The Dorcy Cyber Light, list price $29, or $18.50 on Amazon is an ideal flashlight for boating, deserving of a best flashlight award from the crew of my Wednesday night racing team who assisted with this article by comparing six flashlights under a variety of nighttime conditions above and below deck on my 39 foot sailboat.
This flashlight stood out for its effective light distribution, 180 lumen brightness, boat friendly rubber housing, ease of use for long periods of time, and the five hours of life from standard batteries. If you're looking for a waterproof light, this isn't, but it can take a splash and is otherwise ideal, taking first place in a field of 15 flashlights.
For this article I engaged my Wednesday night racing crew, familiar with my frequent flashlight purchases, as a panel of judges to choose among the six better flashlights of the 15 accumulated over the last two years. Each flashlight was evaluated over two Wednesday nights, both on the water and at the dock after our evening's race activities. The second Wednesday included a bonus evaluation in moderate fog that rolled into the harbor while we were at the dock determining the winner. (Thank you Roy, Marcey, Janet, Brian, Katherine and George).
Lights that were not among my six better lights included spotlights with proprietary rechargeable batteries. Virtually all rechargeable flashlights had warnings to unplug them after they are charged, which to me is ridiculous. Without a plug and forget charger, the batteries will be damaged if owned by me. Unfortunately, you don't learn about this limitation on most lights until after you open the packaging. An example of a light with a plug and forget charger is the Q-Beam Blue Max 2 million candle power spot light that also is an all round quality build and has excellent focus, but was eliminated due to it's hefty weight.
Also not making it to the competition were wired spotlights that plug into my purpose- mounted bow and stern 12v sockets. Three versions of this type light fell into disuse for various reasons, not the least of which, they were heavy (including the cord) and tiring to use continuously on our 20 minute voyage from the bay to the dock. Also eliminated were numerous 1st and 2nd generation LED flashlights ranging up to 10 lumens that look bright close up or in the cabin, but are ineffective outdoors.
The narrow beam had me wondering if the 500 lumen Dorcy rechargeable with its wide beam and higher output would be favored by the judges. The LED bulb makes it possible for the product to have a light weight rechargeable battery, and overall would seem ideal to find things quickly in the vastness of the sea at night.
It lights up an area almost 200 feet across at a distance of 500 feet, and shares many good features with the Cyber light, also covered in a bright yellow casing that makes it hard to loose, is shaped and textured to make it stay where you put it (won't roll), and if dropped it won't break or damage the deck or itself.
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