Night time boating can be exhilarating! Fishing at night has been some of the most fruitful expeditions I have ever had. One thing about night time stuff, though, it’s dark. Duh!
Any boater can benefit from having a hand held spotlight, whether as the primary light source on a small boat, or as addition to the other lights on larger boats. Today, I will review some the best spotlights for boating and fishing that I have used while on the water.
As an added plus, many of these spotlights will also be very useful for camping, off roading, or even farming. But first….
Why every marine enthusiast needs a spotlight for their boat
Boating after dark is fun. It can also be somewhat dangerous.
None of those things on the water.
If we’re on a larger lake or on the ocean, we may not even have a visual indicator of the shore. So, seeing and hearing things become very important.
We may not be able to enhance our hearing, but our sight can easily be enhanced with a light. A light can give an indication of our location to other boats, thus increasing our safety. Of course, running lights are a vital part of our boating set up, in some jurisdictions they are actually a legal necessity. A spot light may not be required, but it sure can be valuable.
When fishing at night, having a hand held light makes it easier to focus in on our catch. A periodic sweep of light can also tell us if we’re near the shore, trees, or a pier. A hand held spot light gives us a lot of flexibility and versatility.
How I found the best spotlights for boating & Fishing
Any product I’m considering has pros and cons already involved, so I’ll examine what variables I will be judging for choosing the best spotlights for boating, fishing, or a variety of other uses.
After asking around my boating enthusiast friends, and based on my own experience, I came up with some criteria to separate one product from another.
- Lumens (a measure of brightness). Brightness also relates to our range of visibility. Some of the best spotlights have variable brightness or different power levels.
- Bulb type. This is important primarily for knowing if we can replace a bulb ourselves or not. Some bulbs are not easily replaced, some replaceable bulbs are prohibitively expensive.
- Water resistance. If we’re going to using it on the water, this is very important. Especially is this important in salt water environs, as salt water adds another level of difficulty to keeping a light working.
- Battery life. No one wants to be out on the water or even on land in the middle of nowhere and have the light run out. That’s a situation straight out of many horror movies, besides the safety factor involved. Also, are the batteries rechargeable or disposable?
- Size and weight. Size isn’t really too consequential, but weight sure can be. Hand holding a heavy lamp for long periods of time can be tiring.
Here are some other helpful guides relating to nighttime fishing and navigation
- Navigating at night, everything you need to know
- Driving your boat at night, 7 tips
- Catfishing using LED spot lights
Top 5 Best Spotlights For Boating, Fishing & More
1. Brinkmann 800-2380-W Max Million III Rechargeable Spotlight (Best Tested)
First up on my list is the highly capable and extremely bright Brinkmann 800-2380 rechargeable spotlight. Seriously, this thing is bright!
This unit has a rating of 1100 lumens which translates to a real world range of 200 to 300 yards or so. On a clear night, a reflective subject might be visible from even further away.
As for the battery life, it is quite decent for such a bright lamp, about 20 minutes on high, 40 minutes on low. I know that doesn’t sound like a long time, but for when the situation arises, those few minutes of handheld light can make all the difference. Luckily this unit also can be plugged in for continuous spotlighting sessions.
One other cool thing I liked about the cord/battery setup was that as soon as it was plugged in, the spotlight started charging while still being in use. So I never forgot a charge!
When it comes to the build quality, it has a plastic body and rubber covered grip which felt very secure in my hand. It is also relatively shock proof too, even though the brand doesn’t specify that, it had plenty of tumbles when in use. I am always wary of dropping any light with a hot bulb, but on my extended test of this spotlight, it proved to be durable.
One thing I really did like however was the trigger locking mechanism. This prevented accidental battery discharge and lets me keep it on without squeezing the trigger continuously. I also found this helps reduce hand fatigue while holding it for prolonged periods.
While not a bargain basement spotlight, the price was reasonable. But for a spotlight that provided as much value as this unit, I was happy paying a little extra for the added benefits and lumen rating. Highly recommended!
