Or if you are willing to pay $200. This is the ultimate light for your purpose
The Jaxman Z1 is one of the highest quality zoomies out there and this is modded with the SBT90.2 with lens removed. You can have flood or pure throw with zero spill. https://skylumen.com/collections/v54-lights/products/jaxman-z1vn-large-zoomie
I think this is a good situation for multiple lights (well, what job doesn’t require multiple flashlights for a flashaholic, right? lol)
I like a zoomie on the water for two reasons:
The lack of spill cuts through haze and spray better. Spill from reflector lights can be problematic at times.
Often I’m trying to light up the shoreline and only the shoreline and it’s 100 yards away. I’m not trying to light up the campsite or even “those bushes over there”.
I find CCT in the 3500 range works well for me, cool white is especially glaring on the water, but ultra-warm CCTs like 2700K or 3000K don’t seem to work well for me in this use case (love them for other outdoors activities like camping/hiking).
BUT (as mentioned) zoomies are heavy and not as water-tight as “regular” lights. You can tie a piece of foam or a beer koozie (my preference for a makeshift float, lol but it works great) to the lanyard to keep it from sinking, but it can still get water ingress if you drop it.
So I’d carry the zoomie as a primary, and keep a backup of some sort that you trust to be water tight (test it at home).
Honestly, I always have at least three on the boat:
primary zoomie
backup in my pocket, backpack, or nearby
emergency backup that lives in the boat storage box permanently (use lithium primaries for temperature stability and long life storage)
Thats kind of been my thought, 2 lights (backup). I even considered a long thrower and short thrower light. I’ve already been brainstorming float idea for the lights but the koozie is a new one.
Any zoomies in mind?
Been going through the boating forums and finding the Derrelight NM800-4S very popular amongst boaters. They swear by the aspheric lens usefulness out on the water.
I have a handfull of Brynite B158 and B158b with various emitters and drivers since it used to be cheap ($30) and is super easy to mod. I see fewer listings and higher prices these days though.
Jaxman Z1 is a good light, slightly biggger/chunkier (26650 vs 18650 tube) which can be a good or bad thing (if I don’t mind the size/weight, I really like the chunkier fit in my hand).
I’ve been doing offshore yacht racing for 25yrs. At night, the crew is always wearing an inflatable life vest with a strobe and whistle attached to it. Been using a Convoy C8 with XPL-HI for several years to spot channel markers at night. I’ve bought all the high powered expensive lights including the BLF GT, but always come back to the good ol Convoy C8. Durable, cheap, pocketable, and easy for anyone on board to use. Just grease up the o-rings with a silicone dielectric grease, and you’re good to go. And if you really want one to throw like a banshee, install a fet driver and bypass the springs
