Best hand-held rechargeable spotlight?

M

MarkA

Please Contact Admin.
My superman eyes are not what they were, so I need some sort of glowing beamy thing to assist my night vision. I need something lightweight, portable, waterproof, preferably floaty, and bright enough to melt gelcoat from a mile away. Or something like that. Any suggestions? LED vs. halogen? Rechargeable versus alkaline batteries?
 
A

AleksT

Member III
While I don't know a product that will suit your needs, I have to make a comment.

I am someone who does have good night vision. Nothing is worse than sailing at night and having white light shine in your eyes. If I am on watch at night and someone (usually accidentally) turns on the white cabin lights I experience a definite drop in my ability to see at night, sometimes for as long as 10-20 min after the light turns off. (even if it was on only for a very short time. about the time it takes to yell "Turn off that white light!")

Please be very careful how you use a light "bright enough to melt gelcoat from a mile away"
 
M

MarkA

Please Contact Admin.
AleksT said:
Please be very careful how you use a light "bright enough to melt gelcoat from a mile away"
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Sigh. Perhaps I should have been more clear. I want to read the numbers on the mooring cans at Catalina when I arrive on moonless nights, and find my crew when they jump overboard to get away from my ubiquitous pyrotechnics shows in the cockpit (not really--if they can't take it, let 'em drown. I mean, there really are no pyrotechnics.)

I've spent most of my past 52 years on boats, I fly airplanes, and I've been driving for 38 years. I will not blind you unless you interrupt me working in the engine room while I'm wearing my LED headlamp. I will melt neither your gelcoat, nor your cornea.
 
mherrcat

mherrcat

Contributing Partner
I picked up a hand held rechargeable spotlight at Boaters World when they were going out of business. It doesn't have a name on it but has an aluminum body and plastic hand grip. It has a halogen bulb and would sink like a stone but it's very bright (claims 2,000,000 candle power) and the brightness is adjustable. Also has an LED work light in the grip.
 
exoduse35

exoduse35

Sustaining Member
I use theese at work and love them in the LED: They are not cheep but you never need to buy batteries! Edd
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[h=1]Streamlight 48329 Stinger DS LED w/ AC/ Dcfast Charge Piggyback[/h]
$91 online
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The case is made of 6000 series machined aircraft aluminum with nonslip rubberized comfort grip with antiroll rubber ring. Unbreakable polycarbonate with scratchresistant coating. 3-Watt Luxeon LED, impervious to shock with a 20,000 hour lifetime. High brightness: Up to 1.75 continuous hours; Medium brightness: Up to 3.50 continuous hours; Low brightness: Up to 6.75 continuous hours; Strobe: Up to 5.50 continuous hours. 8.85-Inch length.



<TBODY>
</TBODY>
 
R

rwthomas1

Sustaining Partner
I have three of the cheap 1-2 million candlepower spotlights that can be had for $15-$20 apiece on the boat. You know, the big ones that look like a car headlight with a pistolgrip? I've yet to have one die on me, despite having three on hand just in case. Keep them charged and they just seem to work.

RT
 
R

Rowan

Member I
We are also in the process of looking for a good spotlight. We haven't found one we like yet so I can't help you there but I can tell you that we purchased and returned the West Marine LED SuperSpot Searchlight. It seemed ideal, it was lightweight, bright, waterproof, and small. The problem is the way it switches between modes. There are three beam settings (high, low, and strobe). Instead of having a simple position switch to choose a setting, it toggles between settings each time you pull the trigger. Pull the trigger once you get high. Turn it off, then pull the trigger again and you get low. Do this again and you get blinded by the strobe. As far as I could tell there was no way to know which setting you were going to get when you picked it up (unless you had just used it and remembered the previous setting). I looked at the Dr. LED version at the Seattle Boat Show last week and it seems to be the same unit, just a different color. It occurs to me that maybe the switch is "smart" and resets it to high if not used for a few minutes? I didn't keep it long enough to find out. Anyway, it would be a really nice light if not for this issue.
 
Loren Beach

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
If we are going be away from the dock a lot, one that is designed for 12 volt recharging (i.e. no ac transformer required) would seem like a good idea.

LB
 
M

MarkA

Please Contact Admin.
P

PatTormey

Member I
Rechargable or not Rechargable.. That is the question..

The Streamlight 44900 Waypoint isn't rechargable which is why it lasts so long. Rechargable batteries do not have the power of their non-recharge equilivilants. BUT you can alway buy the kits to recharge off 12 volts, which might be both efficient and faster than internal batteries.

Just a thought.

Pat
Blue Skies
E 25+ Portsmouth NH
 
toddbrsd

toddbrsd

Ex-Viking, Now Native American
M

MarkA

Please Contact Admin.
toddbrsd said:
Not sure if this is a copyright infringement, but you have to be a member to access the article. Would you mind printing to .pdf and posting?
Click to expand...
As a lawyer, I would recommend that it not be published on this forum without express permission from PS--especially in today's climate. However the sharing of one article with one person via email probably falls within fair use. I'd hate to see this site shut down for "pirating."
 
toddbrsd

toddbrsd

Ex-Viking, Now Native American
MarkA said:
As a lawyer, I would recommend that it not be published on this forum without express permission from PS--especially in today's climate. However the sharing of one article with one person via email probably falls within fair use. I'd hate to see this site shut down for "pirating."
Click to expand...

Thanks for the legal advice Mark, that'll be $250 right. :)

Pat, forget the request to post, I agree with Mark, and it is not that important to me to risk it.
 
P

PatTormey

Member I
Practical Sailor

toddbrsd said:
Not sure if this is a copyright infringement, but you have to be a member to access the article. Would you mind printing to .pdf and posting?
Click to expand...

Everybody here should have subscription anyway. A real sailing magazine.. from bottom paints to toilet chemicals.. every issue has something ..

Pat
E25+ Portsmouth NH


The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
<cite>Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act
4, scene 2, 71–78</cite>
 
M

MarkA

Please Contact Admin.
toddbrsd said:
Thanks for the legal advice Mark, that'll be $250 right. :) Pat, forget the request to post, I agree with Mark, and it is not that important to me to risk it.
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When my fees clear PayPal, I'll send you a copy of the article ;)
 
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