@PaddleDog52 said:
Why have a light if it’s not 360° visible?
In your area and any of heavy boat traffic at night that may make absolute sense and I agree with you
. However on wilderness canoe trips and kayak trips that involve carrying everything a headlamp suffices. There are no large vessels to knock you over. Everything on a wilderness trek has to do at least two things.
I didn’t even see ONE boat on ten days on Lake Superior…
All I am saying is that context matters.
You could get me going on boat lighting… On the Fourth there were fireworks at several discrete locations on our lake. The boats paraded between the points. Whats with this new fad to outfit a pontoon boat with LED string lights that change color? Looked like freaking Times Square out there! Couldn’t make out the really important lights like red and green and white.
Does this link work better ? https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=NavRulesAmalgamated#Rule25
I went to PD’52"S link but had to ferret through a couple more links…( but thanks anyway!)
Thanks very much for the feedback on my red-light question.
Picked up a Black Diamond Spot headlamp today. Also checked out the Storm model, but it needs four batteries versus three for the Spot, thus was heavier. LED dimmable and I can change the angle of the light. Handy when doing work inside the cockpit.
Waiting till dark to test it, including the red light. If the red light provides enough illumination on shore to get my cockpit cover on without attracting every biting bug in the hood, that’s a plus.
I have an all-around stern light but prefer to use a Luci light (clear) at the brightest setting. All Luci needs is a carabiner attachment versus the suction cup and tether line of the stern light.
The headlamp meets Rule 25(d)(ii) requirements as it will be at the ready since I’ll be wearing it.
Neither Luci nor the headlamp take up much space so it’s probably not a bad idea to carry them just in case I’m delayed getting back to where ever I launched. Luci can ride on deck so it can charge itself. I do love my Lucis.
Rookie I have the same headlamp. Please make sure you keep the instruction manual in a dry place. And try to memorize it.
I still have trouble switching from red to white with the appropriate time pauses. Out there in the dark is never a good place to be frustrated. One button… so many functions.
@kayamedic
Agree about the many functions for the button. Have yet to try the “powertap” on the side. And I’ve already blinded myself by checking the lock and unlock function with the light pointed at my face. Duh.
A small cheat-sheet diagram was included in the box. Good idea to laminate it or copy it to a cell phone. Attached, in case you can use it.
Odd. I wonder if there will be a bunch of devices that completely omit a switch in favour of a cheap accelerometer. The result being: smack it to turn on, smack it to turn off.
Of course there will be plenty of marketing terms like this “power tap”: “shake beam”, “light smack”, and the incredibly useful “whack off” feature.
The cheat sheet I posted is wrong. It says to switch from red to white, press the button for two seconds. While the red light is nice (as well as dimmable), I couldn’t get it to change back to white. Was about to remove the batteries, tried again, and it switched to white. Then I looked at the long sheet of “instructions,” which consist of warranties, warnings, etc. in 20 languages and the same diagram as on the cheat sheet, and noticed that diagram instructs to press the button for three seconds to switch from red to white.
@Sparky961 said:
Odd. I wonder if there will be a bunch of devices that completely omit a switch in favour of a cheap accelerometer. The result being: smack it to turn on, smack it to turn off.
Of course there will be plenty of marketing terms like this “power tap”: “shake beam”, “light smack”, and the incredibly useful “whack off” feature.
Put sumpin on head and bang it to turn it on. ? Might be self defeating. Or encourage more people to wear helmets?
This is funny. It reminds me that we have a very old microwave at work. You push one button to turn it on and set the power level (push it just once), and turn a dial to set how long it runs. It takes about one second to start it running. At home, I have a microwave that requires about seven to ten seconds worth of sequential button-pushing just to get it running, and THAT microwave is 30 years old. I shudder to think what it takes to get some of the newer microwaves running. You probably have to study an operations manual first. Most appliances are probably similar these days.
It is getting more and more difficult to find appliances, electronics and even cars that don’t have touchscreens and complicated operational sequences. It’s ridiculous to have to have a 3 ring binder in my kitchen drawer with owners’ manuals for objects like pet feeders, thermostats and small kitchen appliances. I clung to my Blackberry-like metal button keyboard cell phone for years after the companies stopped making them, by buying old stock and recycled ones off of Ebay. Gave up and got an iPhone 5 three years ago and still hate the thing, but not as much as the newer ones which I would have to buy to replace it which are all absurdly large. I just had to equip a rental unit that I bought with appliances and felt lucky that I found some with plain old dial controls.
