cheap but good fishing lights?

[TreednNC]

They arent green but I can show you countless pages of results from the Q-Beam Starfire IIs....and they wont cost you and arm an a leg either. $15. I saw a place the other day offering free shipping on them as well, but I think that expired on the 10th of May. You can get 4 of them for what you can some of the others...and that is low end on some. Never had one fail me yet after 100s of hours of use.

[NeonMoon]

Very true. I have used a lot of different lights and the best that I have found are the Reel-Lites.

Some should just ask about "cheap".....bulb life and battery drain are both important factors to me, not just initial cost. I see little "good" in buying lights which don't meet those needs.

"100s of hours" is a far cry from THOUSANDS of hours.

[Bob # 1]

Some should just ask about "cheap".....bulb life and battery drain are both important factors to me, not just initial cost. I see little "good" in buying lights which don't meet those needs.

"100s of hours" is a far cry from THOUSANDS of hours.

Build fishing lights as most of you know.
There is no such thing as a perfect light........

Each brand model has it own defaults...........

When comparing lights is like comparing apples and oranges
Example 4' model compared to 24 inch model, is not a fair comparison.

Like to think after years of reasearh and experiments
have come close to building a perfect light.

Take for examples:
180 days money back, so try it and compare
2 Year warranty

50,000 hours life or 17 years,
There has been mention about
prices, OK take the average price
of one that cost $109.00 divide that by 17 years or
6,205 days figures out to .02 cents per day.

LED lights can be used above or below the water, don't matter.

Amp draw can run light better than 30-40 hours on 8 D size batteries
therefore one can use it for about anything from party lights, to dock lights

There is more..........................

[TreednNC]

Some should just ask about "cheap".....bulb life and battery drain are both important factors to me, not just initial cost. I see little "good" in buying lights which don't meet those needs.

"100s of hours" is a far cry from THOUSANDS of hours.

You may be right, but I paid $12. Very few except the truely dedicated to night stalking, are going more than 15 times a year (at night, day is a different story). 15 trips x 6hr= 90hr/year...probably less for most people. I've had mine for 5, going on six years. You do the math. No I don't have 1000s of hours on mine, but given that rate of usage, it'd take a person 11 years of that kind of usage to hit 1000s of hours, and if you wanna split hairs about "just bought this light 10 years ago" over what is now a $15 light, go ahead. I didn't know Brinkman/Qbeam was a "cheap" company. It's a no-frills light. Alligator clips, wire, bulb in a sealed housing. Ive had mine for going on 6 years. Ive fished LED lights (green), and regular white lights with green sleeves, and not sure what the difference is in one LED over the other, but even if I had to buy a new Qbeam every year, I would just from the results difference. I have had zero issues running two off of one battery for up to 8hrs and no hint in getting dim. Some people catch em under a green light. I love the concept. I swear I do, I just can't get my mind wrapped around em. If I find one that emits as bright of white light as the Qbeams for a reasonable price ($50 or so) with the kind of garuantee Bob offers, I'll buy one. I just can't get around the math or results.

[blueball]

Some should just ask about "cheap".....bulb life and battery drain are both important factors to me, not just initial cost. I see little "good" in buying lights which don't meet those needs.

"100s of hours" is a far cry from THOUSANDS of hours.

dont give a crap about how much they drain the battery on my setup,cause i have enough batteries in my boat to power any submersible crappie light.what i look for is how bright ,how many lumens a light puts out and can u replace the bulb yourself,thats what matters to me.i have used 18 in optronics,starfire 2`s,and another brand hallogen,cant think of the name at the moment

[blueball]

You may be right, but I paid $12. Very few except the truely dedicated to night stalking, are going more than 15 times a year (at night, day is a different story). 15 trips x 6hr= 90hr/year...probably less for most people. I've had mine for 5, going on six years. You do the math. No I don't have 1000s of hours on mine, but given that rate of usage, it'd take a person 11 years of that kind of usage to hit 1000s of hours, and if you wanna split hairs about "just bought this light 10 years ago" over what is now a $15 light, go ahead. I didn't know Brinkman/Qbeam was a "cheap" company. It's a no-frills light. Alligator clips, wire, bulb in a sealed housing. Ive had mine for going on 6 years. Ive fished LED lights (green), and regular white lights with green sleeves, and not sure what the difference is in one LED over the other, but even if I had to buy a new Qbeam every year, I would just from the results difference. I have had zero issues running two off of one battery for up to 8hrs and no hint in getting dim. Some people catch em under a green light. I love the concept. I swear I do, I just can't get my mind wrapped around em. If I find one that emits as bright of white light as the Qbeams for a reasonable price ($50 or so) with the kind of garuantee Bob offers, I'll buy one. I just can't get around the math or results.

you are right about the starfire 2`s,hard to beat for the money,$10 on clearance at walmart is what i give for mine.i`ve had them 5 or 6 years and they have preformed flawless,

[slab-in-the-box]

I'm sorry, but there is no way that I will ever spend over $100 for a light unless it is made from solid gold with diamond studs. I'd put money on it that I'll catch just as many fish as any of you guys using your $100 lights under one of my $13 starfires. And look, now that I've saved soo much money on my light, I have more money for gas and bait which means more time on the water reeling in good 'ol mr. crappie.

[TreednNC]

Don't take my word for it. Search "Rango night stalk" coolers and coolers of slabs under starfires. Pete too. Those two could write a book on night stalks.

[NeonMoon]

dont give a crap about how much they drain the battery on my setup,cause i have enough batteries in my boat to power any submersible crappie light.what i look for is how bright ,how many lumens a light puts out and can u replace the bulb yourself,thats what matters to me.i have used 18 in optronics,starfire 2`s,and another brand hallogen,cant think of the name at the moment

Good for you, how about those of us who sometimes walk into spots not accessible by boats (or they aren't allowed), or those of us who fish from smaller crafts and can't haul 150 pounds of batteries. I have run my "expensive" ($55, whoopee) Reel-Lite all night on a battery that will nearly fit into my pants pocket. I understand that's not how you fish, but there are others here with different requirements than yours. I guess you're also aware the more you cycle your batteries, the more you shorten their lives, being as they only have so many cycles in them, but batteries are cheap too, so discharge away.

That's also not to mention buying something from a Forum Sponsor, you know, giving something back to a site I use, take from, and enjoy. I'll pay a fair price for a quality item provided by a good guy who feels the same all day long before walking into a SprawlMart.

[CrappiePappy]

Calm down, people .... let's not let this turn into a war of words. There's a lot of different lights to choose from, and they all have their pros/cons.

"Cheap" (ie - inexpensive) is a relative term ... relative to the individual buyer's budget.

I've fished under Coleman gas lanterns, Starfires, 12V headlight encased in styrofoam, Blacklights, and even halogen dock lights or the dull glow of a marina walkway light ... and caught Crappie. "Where" I was fishing was more important than what kind of light I was using.

... cp