The switch is built into the tailpiece-turning it full clockwise turns the light on-but the tailpiece also functions as a momentary push-button switch when partially rotated. I left it under about three feet of water overnight and found no moisture had entered the case. Sea kayakers won’t need that particular design feature, but the no-compromise quality built into this rugged light makes it a good choice for the demands of an expedition.Īlthough not rated for underwater use, such as diving, SureFire claims that all its current lights are waterproof to about 33 feet. At $252, it’s billed as a “heavy-duty tactical flashlight to meet the needs of demanding customers such as military special operations units, SWAT teams and other law enforcement professionals.” The case is anodized aircraft aluminum with a checkered grip especially designed for the Rogers/SureFire combat grip-a technique used by the aforementioned customers when engaging opponents in the dark with a handgun. The M3 Combat Light is the largest and by far the most expensive of the four flashlights I tested. SureFire M3 Millenium Tactical Combatlight To test the lights, I took them for a night paddle along a heavily wooded, swampy lakeshore. They all produce a clear, consistent beam without the usual varying rings of light typical of standard flashlight beams. Xenon is an inert gas that fills the lamp bulb to allow the filament to burn hotter and brighter without burning out. They provide a bright, broad beam of light that is useful to a kayaker looking along the shore for a place to land.Īll of these lights use Xenon lamps. The lithium batteries are only 1 inches long (compared to 2 inches for a AA battery), so even the three-cell lights are small enough to carry any time you go paddling. I recently tested two of these that are powered by three 123A cells and another pair that use just two cells.The three-cell lights are much more expensive and slightly larger than the two-cell lights but are powerful enough to replace the large bulky spotlights I used to use. Some of these lights are only slightly bigger than the popular compact flashlights that use two AA 1.5-volt alkaline batteries, but they are far more powerful. They are powered by 123A 3-volt lithium batteries, the same type used for many cameras and other high-drain electronic devices. None of the compact flashlights I carried for use around camp could compare to these bigger, more powerful spotlights that were so useful for scoping out a strange shoreline from a safe distance before landing.Ī variety of high-power flashlights are now available in compact sizes. When this light finally died after years of hard use, I went through an assortment of cheaper, less durable alternatives powered by a single 6-volt lantern battery. The size and weight of all those D-cells limited me to carrying only one or two spare sets. It was expensive to purchase and expensive to run with less than two hours of burn time on a fresh set of the best alkaline batteries. I normally kept it between the seat-back and the rear bulkhead while traveling, but that made it difficult to get to. It was too big to go anywhere on deck and it was even an awkward fit in the cockpit. The problem with the dive light was its size and shape. It was bright, though, and completely waterproof, and held up on two trips lasting several months. This light was a bulky affair-about five or six inches in diameter, like the 12-volt spotlights designed to plug into a cigarette lighter outlet in a car or boat-and powered by eight D-cell alkaline batteries. When I first started taking long kayak trips almost 20 years ago, I carried a powerful underwater light designed for scuba diving at night. A powerful light is also especially useful for picking up reflective channel markers or the reflective tape on your partner’s PFD or kayak from a long distance. Some type of bright light is required safety equipment for alerting other boaters as well as for finding a hospitable shore. This can even happen on a simple day trip, so all paddlers should be prepared for paddling at night. Despite careful pre-trip planning and studying charts to look for possible landing and camping sites, many factors such as weather, fatigue or accidents can cause delays that require navigating in darkness. A new breed of flashlights for sea kayakers and other boaters in need of a powerful package compact enough to fit in the pocket of a PFD.Įxpedition paddlers exploring unfamiliar coastlines are almost certain to eventually get into a situation that requires paddling at night.
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