2. BLACK+DECKER STANLEY LEDLIS 10W Lithium Ion LED Rechargeable Spotlight
Next up on my list is a little heavier duty product, but also about twice the price of the Brinkmann spotlight. I think this is partly down to the extra lumen brightness and paying for the recognised brand.
The LED lamp on this Black & Decker unit provides up to about 2000 lumens of brightness, giving a very long range. I also found by focusing the beam to a narrower angle, it gave me easy 300 to 400 yards of range.
I actually took this spotlight out to the lake near my house and I swear I saw something reflecting on the opposite shore (or maybe I’m seeing things). It’s a smallish lake, urban area, man made, but that is much further than the 400 yards I just mentioned.
As for the battery on this Black & Decker spotlight, it is a rechargeable which is to be expected. At full power, I can get about an hour of continuous light at 2000 lumens. At low power, I can get up to 7 hours times when opting for a lower light output of 700 lumens. Also the battery can hold a charge for 1 year!
At the end of the day, this spotlight served me very well on several fishing trips and charters. Having that extra brightness also made it great for attracting fish at night. While this isn’t the cheapest spotlight on my list, it is easily one of the best spotlights for boating that I tested.
3. SPOTLIGHT BLUE EYE 4000
Though this spotlight is listed at approximately 2000 lumens, there is no way it actually is. I didn’t measure output of any of the spotlights with any meter, but I could tell this wasn’t as bright as the previous two tested.
Wishful thinking from their marketing department, I guess. It was a good light, though. Range was around 150 to 200 yards.
This unit runs directly off DC power with the supplied 10 ft coiled cord, but does not have any battery. What puts this on the best spotlights list is the smallish size and very light weight.
The 10 foot cord is a great idea, but the connector tends to come loose easily. Any after market 12V adapter will fit, so you can get that problem fixed without much trouble. I could see this getting a lot of use in a land vehicle, since you’re never too far from a handy accessory port. Overall, not a bad product.
4. Streamlight 44910 Waypoint 1000-Lumens Spotlight
This is another slightly pricier spotlight, but it has power and ruggedness that put it in contention for best spotlights for boating and fishing.
Very water resistant and heavy duty, the Streamlight is made of high impact polycarbonate and has O-rings in strategic places like in the sealed front lens.
The LED bulb will likely last as long as the entire light’s lifespan, so not being able to replace it won’t really matter. The LED bulb also means that the power charge will last a long, long time.
The low power setting is useful for basic lighting around the boat, truck, or camp site. A neat idea and useful feature.
At full power, the focus of the lens gives it well over 400 yards of range. The ad copy on the box said 675 yards. That may be a little optimistic, but the combination of the high efficiency bulb and the focused lens does give this spotlight a great range. Even though officially half the power of some lights tested, I found this to be on or close to the top of this list in usable viewability.
5. NoCry 18W Waterproof Rechargeable Flashlight (Spotlight) with 1000 Lumen LED
This cool looking spotlight is both the smallest and the least expensive on my best spotlight list. The bright red color was easy to keep track of. And it made it pretty easy to find if it fell into the water. The only spotlight on my list that’s officially waterproof to 3 feet, it also floats.
The rechargeable battery lasts up to 6 hours on high power, 20 or so on low power. It recharges from either AC or DC and can also be used while charging.
Besides water proof, it is also impact resistant. The small size and polycarbonate construction is what gives the light its ultra light weight. Easy to hold for long periods of time, I found that the narrow beam was really useful for picking out subjects at a pretty long distance.
This spotlight also has a built in stand for hands free operation and comes with a nifty red filter for the light to keep from ruining our night vision.
Wrapping It Up
Hopefully this guide has shed some light on the subject (see what I did there). If you’d like to learn more, you can check out my guide on the best lights for night fishing. These cheap products can really be a game changer for your evening to dusk fishing outings!