Blue Spot 30 LED

£28.95

This rechargeable spotlight features an auto-discharge shut-off function to prolong battery life. Comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery: a red light flashes when the battery is low, then stays on when charging. When fully charged, a green light comes on. Charge time is approximately six hours, and it will operates for approximately three hours on one full charge. Supplied with mains charger only. The unit has a protection function which prevents the light being turned on while under charge.

ON TEST: The lightest lamp tested, and very much a handy spotlight with the shortest range. The lithium-ion battery charges quickly and a light warns when it’s time for a charge, but it has a fairly short duration. Useful wrist lanyard.

ON TEST: The most popular lamp with testers, who liked its light weight, robustness, waterproofness, lockable switch and wrist lanyard. Commendable beam range and battery duration.

Draper Expert 6V 2.4W  

£24

A 6V lamp with an impact-resistant rubber housing and a krypton bulb. A swivelling stand offers six positions between horizontal and vertical. The handle is of the open suitcase type with the micro on-off switch conveniently located for thumb operation when being carried. Powered by non-rechargeable batteries, either four D-type cells or a lantern battery. The D-type cells made it the heaviest lamp tested. No range or battery life specified.

ON TEST: Robust, weatherproof construction, very much the heavyweight on the test and with an unsteady stand. Good light range and a surprising battery life when fitted with extra-heavy-duty D batteries: the light reduced in intensity but was still useful up to 19 hours. Water-resistant casing.

Halfords LED Spotlight

£8

The Halfords-branded single LED spotlight claims one million candlepower or 120 lumens, a 170m range and an eight-hour duration from AA batteries as supplied or 40 hours from four D-size batteries. The clever battery holder will take four AA batteries and four D size at the same time. The on switch goes first to the D batteries, and the next press takes power from the four AAs. Loading with both battery sets makes the lamp heavy, but has the advantage that if the D batteries run down you still have another eight hours left from the AAs. Handle is suitcase or pistol grip: the change is made by pressing a button and rotating the handle. The operating switch is to one side of the casing. A bracket enables the lamp to be angled to four positions between vertical and horizontal. No claims to water resistance.

ON TEST: Another heavyweight with very versatile battery capacity. Good light range coupled with long battery life, but not weatherproof. Excellent value.

Kingslite rechargeable 3W LED Searchlight

£19.95

This weatherproof, rechargeable lantern has a super-bright 3W LED spotlight bulb giving up to 140 lumens. When fully charged (15 hours), the unit is claimed to operate for up to 18 hours. The two-position handle allows for open suitcase handle or pistol grip mode: a push-button facilitates change of position. The swivel stand offers five positions between not quite horizontal and vertical. The on/off micro-switch is at the left-hand side when in suitcase mode and becomes the right-hand side in pistol grip mode. A screwed cap protects the charging socket, which has an LED changing from red to green when the sealed lead acid battery is charged. Charging can be done by an AC mains transformer or a 12V lighter-type plug. Fully charged, the battery can be stored for up to three months and shouldn’t be left without recharging for longer than six months.

ON TEST: A well-constructed body with a versatile handle and stand. One of the lighter weight models tested, with a shorter range and reasonable battery life. Lead battery requires regular charging.

RAC Heavy Duty

£8.99

Available from Sainsbury and Tesco and supplied with four D zinc batteries, this makes a low-cost 13 LED spotlight. Comes with an enclosed suitcase handle, a wrist strap and a hanging becket. The rectangular shape enables it to rest horizontally on its base, but a slight 10° incline will cause it to roll over! Marginal as a searchlight, and could be weatherproof with a seal around the lens cover.

ON TEST: In the spotlight category but with excellent battery duration, with standard alkaline batteries provided. Thin plastic casing means not heavy duty, but excellent value.

Unilite LED Floating lantern PS-L2

£19.95

Only the Unilite lamps are designed to float in water with the beam upright. This one has passed the ingress protection standard with a 56 category. A single LED puts out 200 lumens and is directed through a bi-convex lens giving a claimed range of 170m. The body has high impact resistance. Comes with a fixed suitcase-style closed handle and an attachment point for a wrist strap (not provided). Designed to take a disposable lantern battery (not supplied standard). A rechargeable lantern battery is available as an accessory with a suitable charger.

