Spotlight recommendations for night cruising

BritLady said:
Way too many:)
Click to expand...

Amen to that!
Last weekend there was a local airshow going on right close by the lake, the amount of folks drinking and reeking of alcohol around the ramp dock was incredible, and yes some were driving the boats.
 
Gofirstclass said:
lidokey, I have no idea how bright a 10W LI light will be because I don't know of a way to convert that from 10W to candlepower. But if you can't 'light up' a stop sign from 1/4 mile away I'd probably be looking for a different light.

I want a light that will really catch someone's attention at night.
Click to expand...

I presume the OP is talking about a 10W LED, which should be more than adequate


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
As usual, the answer to how bright a 10W or 5W or whatever watt LED is "it depends". LED's are constantly improving, more lumens per watt, cost reductions, etc. So, it depends upon the quality of the LED, is it a recently produced product, is it some cheap Chinese brand or is it a top rated Cree or Nichia unit. It also depends upon how well built the portable light is, the geometry of the reflector, the quality of the reflector and lens, etc. However, as IanBat said, a 10 W light should be more than adequate. You should easily be able to discern a reflection on a stop sign at 1/4 mile with a good quality 10 W LED portable light. I believe that a 5 W LED today has at least 300 lumens, perhaps more. I just read that Cree has introduced an LED which is rated at 200 lumens/watt. I don't know if that is shipping commercially yet but you get my point about the improvements in output that the LED guys are making. Also, best to buy a light with rechargeable lithium batteries. Longer lasting, more charge cycles, no memory effect.
 
A LED rechargeable spotlight would be perfect for my use. I don't know the rating on it, but I have an LED flashlight (Nitebeam 260 by All Pro Optics) that can fully illuminate the side of my house from the river which is about 150 yards away. It will pick up a reflective stop sign from almost 1/2 mile and the darn thing is powered by 3 AAA batteries. I love it.

I'd like to have a spotlight with about 10 of those LED's in it. That would REALLY light up a boat that was approaching.
 
I have this one.
http://www.cruiserled.ca/LED-Flashlights-Waterproof/led-flashlight-1000-lumens
Nice small unit but very bight. Can also be run at half power, used as a strobe light and will flash the SOS signal. Waterproof and has a rechargeable battery and charger.

I also have the remote controlled spotlight on the bow of my boat. The only time I use it is to test to see if it works.
 
Last edited:
Believe that is a 5Watt light. If you got your wish and had a light with 10 of them, your light would last about 45 seconds with the same 3AAA's, if it even powered them up. You can currently buy affordable 10W lights and soon, 15 watt lights. A year from now, I suspect you can double that. This is a technology that rewards those who are patient.
 
Westie, that light is very similar to the one I have and I like it.

Does anyone have a link to any high powered LED handheld, rechargeable spotlights?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,218
Messages
1,428,820
Members
61,115
Latest member
Gardnersf
Back
Top