Hi guys
I have found my way to your forum after buying a couple of LED flashlights advertised on Ozbargain.com.au
Your forum was mentioned in comments by a helpful guy called “aussieprepper” on ozbargain.
I go by the same username here as on ozbargain.
Anyway I guess I am really looking for lights I can use fishing/prawning. That means IP68 rated preferably.
I am still a torch noob. I own about 4 different 18650 powered torches - they are all small and reasonably cheap ones. I am looking to get a few better ones.
The charger I have is a Nitecore I4 (I believe its only a V1.0, not a V2.0) and it came with 4 Nitecore branded batteries (NL186 9.6Wh).
They haven’t been given a great deal of use to date, but have worked fine when they have.
I used the XML-T6 while wading in belly deep water prawning.
It gave off more light than an old-school 12 volt powered halogen underwater prawning light (think 1.2 metre long handle running down to halogen light that must be run while submersed only). The light from the halogen was noticeably yellow versus the very white light of the XML-T6.
The XML-T6 also lasted 5 hours without showing any sign of running out of power.
I also had a 12 volt powered cheap LED prawning light, made by a company called FORCE TEN.
The XML-T6 appeared to be putting out a similar if not better amount of light to this thing, which kinda shocked me (in the positive for the XML-T6 and the negative for the Force Ten).
I purchased a 37 Lumen LED specialised prawning light on EBAY.
When it turned up it had the cigarette lighter style connection to 12 volt, not the alligator clips. It came with non-waterproof convertor to alligator clips. It was therefore useless for my purposes and I returned it without using it. The seller has since updated their photos and description. I note it had 900 lumen output rating which is around half the rated output on my XML-T6.
There is an obvious advantage if I can have a handheld 18650 powered Ip68 rated torch that puts out say 2000+ lumens - no need to lug around a 12 volt battery on a tyre inner tube, no worrying about the electrical cable connecting the 12 volt battery to the light. A lot safer and easier to move around with an 18650, as long as I can trust it as I dont want things to go dark all of a sudden!
The other attractive option would be a specialised prawn light like the Force Ten style, but one putting out say 4000 lumens!
Think this but better lumens: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/milwaukee-light-/172052114289
There is a big market for prawn lights - there are AA and AAA jobs around but I am concerned about their light output and their battery life - I’m surprised I havent come across any 18650 ones.
For example, some LEDs on EBAY that use C size batteries only output 400 lumens. Some AA powered lights only 130 lumens