

[flashlightDR]

I would suggest that you get a light from Wayne over at eleckro Lumens, a Anglelux . It would be an improvment in every way (brighter and longer run time) and would be practical and Inconspicous (exciept for when its on, of course).

 

[pedalinbob]

hmmm. lots of great choices. how much $$$ can you afford? what qualities do you prefer in your light (lanyard, waterproof, clip, etc)?

you could get an everled, and plop it into your favorite 2-d cell light. the mag 2-c would run an everled nicely as well.
i wonder how it would do in the fulton?

Bob

 

[TechnoDuck]

Preferably a light under $100. Waterproofing is a must and a clip would be nice. I am considering the modified Fulton Anglelux having found the link a few days ago. How much does he charge to do this? Can i still run regular alkalines or does this require lithium ion cells. An important factor is being able to run regular cells, as lithium ions are not available onboard the ship. Id have to constantly try and find them at port probably. Not something i want to be worrying about! Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[bwaites]

Money is the issue, I assume it need to be water resistant at least and waterproof if possible.

Lots of great lights, but give us a budget, and the type of battery you want to use!

Bill

 

[flashlightDR]

[ QUOTE ]
TechnoDuck said:
Preferably a light under $100. Waterproofing is a must and a clip would be nice. I am considering the modified Fulton Anglelux having found the link a few days ago. How much does he charge to do this? Can i still run regular alkalines or does this require lithium ion cells. An important factor is being able to run regular cells, as lithium ions are not available onboard the ship. Id have to constantly try and find them at port probably. Not something i want to be worrying about! Thanks again for the suggestions.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Anglelux would use the same "D's" that you use now. As for the cost, its $60 bucks plus shipping. I think you'd love it!

The EverLED would be a good alternative though...

 

[paulr]

I think you want a Tektite Expedition 1400 or 1900. They use three C's, are made of plastic so they don't weigh too much, and are totally waterproof and pretty near indestructable. Navy SEAL's use them. They are expensive retail, but for some reason they show up on BST at pretty good discounts now and then. Maybe if you post a WTB, one wlil show up.

 

[Roy]

Here's the runtime plot that I did on the Pelican 2020 Sabrelite LED. Uses 3 "C" cells and has a VERY narrow beam with almost NO side spill. Great for looking in those dark areas behind that pump in the corner. The runtime is about 3.5 hours of constant level light...that is, continious output for 3.5 hours. It is dive rated to 500 feet. The grarantee "does not cover sharkbite, bear attack or children under 5."

Priced in the $45-$50 range.

 

[Hoghead]

TechnoDuck,

Welcome to CPF /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif

The Anglelux uses regular alkaline batteries. I think the price is about $50-$60. Wayne custom builds these as needed. The runtime is 24 hours to half brightness and they will run for a few days after that , but it will get dimmer until the batteries are dead.

Here's a link to Roy's runtime plot of the Anglelux 1 watt

& Roy's Anglelux 3 watt

 

[flashlightDR]

Tektite is an excellent suggestion as well. This site has good prices and free military shippping !

 

[Deanster]

I'm a huge fan of Pelicans for on-board use - I don't have any of their LED's yet, but they don't seem to have enough spill for most shipboard use - I like at least a little corona.

the 4AA stealthlite or 2c SuperPelilight, or if you can live with the slightly larger the weight and size, the 3c Super Sabrelight are all dive-rated, hazardous atmosphere rated, non-sparking, non-conductive, etc., which is important for me at least on board.

I really like the flat body of the Stealthlite, but the Supersaber is much brighter. You can get both of them for under $60 for the pair, and they run very nicely on standard batteries or rechargables. I like the nicer lights, but it hurts too much when one goes missing or gets dropped in the bilge. At under $30, I don't feel like I HAVE to go after it. You can rest assured that it'll just be sitting there, waiting for you next time you've got a dry bilge, wash off the goop and it will be fine to go.

Lanyards are standard, and the safety-yellow color makes 'em easy to find. Grab a couple extra lamp modules, and you'll be a happy guy.

Buy three, and you'll have a spare when one dies an unfortunate death at sea.

 

[BlindedByTheLite]

think a headlamp would work? like a Petzl Myo 5? or a Princeton Tec Yukon HL?

otherwise, i think you would really like one of Wayne's lights @ Elektrolumens. the Angle Lux can be built to your desires.

 

[leukos]

I vote for the Everled!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif


http://flashlightreviews3.home.att.net/reviews/everled.htm

 

[haley1]

Princton Tec Surge and UK 4AA Led. Both are waterproof and use AAs. Both have lanyards and are relatively small, and waterproof. Available in bright yellow also, easy to find when dropped. But use the lanyard. I'll have to remember that next time.

 

[Double_A]

I have an Anglelux and bought one for my dad, he and I absolutely love it.

 

[chamenos]

i'd second othermutt's suggestion for the UK 4AA eLED. waterproof, cheap, fully regulated with a long runtime, and pretty shock proof /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[McGizmo]

If you only need to overcome shadows of ambient light sources, this is one thing. If you also need to retain your low level adapted vision, you have a greater challenge. You have the option of getting some light in smaller as well as brighter packages than you have described. Runtimes will suffer, of course. Are you on a boat or a ship? Do you have access to 110VAC for rechargeable systems? I suspect you would be better served if you can find a solution that provides variable output and allows reasonable illumination of both relatively near and distant targets. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[RussH]

I would also recommend the anglelux or one of Electrolumens other lights. Get a 3 watt luxeon light because the 1 watt LEDs aren't any brighter/longer throw than the 2D bulb although they will last much longer on a set of batteries. You're looking at about 24 hours for a 1 watt LED vs. about 9 hrs for a 3 watt LED on two D cells.

One other approach would be to buy two of the Electrolumens 3toD adapters (6 AA batteries in the space of 2 Ds) to use in your 2D anglehead with a 5 or 6 cell krypton bulb. the 6 cell, .75 amp bulb would put out about 3 times as much light as the 2D bulb and the 5 cell bulb being overdriven on 6 AAs would be even brighter.

I think the runtime would only be 2-3 hours (maybe 4 hrs. with the best batteries) continuous so you might get tired of buying alkaline AAs unless they will supply them. And it might not last your entire watch if you had to use it continuously. You can get a .5 amp bulb which would last about 50% longer. Max brightness only lasts a half hour or so. I use a 5 cell bulb for about 3 hours (IIRC)of light (on 6 AA alkaline) that is still brighter than the 2D setup.

 

[flashlightDR]

technoduck....what did you end up going with?