Does anyone have an opinion on what they think is the absolute best spotight on the market today? Not necessarily as far as candle power goes but more on the line of dependability. I personally think they all stink. I’ve tried Brinkman and several other brands and usually get about a summer or less out of them. I always carry a spare, which has saved my 
more than a few times.
Put the cat gear away for the year last weekend 
.
Dirk
This may not matter to you but in the fire service we use Pellican and they work great. Hope that helps ya out.
I checked out their site. I couldn’t find a spotlight section but other sales places certainly have them. Looks like they make some quality stuff. http://www.pelican.com
Dirk…don’t you think it would be better to buy two cheap(er) ones than to have one expensive one and a back up? You would get the benefit of new technology each year.
I’m looking at the up grades each year…candle power…rechargables ect. Although I haven’t found a rechargeable spotlight that I would use/trust night fishing yet….sooner or later that nut will be cracked.
I wouldn’t buy a rechargable because they will run out of juice on you and they are heavy to hold. I’d buy a fairly expensive one if I could trust it to work under all conditions. To tell you the truth I don’t know if I can tell the difference between a 1.5 and a 2m candlepower light, etc.
If I was Mudcat i could just drive around all night and never use a light 
.
That’s kind of what I was getting at…the rechargables will be getting lighter and longer lasting…right now I wouldn’t want one as a backup.
I have a 1 and a 1.5…the 1 has the blue eye style lens…which does help you in the fog…helps you see 20 feet instead of 10 
Otherwise, I can’t tell the differance either.
Drain on the battery is another concern of mine. I start getting worried when my radio cuts out for a few second when I turn my 1.5 on. It’s tied into the starter battery…might have to fix that this spring.
So, last summer when I heard a boat go by without seeing it…that was Mudcat in his stealth mode?
Mudcat is always in stealth mode 
. I have a deep cycle that I use for my aerator and spotlight. Never a problem. Any extra lights in my boat will be LED from now on also. The only advantage with the battery spotlights right now is their mobilty.
I mounted on my counsel one of the blue beam 500,000 cp spotlights. It is nice for driving on plane and docking. You can still use both hand for jockeying the boat around in tight areas. I then use a 1 mill cp corded light that is more manuverable for checking areas, looking for spots etc.
Those rechargeables are terrible. I wouldn’t depend on one at all.
I was at Northern Tool yesterday in Woodbury. They have the largest selection of rechargeable spots I’ve seen. I didn’t look at the price of any of them…just lifted the boxes…
All of them were just too heavy. One good thing about a corded light is that you always know where it is…you can’t set it in the front of the boat one time and the back the other.
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Mudcat is always in stealth mode
hehe…….. 
I better stop my stealth mode tactic and actually run with spotlights etc…….that will really mess u guys up! 
as for lighs……… my stepdad just got a SUREFIRE flashlight/spotlight. It is the size of a smaller maglight, but it has the charicteristics of a spot and flood light! THere is a central beam that in increadibly intense….good for shining bouys at a distance. It also has the flood effect and lights up you the side. I went into our dark basement with it and it lit up the whole room! then i looked at the beam…..dont ask me why….and i could feel the subtle effects of “Arc eye” kicking in.
i think SureFire lights are more the tactical setup of u wanna cap some mo’fos in the dark with your assult rifle…….they are spendy, but i am surely askin for one for christmas…haha! 
he has something like this:
http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/1132/sesent/00
Yikes! Ask for two for Christmas…then give me one…$105. whew!
That’s a lot of no rolls!
……my setup was simple. I had a 2million CP spotlight i used for shining deer outa the truck. it had the cigarette lighter hookup. NOT rechargable. Well, one night i somehow broke the cigarette plug in, and instead of fixing it, i cut the wires, wired in an inline fuse, then used some connectors to hook it up to my deepcycle battery in my boat. it was a cobble job, but it worked!!! plus, i have gone thru 2 rechargables a year when i use them for duckin/cattin..so i was sick of them. PLUS they are heavier.
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Yikes! Ask for two for Christmas…then give me one…$105. whew!
That’s a lot of no rolls!
true………alot fo ching…….but i think its worth it.
its kinda like the sunglasses controversy. do ya but 3-5 pairs of crappy 10 dollar shades a year. or do ya just get one nice pair that actually stop the sun. …….IMO, i like my Costa DelMars.
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