Over the last year or so, I have gone from grabbing as many high-powered but cheap lights as I could afford, to more expensive high-powered lights, then to AA lights for more indoor and emergency use.
I've also pretty much eliminated any light that forces me to cycle through any blinky modes when going from one brightness to another. Life is short, I don't need the aggravation.
That's funny...when I heard this story, my first thought was the idea of those crawling around the listing ship, in the dark.
You are right - a few decent lights could have made a big difference. Can you imagine the retired folks packing the corridors in their life jackets? Brrrr ! It sends a shiver down my spine...
If anyone wants a more or less bulletproof light (back-up dive light) I would recommend the Ultrafire W200 which is available at DX for about $36.
It uses 3 AA batteries and has a front Plexiglas lens that is about 6mm thick. The body is Delrin and it’s a twisty head switch. One mode with XR-E emitter. It is well focused which is important underwater but is very helpful in fog, mist, steam or any kind of emergency situation. It also has finger grooves (grips) the entire length of the body.
Just don’t leave alkaline batteries in it. If they leak it’s almost impossible to get them out.
Size is roughly head 40mm, body 30mm, length 200mm.
Although flashlights on the ship would have been great, I learned something horrifying today. On an old episode of MythBusters, the MB crew tested the myth that sharks are attracted to flashlights, and it turns out that sharks are. :X So if you are in a body of water that has sharks, try to keep your flashlights off.
Sorry troop, just an aside here, but that's very interesting about the sharks. Never heard of that before. I wonder if it's because a flashlight triggers the same response as sunlight reflecting off siver fish scales?
The problem with talking about “sharks” is that they aren’t all the same.
Sharks are also curious and check out most everything in the water.
Here’s a picture I took at night with a flash and a flashlight up close and personal. I’d rather have a light around a shark than not. http://gbpics.shutterfly.com/103
@ trooplewis: "But I do wonder how they would react to strobe mode...."
They'd probably hate it and ask Erik to swap the driver for them.
Bad jokes aside, I wondered the same thing. I know a lot of dangerous animals can be frightened off by sudden bright lights; maybe their instinctual fear of fire is triggered. Not sure if this is something likely to be bred into a shark's survival mechanism (not many fires under the sea) but it's hard to imagine any creature not being afraid of a blinding strobe.