ON TEST: The second most popular lamp. Testers liked its waterproofness and robustness coupled with good range and long battery life.

Unilite Rubber Weather Proof LED lantern

£31.95

Has a similar light specification to the Unilite PS-L2, but with an extra-tough synthetic industrial-grade rubber casing claimed to withstand a 1m drop. Floats with the light shining upwards, and has a claimed beam range of 160m and run time of five hours on a lantern battery. Also comes with a rear charging point for use with Unilite rechargeable lantern batteries. Handle is closed suitcase type: no pistol grip option. Rubber casing is high friction so it resists sliding, but when resting horizontally on its base, it will fall over on a slope of around 15°.

ON TEST: A robust, non-slip casing coupled with a good beam range and battery duration make this a worthwhile investment, though it is pricey and would benefit from not having the charging point access which creates a waterproofing weakness.

To test the battery duration we used a data logger coupled with a light sensor. This was able to plot a graph of light strength in lux against time (seconds)

Rechargeable batteries versus disposable

Our four rechargeable batteries were either a sealed lead acid (B&Q Diall, Kingslite 3W LED) or lithium-ion (Blue Spot, Draper LED). The lithium-ion batteries have the advantage of a faster charge rate – typically five hours versus 15 hours for the lead acid – and weigh less, but with a price premium. Both types require regular charging, so if left on a boat some sort of charging regime would require establishing, perhaps with a stick-on label to record charging dates.

The high current demand from halogen and tungsten bulbs gives a short duration. Here the LEDs really score, giving much more useful battery life whether with rechargeables or disposables. Disposable batteries can be purchased with different capacities, with a premium price on the long-life variety such as Duracell. Most manufacturers offer long-life and even extra-long-life cells. The unit price comes down when purchasing larger pack quantities.

D-cell and AA batteries can be purchased in rechargeable form, the majority now being Nickel-Metal-Hydride (NiMh). I use two in my Garmin 76 handheld GPS and they will last up to six hours of continuous use before requiring recharging.

The situation we seek to avoid at all costs is the battery failing at a critical time in use. This is much less likely with LED bulbs. The advantage disposable batteries offer is the ability to quickly change to another set (providing you have them on board!).

PBO verdict

The results show that the LED lamps won hands-down. I included the halogen/krypton lamps mainly for comparison purposes. The difference
in brightness the LEDs put out, coupled with their whiteness compared to
the incandescents’ yellowy colour, was very marked. Factoring in battery duration, it becomes a no-brainer.

Most of these lights would fit into the ‘searchlight’ description. The Blue Spot is in the spotlight category lacking range, while the Draper 3W LED and RAC Heavy Duty are marginal.

The Blue Spot makes a very convenient lightweight rechargeable lamp, although it only has one (horizontal) set-down position. The RAC Heavy Duty is excellent value with an impressive battery life.

When it comes to pistol versus suitcase grip, the pistol wins when used as a searchlight as it’s easier to point with one hand as you scan for your subject – so the versatile versions with a choice of handle positions do offer an advantage.

Waterproofing/weatherproofing is also a big advantage when afloat. In this category the Unilite PS-L2 and Draper Expert 5W LED are the optimum products, followed by the Unilite HV-RL4 and the Draper RTL6. All the torches floated initially, but the non-waterproof ones would have filled with water and eventually sunk. At least if they were accidentally dropped in the water and quickly recovered, they might survive if rinsed in fresh water and dried off.

With regard to battery choice, the life obtainable from disposable batteries, compared with the need to keep rechargeable batteries regularly charged, suggests that on balance the advantage goes with the disposable batteries, although they may be heavier than an equivalent capacity lithium-ion battery.

Of the LED lamps, the Draper Expert 5W was the testers’ number one choice. This was because it was light to handle and delivered a powerful
beam (albeit a fairly narrow one), is rugged, waterproof and the on/off switch can be locked.

The Unilite LED Floating came a close second: it was heavier to hold, but although giving some light scatter from the lens, it provided a good beam in a tough casing.