Sail Far Live Free

"We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light." -Earl Nightingale Flashlights are seemingly simple devices charged with a straightforward task of providing light on demand. The new Pelican 7000 LED flashlight is my favorite for three reasons: brightness, toughness, and size. Pelican says this pocket-sized flashlight puts out 602 lumens of intense LED light. In fact, this is the first tactical light from Pelican to break the 600 lumen output barrier. I don't have a way to test for lumens and frankly, I'm not sure what a lumen even is. But what I do know is that this flashlight is seriously bright. In fact, bright enough to be used for a spotlight. For some perspective, two other very impressive lights I've tested in the past ( Inova XO3 and Streamlight Waypoint Spotlight ) put out 200 and 300 maximum lumens each respectively. So the Pelican 7000 is indeed very bright. Pelican 7000 LED Tactical Light And...

" A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries. " -Unknown While I don't know who first made the above statement, I'm pretty sure they must have made it before LED flashlights powered by lithium batteries became available. Reliable lights are a near necessity while cruising and LED's have made it so battery powered lights use very little energy while still providing bright, usable light. This past season I made a wholesale switch to LED's on our sailboat, both in the cabin fixtures and flashlights we carry. I'll save my thoughts on using LED's in cabin fixtures for another post, but today I want to shine the spotlight on a brilliant little flashlight. I'm not going to profess to you that I've found the holy grail now that I've got an LED flashlight. In fact, I'm guessing most of you probably already have one too. They've become so common now that you can buy them at the dollar store and throw them away for a new one wh...