# headlights for my kayak?



## phillyjim (Sep 1, 2006)

hi folks. my first post here. quite a cool forum.
im going to be in upstate new york in a week or two. adirondacks to be specific. ill be spending some time at night paddleing and fishing some pretty remote lakes and rivers. 
as it stands, ill be equipped with a princeton tec yukon headlamp, a couple of generic led headlamps, lantern, flashlight, and maybe a couple glowsticks for good measure.
what id really like though, is some sort of small, directional, battery powered light that i can mount to the front of my kayak. 
my original thoughts were of mounting a flashlight or one of my backup headlamps to the front of the kayak. then i thought a bike headlight would fit the bill nicely. 
after researching bike lights in my price range($30), it appears they are more for being seen by others than guiding ones way.
could anyone point me in the right direction as to what might work for this application? if anyone wants to recommend a specific light that they know of or have used in a similar situation, that would be great. just as great would be any kind of general information on types of what types of features i should be looking for in a light for kayak headlighting.
im off to search these forums now.
thanks!!!


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## scott.cr (Sep 1, 2006)

What method of mounting your headlights do you consider to be acceptable? Drilling holes in the kayak, etc.? Or something more temporary? And do you want the lights to run on their own individual drop-in battery or is an external battery okay? Is thermal shock on the light going to be an issue? (IE. If the boat flips over, immediately submerging your hot light in cold water.)

In terms of bicycle lights, I think most people here would probably be voting for the $250 HIDs. If thermal shock has to be dealt with I think LEDs will be the best choice. Most of the heat generated by an LED won't be radiated heat on the lens; it's sunk into the body of the light through the LED's die (mounting surface). Don't sell the higher-powered LED headlights short; they produce a lot of usable light.


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## phillyjim (Sep 1, 2006)

as far as mounting goes, theres a couple of ways to skin that cat...
my kayak is made of stretched vinyl over a wooden frame, so i wont be going directly into the kayak. not the best pics, but you can get the idea... * http://tinyurl.com/gzk8d

*i ran some rails along the gunwales to the bow and stern so as to create a more functionable deck space. i could run a cross member just before the bow on these rails to mount a light onto. or, as the front of the kayak has a metal casting with some functionable holes to run a bolt through, i could mount it there too. either way, ill be looking for a light that has the batteries in the unit.
this kayak is much wider and waaay more stable than your typical whitewater or touring kayak. not to jinx myself, but, its stable enough that im not taking flipping over into consideration. a light will definitely get wet, but hopefully wont be spending any time fully submerged.
thanks for the reply.


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## SilverFox (Sep 1, 2006)

Hello Phillyjim,

Welcome to CPF.

Nice boat...  It's a real classic.

On the water you need a lot of power because you are trying to pick out details at some distance greater than what you generally need for hiking. You will also find that a spot beam is more beneficial than a flood beam.

I don't do a lot of night kayaking, but find that the UK (Underwater Kinetics) SL4 is about the minimum for longer distance spotting. I should have gone with the SL6 (it is about twice as bright), but was looking for a more compact light.

I believe the SL4 runs around $30 minus batteries. It is a dive light, so it is well sealed, and it does a pretty good job on smaller lakes, but don't expect to see all the way across a larger lake with it. 

You can find the details at the UK web site.

Tom


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## nitekayak (Sep 2, 2006)

...deleted...


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## nitekayak (Sep 2, 2006)

Ahhh… This sounds like it’s going to be a great trip. Wish I was taking it!

For your price range and requirements (waterproof or water resistant), I would definitely stick with Halogen or Xenon incandescent lights. They’ll provide the brightest illumination at your price point. The diving lights (i.e. UK, Ikelite, Tektite, Pelican, and Princeton Tec) are a good option but can be challenging to mount. I’d consider the C cell lights since they offer a good compromise between size and burn time. I’d also recommend the UK D4 since it has a removable handle which can make for easier mounting, it can be upgraded with an 18Watt bulb, and has a wider beam pattern for better peripheral viewing. Here are some options:

Ikelite PC – 7.5W, 3-4 hrs burn, 4 C cells $27
UK SL4 – 5.5W, 4-5 hrs burn, 4 C cells $24
UK SL6 – 8 W, 4-5 hrs burn, 6 C cells $29
UK D4 – 5.8 W (18 W option), 7-10 hrs burn, 4 D cells $41 
(Prices are from LeisurePro.com)

If you want something bright in a bike light, there is an inexpensive one called the Nite Hawk Raptor that can be mounted to your cross member. It has a 10 watt halogen bulb, so it would be considered one of the more serious bike lights. Nite Hawk lights received good user reviews on Mtbr.com. Bike Nashbar has it for $49.
[url="http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=5048&sku=9719&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Brand:%20Nite%20Hawk"]http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=5048&sku=9719&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Brand:%20Nite%20Hawk[/url]

I used to kayak and dive at night using a UK D8, then I switched to a UK Light Cannon. Both are great lights.


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