Fortunately, in the automotive department, I prefer to drive a stick and I’ve noticed that the manufacturers must figure that only old Luddites want such vehicles so the manual shift cars tend to come without TV screens and with radios and climate control systems that have knobs and dials. I like that my Mazda does NOT have a dashboard like a video game monitor. Though actually, most of my friends that have cars that came with those accoutrements now have blanked out screens because the things died.
Princeton Tex Point light (3-7 lumen gooseneck)clipped onto the head band of my Petzl Rush (750lumen max.) provides just enough to look at charts and such around the cockpit and with very little draw on the batteries.
The weak color LED does not interfere with night vision. It does not interfere with seeing what is left outside the beam. After all, there is not always total darkness around. A powerful white beam, reflected from objects, shines on the eyes.
Lights with a red filter have long been used by the military and astronomers to protect night vision. It is true that when map reading, anything printed in red color will disappear under red light. Military maps added a brownish color to what otherwise had always previously been printed in red, hence “red-brown” is the correct answer on land navigation training quizzes. Similarly, astronomers, both pro and amateur use a red light to read their sky maps.
When I paddled the Yukon River races, we were required to have headlamps on during “nighttime” hours of twilight (11:30PM - 3AM - it never really gets fully dark at that time of year), especially if other boats were nearby, and also to have a white flashing strobe light available to turn on if we encountered any large commercial boat traffic during the race.
When my team and I frequently paddle the unofficial Adirondack 90 mile “Cannonball” (the entire traditional 3-day route done in a single day, usually near summer solstice), we typically begin at the stroke of midnight. Normally we paddle with lights totally out until we run the first couple of portages before early twilight. Rarely a motor boat (likely with a drunk driver at that time of night) is encountered on one of the big lakes and only then headlamps are turned on for safety. On a clear night there are as many stars visible on the surface of the water as there are in the sky for navigation. Knowing from daytime memory the exact lakes, route layout, obstacles, and turn points helps a lot.
Cyclists and paddlers have similar lighting needs: (1) to see and (2) to be seen, two separate functions and therefore at least two separate lights. In rocky areas at night I like to be able to see obstacles in the water. I wear a cheap Coleman headlamp that can illuminate the shore at about 30 feet. For trickier places and seeing over longer distances I use a fairly powerful rechargeable bike light (1200 lumens, made by Brighteyes) mounted on the deck in addition to a headlamp. 1200 lumens is the same as halogen car headlights. I also clip a blinking bike tail light to the back of my PFD, in addition to the state-required illumination of the kayak. In any case, I never paddle at night where there are power boats. These are mostly emergency lights for when I’m caught on the water unexpectedly after dark. The one light I had that was specifically designed for a kayak was useless—could not be seen over any significant distance. At times, vision is better with no light.
Many bike lights are waterproof. I once dropped a bike light in about 8 feet of water. It stayed lit for 45 minutes while I paddled to shore to get a net to retrieve it.
Red light preserves your night vision.
But if you want to see something or be seen then you need a bright white light.
I do not trust power boats in the day time. No way I am paddling at night if they are around.
I have paddled some at night in remote locations at night in calm conditions. The Boundary Waters is a great place for it with warm nights and warm water.
With its impressive list of advantages, Led optics has virtually no negative sides. Service life will be 10-20, and the low power consumption will save on fuel and will not discharge the battery during prolonged use. Vehicle vibrations from driving will not interfere with operation. Water splashes and jets won’t damage the equipment since the sealed molded housing prevents moisture from penetrating. The IP67 designation ensures that the internal parts remain intact, even if the unit gets into the water. Along with these lamps, I bought wifi light bulbs. The LED lights work perfectly in all conditions.
I have started to kayak after dark the last couple years because I spent a lot of money on our boats and wanted to get maximum use of them. As long as its not windy I will go out after dark and without any lighting its fine. AS a matter of fact the light will reflect off your boat and kills your night vision.
Obviously you need to follow all laws and be mindful of other boats. If they are trafficked waters then obviously you need to have a light ready to turn on, strobe effect even better so other boats know you’re there. But if it’s just a chill lake or river with no real boating traffic or a 5hp motor maximum then you don’t need light and having it on is counterproductive. Said differently you’d be surprised how well you dark adapt. That said please stick to bodies of water you know well during the day, well enough that “Yup I am getting close to that rock and looking in that general direction I can see it so here I am changing course to avoid it just like during the day”.
Never, ever paddle a body of water you don’t know after dark. Follow all laws, some parks or lakes or beaches or ramps shut down after dark for good reason. And have an extra index of safety. For example as the temps start dropping to very cold I won’t go after dark. Or if its windy AND dark even in summer I won’t go.
