LED Searchlight

[CarlF]

I discovered this spring that yet another 900 million candlepower rechargeable hand held searchlight I bought at West Marine won't take a charge (this isn't West's fault. Same lights everywhere). Even when it did take a charge, it never was very good. Heavy and the beam didn't reach very well.

So I looked around and bought a Dorcy 41-4296 160 Lumen led spotlight for $30. It runs on 4 standard C batteries (which the manufacturer claims will last for 30 hours).

When it arrived I took it outside, pointed it at the top of the tallest tree, and turned it on. It was like I was calling Superman! A narrow, tightly focused beam with a very white color. I aimed it down the road and could easily light up mail boxes 150 yards away. It's odd shape and a trigger ON switch made it feel like I had my own comic book Death Beam.

The only negative - and it's substantial - is that the thing isn't waterproof. It's all made of a rubbery plastic that looks waterproof but inexplicably the battery door is on the bottom of the handle and completely unprotected. But with 30 hour battery life, I'm going to seal it with tape.

Carl

[duncan_ellison]

I retrofitted my C Cell Maglite rechargable with one of these :TerraLUX > Products > Portable > Upgrades > TLE-300MR-EX LED upgrades.

At 700 Lumens it's quite incredibily bright and gives a teriffic beam. I have the 'docking charger' by the nav station so I can always find it and it always has juice.

Plus it's waterproof.

Duncan

[svaletheia]

That's not a searchlight, THIS is a searchlight:

Heavy Gun WeaponLights provided by SureFire

[Zanshin]

svaletheia - a while back I received a prototype of Version 1.0 of that light from Surefire and we beat the cr*p out of it, in the field and mounted as furniture. The light was painfully bright and I loved it. I'd certainly have one on board today if it weren't so pricey, even at dealer discount. One is paying for a light that can withstand the shocks of being mounted to a firearm on full-auto and that is a bit of overkill.

[svaletheia]

Ah yes.. its the one I lust after, for sure. Glad to hear it lives up to its price.

Any experience with the other, more mundane, Surefires? I have 4x G2 LED onboard as general purpose lights and an L1 that I love dearly, but I haven't used any of their brighter things.

CarlF: I'd be interested in your waterproof-testing that light once you tape it up. If its any good (especially if it floats!) that would be quite a useful light, although I'm not so sure I like having to carry C cells just for it. Everything else I have is standardized on CR123A lithium or AA. Still looking for a true nighttime searchlight for rescue or navigational purposes.

[LakeSuperior]

I have used this relatively inexpensive light for wreck diving and as an intense surface spotlight for 18 years. The bulbs are dual filament so when one burns out you have a second by just turning the switch. Additionally, a second spare bulb is mounted inside the light.

Although now Pelican says it is not for scuba I have used both of mine to over 200 ft deep (maybe the design has been changed). However, Pelican does say it is water resistant.

It seems very shock resistant as I have two knocking around on boats and dive bags and have only lost one filament since I bought them. If you want an inexpensive intense torch this is it IMHO.

Pelican Kinglite 4000 flashlight

[Roy M]

I use these lights for my boat and my customers: http://www.magnalight.com/pc-1344-28...125-x-125.aspx. HID (High Intensity Discharge) offer almost three times the light output at thirty percent less amps.