I need a recommendation for a light to keep on my kayak for use during unexpected night activities. I often do all day fishing trips on somewhat remote little rivers and want a light should I ever have a trip run into the night, on purpose or by some situation. I have other lights I would pack for a planned camping trip or a night fishing trip, but this light would be something I permanently stow in my small waterproof emergency box along with essentials like my first aid kit and multi tool.
This light should be rugged, reliable and water resistant so I can basically ignore it for months at a time and still work if I need it. A clip to use it on the bill of my ballcap would be nice but not required. 18650 if good or perhaps AA LiON the way to go (and a cell recommendation too as I don’t have any AA LiON experience yet).
I can see myself using it on my ballcap as a makeshift headlamp to light up the stream ahead as I paddle in the dark. These would be quiet streams, not shooting rapids. Or perhaps holding it to find something i’ve dropped, or illumination some unforeseen situation.
Some thoughts on your request. Having worn an AAA light on the bill of my hat, I don’t think getting an AA or 18650 light that is rugged is going to be very practical. It tends to weight the hat down more than you might imagine. At least that’s the way it is for me. Maybe since you are sitting in your kayak it’s a bit less of an issue than when walking, but regardless it seems like you should consider a headlamp. Can be used in the hand if necessary. Would say a AA would be better than an 18650 for weight, and you could then use lithium primaries. Could buy a 4 pack and just keep them all in the waterproof box, or as many as you think you need to get back to where you want. How many lumens do you think you need, and how long does the light need to last?
Not sure why the light needs to be super rugged if it will spend its life in a box, but I do get the “it’s got to work” factor.
Floating/Waterproof is my first suggestion, but who knows what cells they might take.
For long-term storage, stick with either ’123s or AA eneloops. Keep spares for ’123s, and you can always recharge eneloops.
The SP32Av2 can take two ’123s, and the SF11/SF14 (one’s so-so, one’s nice, forget which is which) that’s a tailswitch light can “keep” without parasitic drain. The Lumintop Tool AA is quite nice, too. The Jetbeam Jet-I is a nice twisty (no switch) which has one less point of ingress.
Never never never never never use alkaleaks, unless you want to come back to the light only to find it ruined.
Oh yeh. Lanyard, lanyard, lanyard. Normally they bug me, but near water, use it.
For any emergency-type light, I’d stick with primary (non-rechargeable) lithium cells. Maybe something like a single-cell CR123 form-factor.
Plenty of options out there in that category. :+1:
It costs more because it has three sections; the one I have indicated has only two sections, but it is better with two sections, less chance of infiltration.
I got eight, and I changed the driver to this one for all of them; the original driver is practically a direct driver and (in my opinion) it is not reliable because it can raise the temperature of the P60 module (by the way, it is compatible with P60).
My daughter used this flashlight for work under a boat (on the propeller) at night and found it excellent
The idea of a headlamp makes good sense to me. I’ve had good experience with Princeton Tec and Fenix, although don’t see many options in a single AA headlamp. Almost all seem to be AAA which means having 3 additional cells required for backup.
Will a CR123 or AA Lithium last longer? I like the idea of a single cell headlight in one of these 2 cells. Then I can keep a 2-paack of the cells onboard, not even have them installed to prevent any possible loss.
