Flashlights Fail!
If there’s one thing that we don’t seem to have much luck with on our boats, it’s flashlights. It doesn’t matter whether we buy cheap ones or expensive ones, they all seem to fail, and sometimes, rapidly!
Just the other day we had some friends over to the boat for sundowners and we shared stories until way after dark. Obviously not planning on staying so long, as we often do, they had forgotten to bring a flashlight with them. Not wanting them to run up on the reef or get run over by one of the fast-moving local boats, we sent them off with one of our last remaining flashlights: a tiny, cheap giveaway that we received for free somewhere. A day or so later, looking to replace that flashlight with something more formidable, we purchased the one that you see in the image below. Our friend Ron, who works at the chandlery, told us that it will last forever. Guess what? It didn’t even work right out of the packaging! Now before you suggest it, yes, the batteries were put in correctly. Rebecca already made sure of that. And yes, the batteries that were included in the package are fully charged. Frustrating!
Do you have a recommendation for a good but not crazy expensive flashlight? Let’s hear it!
UPDATE: I took the non-functioning flashlight back to our friend Ron and he replaced it with another one. We obviously got a lemon the first time around. Not only did the replacement one work perfectly, it felt completely different when screwing it together.
Underwater Kinetics Mini Q40 eLED Plus Flashlight. they also make a zoom model.
Thanks.
Maglite, these some times fail too, but spares are available for them. Like most things on boats, flashlights (or as torches as we call them) need servicing too.
We do have a mini Maglight on board too. It’s not an LED model.
Mike we love our Stanley pistol grip. It’s waterproof, charges on both 110 and 12 volt, and is incredibly bright. I can’t remember how much we paid for it because we’ve had it so long but I think it was less than $30. We got it at Lowe’s but I’ve seen them everywhere.
Deb
S/V Kintala
http://www.theretirementproject.blogspot.com
Thanks for the recommendation.
Wow! Surprising! My Pelican lights were all great and I used them regularly when snorkeling around the bottom of the boat (what’s lurking in that thru-hull?).
I still laugh when I think of the guarantee – covered for anything other than bear attack, shark bites and boys under 5 years old!
I took it back to the store and got a different one. The one we had must have been a lemon. Not only does the replacement work perfectly, it also feels entirely different when screwing on the cap.
Try these
http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-31/026553/Scuba-Mini-U-Beam-5-L.E.D.-Dive-Light..html
for $8 each you cant go wrong
That link is a little messed up.
Copy and paste instead of clicking.
A salesman was handing these out on a military vessel while a friend of mine was doing sub-contract work on the boat. He in turn passed it on to another old buddy of mine who then passed it on to me because I exclaimed what a nice little light, “here it’s yours” he said.
For 4 years that little light kicked around “in” my toolbox and never failed me. Now it’s on board with two more and all three are constantly used. It’s not overly powerful, but plenty great for on board.
http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Professional-3-LED-Batteries-Included/dp/B000R8J8CQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414150138&sr=8-2&keywords=tuf2aape
I second the recommendation for the Energizer flashlights. I bought one of the little 2x AA ones in Cape Town as an inspection light whilst overseeing a refit. I still have it and have not cared for it at all, but it keeps on going, it often spends months a time damp in the pocked of my foulie salopettes. I’ve had good luck with Pelican too, the only one I have ever owned is still going strong after what must be 20 years!
I have seen those around. Thanks.
How sad! I dropped one of these overboard in Maine and sadly watched it glow for hours until I went to bed. Have you ever checked the candlepower forums for suggestions?
We now have a working one. Let’s hope it holds up.
It’s those D cell emergency flashers that failed me right out of the box. Out of 4 only one functioned.
That’s not good!
“Just the other day we had some friends over to the boat for sundowners…” Didn’t I read you’d sworn off booze for the month on October?
Six people on board, only one drinking alcohol.
I don’t know if you can get Harbor Freight items shipped to you, but they’re great for cheap tools n stuff. On the land side, I’ve bought a bunch of the multi LED thingys. it has a plastic hook and a magnet for versatile placements. it has a bright face for space illumination or a flashlight side feature. and going on free to $3 depending on the sale, I have them all over the house. They’re great refrigerator magnets too!
Maybe we could stick them to the ship’s compass? 😉
http://www.harborfreight.com/household/lighting/27-led-portable-worklightflashlight-69567.html
I thinking they sell them at the check out at Ace hardware.
I have several “good” flashlights. The one I use on the boat is a Jetbeam PA 40. It is carbon fiber, gasketed, led, runs on four Aa batteries, and up to 468 lumens. At low power it runs just about forever. Goinggear.com is where I get my flashlight toys. I use this all the time and after three years it is not pretty but it still runs first time ever time. Candlepower is a site I like.
Great blog ya’ll have.
Paul
468 lumens is a lot!
I like the Coast PX25. Very bright LED, like 200 lumens I believe. Home Depot on st Thomas , cost about 45-50$. 2 years+ and still working.
I’ll look at that when we get there. Thanks.
Cree LEDs off Ebay. I swear by ’em now.
I have an ~800 lumen (dimmable) XML-T6 , rain-resistant with zoom lens – 9 bucks. Also three 150 lumen deep-red ones, that don’t screw up your night vision – 10 to 16 bucks. And a 2000 lumen triple XML-T6 with dive seals, dimmable – $40 or $50. That thing will light up 100m of shoreline well enough for you to see in colour at 150m range.
They all take type 18650 Li-ion rechargeable batteries and ship from any number of Hong Kong warehouses in two weeks. I’ve never come across any lights this good in a North American store.
Thanks, Matt.