I was using my BLF Q8 (reflector light) on a white bay boat at night and the reflection from the boat was terrible. The more I cranked the light up to see further the more blinded I would get from reflection off the boat. A fixed aspheric light would be good but I have no suggestions outside of a modified one.
Granted this boat I was on I am sunk down in the hull having to hold the light in my hands. Your situation may be different if you have a raised platform or something to use.
I would be standing on deck holding the light above my head (I’m 6’6” tall) probably at the bow while the crew steers. So reflection from the boat itself would be minimal.
And finally the laser phosphor option suggested above if you want a true pencil beam. Lots of warnings about shining this in people’s eyes and it seems pretty niche for its uses though:
You won’t be illuminating objects on a distant shore with it, but if I were headed into that sort of environment I would absolutely have an HDS with me. Rock solid, super reliable, built to take a beating in all sorts of environments. The guy who makes them is a caver and built a flashlight he can trust his life to. I’d probably want something else too, something larger and more powerful, but the HDS would definitely be with me too.
After al suggestions above I still think you would be most happy with a thrunite tn40 or 42 and maybe the C version if you want to charge in your light.
The lep lights have a far to narrow beam. You will be waving it around like a lightsaber to see something.
How is the tint on the Maxtoch with no filter? Is it as blue/ saber like as the W30? (I love the saber look, yet my eyes choose warm > neutral > cool every time). Any difference in diameter/size of beam? The distances we are talking about are so far anyway, I don’t believe a small difference in throw would make any impact on my buying decision, unless that difference is significant. I love the W10 CRI beam tint posted in another thread…looks so nice! Now seeing the W30 is out there in high CRI, the tint feels like it could be the deciding factor. I am also seeing a premium for the CRI edition, narrowing the cost gap between the Xsword and W30 CRI. I’m interested in your take.
On the plus side, you could make the “fwooom fwooom” sound effects while doing that…
Still, “two is one, one is none”, especially out on the ol’ briny, so I’d get a WEP for looooong-distance throwing, a pair of big zoomies (Cometas/Z1s, Brynites, etc.) for medium distance throwing, and even a big honkin’ Q8 for closer more general-purpose use.
Could you clarify this? The Maxtoch web page Contactcr linked to says the light has an LED, not LEP, with 1900m throw. The Acebeam claims 2400m throw. Which model Maxtoch do you have, is it different from the linked one?