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Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       12-02-2017, 9:32 AM Reply   
Well I know most everyone is Not boating at night this time of year But Christmas is around the corner so I thought I would share some info and perhaps you can get a light for yourself or give one as as a gift. This information is going talk about inexpencieve lights. I have expensive lights (Elbert’s and surefire) and they are awesome, BUT they are $200+ each and I’m not intrested in worrying about dropping it in the water and or handing it to someone that will do that for me. Most of the time the light is needed by someone else and I don’t wanna be worried about them loosing my $200 light. So I looked for a boat flash light that’s bright and works well and is inexpencieve.


First off let’s talk about Beam pattern.
Flash lights have so many different beam patterns it will make your head spin, What works best for you is subjective. Thats why I recommend a Zoomable Beam.its adjustable and can go from a spotlight to a Flood. Spotlight works great for night time navigation. Flood work great for finding things in and around your boat, or waking down a path. Most big bad a$$ lights you see with 12,000 Lumens are Flood pattern. If you have a Flood pattern and your using it to navigate you will quickly find out it’s USLESS. The light go’s off like a shot gun blast and reflects off everything in your boat and blinds you. You can actually see further with the light off. Now with a spot light for navigation the beam leaves the boat like a laser beam. It dosent light up the interior of the boat as it leaves the flashlight therefore it dosent reflect on the boats interior & dosent blind you. Although it’s illegal to navagate with a spot light it works very effective for spotting potential water hazards. With that said
Please Don’t ever flash or shine your light on other boat, unless you want a pissed off confrontation. If your boating along at night your eyes are all adjusted down to low light your eyes are VERY sensitive to light. If a person in another boat shines his or her light into your boat it can blind you for a few moments & it’s just very bad manners so please don’t ever do it. Ok with that out of the way.


I have tested a few different lights (at least 12) and I’m not gonna say a specific brand or price but rather a Style of light. A light called a T-6 it’s a style of Zoomable single LED with a fish eye Optic flash light. I have seen them for sale as cheep as $5 each and as much as $30 each.

So in my opinion the T-6 is a great light for many reasons. It’s inexpencieve and some what disposable. It easily fits in your pocket or a cup holder or on your dash. So it’s easy to get if you need it at a moments notice. Big bad a$$ lights you have to sto them away and then dig for them when you need them. Having one real close & easy to get to is key. Plus them being so cheep you can buy a few and have them in and around. Aslo driving with the small T-6 in one hand and driving with the other is much easier if it’s a small light weight light.

T-6 lights can be powered 2 different ways. #1 you can use 3 aaa Battery’s or #2 you can use a rechargeable 18650 Lithium Battery. I have found the light to be slightly brighter when you use the 18650 battery, BUT I don’t like to have to have or find a charger. The 3 AAA Battery’s work great and it’s great that they are so available.





Here is a photo of a few T-6 lights I have been taking about.
1st Photo is zoomed out
2nd Photo is zoomed in
3rd is the optic
Attached Images
   
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       12-02-2017, 9:35 AM Reply   
They also have a upgrade to the T-6 is a bigger badder version of the T-6. This one is Zoomable and runs on 3 of the 18650 Lithium Battery’s.
Attached Images
     
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       12-02-2017, 9:40 AM Reply   
Here is a side by side of the Small T-6 vs the Larger 3 cell version.
The last photo is a zoomed out (spotlight) example of the difference of the size and brightness of the final zoomed out beam configuration. Over all I would say that the bigger light is 20% brighter but it comes at a cost, more Battery’s and larger not as easy to store or handle.
Attached Images
   
Old     (wakesk8er2)      Join Date: Mar 2002       12-02-2017, 3:05 PM Reply   
My dad loves flashlights. May have to look into one of those big guys for him.

We both currently have older Streamlights that are in need of an upgrade. Like anything else, it's crazy what you can spend on a flashlight.
Old     (xstarrider)      Join Date: Jun 2007       12-02-2017, 9:14 PM Reply   
If you’re looking for quality lights that won’t break the bank , Streamlight is probably the best bang for your buck, Surefire has gone down the crapper , and produces some of the most overpriced garbage . Lots of issues with their newer lights .
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       12-03-2017, 1:27 PM Reply   
What streamlight can you recommend?
The T-6 shown above is $5-10
The larger 3 cell is $30
Old     (trayson)      Join Date: May 2013 Location: Vancouver WA       12-04-2017, 11:19 AM Reply   
Where are you finding the best prices on the T-6? I'm seeing plenty of vendors selling them for way more...
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       12-04-2017, 2:36 PM Reply   
Yes I see these “Tactical” shops selling the same cheep light for $30+ you can find dozens on Amazon for $10
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       12-04-2017, 2:40 PM Reply   
Here ya go
Attached Images
 
Old     (grant_west)      Join Date: Jun 2005       12-04-2017, 2:44 PM Reply   
And that’s $13 for 2 of them. I see others selling them in 5 and 10 packs, a friend buys them by the case and gives them away as Christmas gifts to random friends and family. That’s who turned me on to these a year or so ago

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