My first interaction with an LED flashlight was many years ago, as early as 1994 no later than 1996. I was working at West Marine. I consulted with many cruisers out of the Annapolis store. This is back when the company valued knowledge and experience. I had a customer who "invented" an LED flashlight/anchor light. This thing had a single LED bulb and was powered by a single AA battery. These things were going to sell for over $100. I have no idea why my customer chose me to test the thing.
When you are a cruiser on a sailboat power is everything. You only have so many amps in a battery to power essential systems; engine starting, refrigeration, lighting to name just a few. Those amps need to be replaced when used. They can only be replaced in a number of ways; shore power, engine generation, solar, wind, there are others but these are the major ways. Most people don't think of this as a critical situation; after all, you walk into a room, flick a switch and you have light. Not so on a cruising boat. If you do a long cruise or ocean transit there is a finite amount of power that can be manufactured. For this reason each amp used is guarded. Enter the LED anchor light.
If you are anchored you need to post an anchor light for the 8-10 hours of dark to be safe and legal. If a standard anchor light consumes 5 amps per hour you could burn 50 amps in one night. That is power that can no longer be used for critical or luxury functions; starting the engine or generator, cooling food in the fridge. An LED light could cut that usage to 1 amp.
Fast forward to 2013. Led lights are common in flashlights and are now replacing incandescent and CFL light bulbs.
Flashlights, portable light. With LED's long lasting bright light. So many choices, what to buy. With endless funds, there are endless possablities. However, if you want to spend as little as possible and still get a good reliable light the matter becomes more poinient.
For many years I depended on the venerable Photon Keychain light for $20 www.photonlight.com/.
It used to be made in the US (possibly no longer), virtually indestructible. The LED leads used to be coated in gold to resist corrosion. I've taken these lights offshore up and down the coast, to Bermuda on races. I've washed them, they've been rained on and dowsed with sea water. They came through with flying colors. The worst that happened is that the wet closed the contacts and the light stayed on. Dry them out and things go back to perfect.
But what if you want to go cheaper. Harbor Freight sells a 9 led flashlight in two packs that are usually on sale for about $1.75 each. They're pretty nice they have aluminum bodies, 9 LED's, they use three AAA batteries in a little tri pack. I haven't tested these for water intrusion. The thing I don't like is that they use the AAA batteries. These aren't as common as AA batteries.
If I had a wish for a perfect light it would be a Mag Light Solitaire that uses a single AA battery with an LED bulb. I've yet to find it.
But I did find at Wally World for $1.49, the Rayovac 2AA Economy Flashlight. It has a single white LED and uses two AA batteries. With alkaline batteries it has a life of 3 hours. Oddly, their website doesn't say that it is an LED light. This light has a center focus spot in the lens that projects a bright beam in the center and a nice round flood about the center. They don't bill this light as waterproof or even water resistant. Why is it a good light. It's just over a buck and it does the job. At this price you should put one in each car, every nook and cranny on the boat or around the house, just in case the power goes out. But... keep a Photon Micro Lite on your keychain.
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