Hello everyone,
I am looking for a budget flashlight somewhere close to 50$ for night cruising-fishing. Is there anything that will fulfill its purpose in that budget? I have a stock of 8 18650 batteries to use. I remember a case of a xenon flashlight that had great throw and wide beam (8” mirror) but i cant find it now.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!!
Small Sun ZY-T13 is great value for money. The HD2010 is worth considering too, although some have weak drivers.
Both have good throw for a single XM-L emitter and usable spill beam. To get significantly better throw you’ll likely be looking at a fair bit more money.
The Sky Ray King 3xXM-L is available at this money too. Huge output and massive flood ability with fairly good beam distance too. But it gets hot for prolonged use on High.
Thank you for your reply, so i guess the king is better choice due to spill. I have been reading a lot about it and i am interested to see how well it performs
You want the narrowest beam possible for night cruising. You want throw for picking out buoys and landmarks for navigation, but spill will reflect off the water and screw your night vision all to hell.
interesting point, i am familiar with the landscape and what worries me is swimmers or other objects that cant be seen during night. I dont have any experience on night trips, what i will do is to keep going to my familiar (daytime) fishing spots but by night
Ouchyfoot is right on! I use the tightest beam light available for night trips on the boat. I’m looking forward to trying out my Defiant 3C this summer.
I also find a slightly warmer tint seems better when there’s a light fog on the water.
You’re right on about that as well. That’s why fog lamps used to have yellow lenses. Fog and atmosphere scatters cooler (bluish) light more than warmer light (longer wavelength).
Consider the DST from HD - good throw, nice spot, good but not too bright spill- see spacer in the DST thread for 18650. Adapter for 2 in parallel is there, too. Look for pics and discussion maybe 3-4 pages back from current end.
Maybe something with an aspheric lens might work well for this if a narrow beam is needed. My modded Mag 3D with an XP-E drop in and DX aspheric out throws my Small Sun ZY-T13.
Op - along the lines of focusable lights, I’ve been very impressed with my POP lite T33 and T34. They are compact and have great throw for their size and out put.
my vote is for SmallSun ZY-T13 or T08 
thank you all for your replies,
so my options:
With warmer light? Are there available somewhere?
I also have a ~15$ credit on deal extreme for a flashlight i never received, i think it was a jakob.
Also i cant understand which one you mean on “DST from HD”
And one more idea, should i consider a diving flashlight? there are occasions i have to do underwater stuff and could really use a torch.
Remember, other than using a high power light as an intermittent navigation aid, extensive use of a light source, other than running lights over water is bad Ju-Ju. It blinds other boaters, ruins night vision, and spooks fish. Common sense should be added to the equation.
Ok, as i said i don’t have any experience on night trips by boat so thank you for correcting me. So as i get it i will need a flashlight with warm white big throw to spot near coast marks for navigation and this is also suitable for piking up buoys and in water stuff? guess yes.
Do ZY-T08 & ZY-T13 come in diving edition or is the ipx-8 enough?
I boat at night a lot and I use a corded 12 volt halogen spotlight for marker spotting .
And gar gigging .
dont forget about the jacob a60. this one can be had for under $20. its a must buy for your boat cruise!
Why dont you try the LED fishing hats? i think thats very convenient for you.
@Gerry0902
Whats new in the M6? I cant find any differences.
@panthervision23
you mean something like this? hm interesting
@blueb8llz
Jacob is also an option, i tried to buy it once but never received :~
I also have thoughts for this one
So, between the sky king, jacob, small suns ZY-T?? etc. which one do you vote?
I will recommend the mini flashlight like tank007 e09…
for sea navigation? seems like small with small runtimes…
Especially for a boat, where there is always the risk of getting the flashlight wet, i would have never chosen a typical ‘budget’ light.
Moreover, i would definitely need long run hours, good throw, to be truly water proof, and (very important) to have strobe/SOS.
I would also avoid lithium batteries, just in case…
For all above reasons i have chosen Fenix LD40 for my boat in the island and i am very happy with my choice.
In addition, the light (with the absence of knurling) can be cleaned easily and the shape of body provides a good and safe grip.