You are looking at the current champion in the ongoing best yachting flashlight contest.
Our first reaction when we unpacked this was, “Junk.” It is a fraction of the weight of the “tactical” style lights we have had in the past. Happily, we decided to test it before sending it back. It is exceptionally bright. The low weight and handle make it much easier to grip and aim. And the battery really does work. The spec page says five hours, we have tested it to four, and can verify that after four hours this light is still very bright.
The Odear rechargeable shown above is our current best buy. At US $37.88 from Amazon (Amazon link) the Odear provides a lot of bang for the buck.
We now have three. One for land use, and two for Cochise. We will order one of their headlamps to test in the dinghy.
Posted by Steve Dashew (April 3, 2017)
April 3rd, 2017 at 12:11 pm
I have often wondered why they don’t simply rotate the handle 90 degrees on items like this. If you look at the bio-mechanics of a human wrist it seems like that would make them much more comfortable to use. If you look at an old fashioned oil fired lantern the ergonomics were better. https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/371882173676_/DIETZ-VESTA-Rusty-Old-Railroad-Style-Lantern-clear.jpg
April 6th, 2017 at 6:33 pm
The ergonomics of that lantern might be ok, but if you try to lift one by the handle you’ll need welders gloves or better. Heat rises, you see
April 3rd, 2017 at 4:15 pm
Actually, if you care about ergonomics, the best answer starts with a 19 degree angle implemented as a curve…just like a banana. The ultimate “hi-tech” lamp would be a banana with a really bright lens/light assembly where the stem is and switch on top just forward of the thumb. It would look much like the aft half of a 1790s flintlock pistol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintlock#/media/File:Billing,_flintl%C3%A5spistol,_1700-1730_-_Skoklosters_slott_-_90774.tif
April 5th, 2017 at 9:37 pm
That’s a shot in the right direction.
April 5th, 2017 at 2:51 pm
Hi Steve!
At market exist a lot of bright and good price flashlights, but Exposure Lights from UK are high-end products and perfect for use.
April 6th, 2017 at 12:47 pm
Steve,
Just out of curiosity, is there any information regarding lumen output? How is the beam spread? Sorry, I’m a lighting guy, can’t help myself sometimes, but both factor are important for comparison purposes.
Thanks,
Jono
April 7th, 2017 at 11:02 am
Hi Jono:
The “data” on all these devices is highly suspect, at least that is what we have found. What we can tell you having now used it on the water is that is is very easy to use, amazingly bright at a fraction of the weight/cost of our other powerful lights, and has a very tightly focused beam.