I have had three different q-beam lights for boating and have not
liked any of them. They are so bright that any reflections off
stanchions or rigging kills my night vision so I end up seeing less
than before. It is even worse if somebody else is using the light
because they are not aware of this issue. Do others have this
problem? My best light for seeing markers is a regular 6 volt
flashlight.

wrote:
I have had three different q-beam lights for boating and have not
liked any of them. They are so bright that any reflections off
stanchions or rigging kills my night vision so I end up seeing less
than before. It is even worse if somebody else is using the light
because they are not aware of this issue. Do others have this
problem? My best light for seeing markers is a regular 6 volt
flashlight.


You have to mount them far, far forward, typically next to the anchor
roller. That way, the light doesn't bounce off the inside or decks of
your boats and kill your night vision.

Try mounting the light with a couple of clamps way forward.

On Oct 13, 9:54 pm, Boater wrote:
wrote:
I have had three different q-beam lights for boating and have not
liked any of them. They are so bright that any reflections off
stanchions or rigging kills my night vision so I end up seeing less
than before. It is even worse if somebody else is using the light
because they are not aware of this issue. Do others have this
problem? My best light for seeing markers is a regular 6 volt
flashlight.

You have to mount them far, far forward, typically next to the anchor
roller. That way, the light doesn't bounce off the inside or decks of
your boats and kill your night vision.

Try mounting the light with a couple of clamps way forward.

All mine have been hand held. I assume you have some way to aim them?
BTW, caving this weekend, someone had a very small LED version that
was amazing. He said he got it for $9.00 from Home Depot. I dunno if
it would work well for boating but it did throw a well focused beam.

On Oct 13, 8:47*pm, wrote:
I have had three different q-beam lights for boating and have not
liked any of them. *They are so bright that any reflections off
stanchions or rigging kills my night vision so I end up seeing less
than before. *It is even worse if somebody else is using the light
because they are not aware of this issue. *Do others have this
problem? *My best light for seeing markers is a regular 6 volt
flashlight.

I think these are a bit pricey and there are less expensive options,
but have you considered something like these?

http://www.shopping.com/xDN-marine_e...ne_searchlight

Of course, your hand held flashlight isn't bad...

On Oct 13, 10:51 pm, Tim wrote:
On Oct 13, 8:47 pm, wrote:

I have had three different q-beam lights for boating and have not
liked any of them. They are so bright that any reflections off
stanchions or rigging kills my night vision so I end up seeing less
than before. It is even worse if somebody else is using the light
because they are not aware of this issue. Do others have this
problem? My best light for seeing markers is a regular 6 volt
flashlight.

I think these are a bit pricey and there are less expensive options,
but have you considered something like these?

http://www.shopping.com/xDN-marine_e...ne_searchlight

Of course, your hand held flashlight isn't bad...

I can never convince my wife that when walking at night that using a
light causes you to see less than going without it.

On Oct 13, 11:46*pm, wrote:
On Oct 13, 10:51 pm, Tim wrote:



On Oct 13, 8:47 pm, wrote:

I have had three different q-beam lights for boating and have not
liked any of them. *They are so bright that any reflections off
stanchions or rigging kills my night vision so I end up seeing less
than before. *It is even worse if somebody else is using the light
because they are not aware of this issue. *Do others have this
problem? *My best light for seeing markers is a regular 6 volt
flashlight.

I think these are a bit pricey and there are less expensive options,
but have you considered something like these?

http://www.shopping.com/xDN-marine_e...ne_searchlight

Of course, your hand held flashlight isn't bad...

I can never convince my wife that when walking at night that using a
light causes you to see less than going without it.

hmmm, I would think that would be determined by the outside lighting
conditions.

I was just outside and we've got a full moon with a light bit of cloud
cover.

Looked pretty good to me. Now if it was pitch black? I'd think that
flashlight would come in pretty handy.

On Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:46:20 -0700, ohara5.0 wrote:


I can never convince my wife that when walking at night that using a
light causes you to see less than going without it.

Yeah, but depending on where you are walking, it causes you to be seen.
There are a couple of pre-dawn joggers around here, I consider suicidal.

On Oct 14, 6:42 am, wrote:
On Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:46:20 -0700, ohara5.0 wrote:
I can never convince my wife that when walking at night that using a
light causes you to see less than going without it.

Yeah, but depending on where you are walking, it causes you to be seen.
There are a couple of pre-dawn joggers around here, I consider suicidal.

If you are afraid of being attacked by something/somebody in the dark
or are trying to find somebody who is hiding in the dark, a flashlight
wont help until you know they are there, it just kills your night
vision. I find that when going for my late night walks that not
having a light is better. The situation is similar on a boat. I hate
it whenever people suddenly turn on a flashlihgt to try to see
something.

On Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:14:38 -0700, ohara5.0 wrote:

Yeah, but depending on where you are walking, it causes you to be seen.
There are a couple of pre-dawn joggers around here, I consider
suicidal.

If you are afraid of being attacked by something/somebody in the dark

Yeah, cars. I agree that if your eyes have enough time to adjust to the
dark, a flashlight is rarely needed to see, but it does help in being
seen by drivers.

On Oct 14, 2:00 pm, wrote:
On Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:14:38 -0700, ohara5.0 wrote:
Yeah, but depending on where you are walking, it causes you to be seen.
There are a couple of pre-dawn joggers around here, I consider
suicidal.

If you are afraid of being attacked by something/somebody in the dark

Yeah, cars. I agree that if your eyes have enough time to adjust to the
dark, a flashlight is rarely needed to see, but it does help in being
seen by drivers.

Years ago, when I commutted by bicycle, if I had to ride at night (not
often), I would rather NOT be seen. I always figured I could see cars
long before they saw me and I would get far off the road and out of
their view. For some reason, at night, people in cars like to harrass
cyclists at night