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ACR Electronics C-Light PFD Vest Signal Light
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ACR Electronics C-Light PFD Vest Signal Light

Item # 723347

$12.00

Item qualifies for annual
REI Member Refund (typically 10%)

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Attach this reliable and efficient beacon to your PFD for enhanced visibility and safety in low-light conditions.

  • Constructed from highly-visible, rugged ABS resin for lasting impact- and temperature-resistant performance; fully waterproof and corrosion resistant
  • Slim lightweight design fits easily into a pocket or hangs discreetly when attached to a PFD or jacket
  • Easy to operate twist on/off switch can be operated in adverse conditions with gloved hands
  • Adjustable wrist strap secures light and can be mounted via stainless steel pin, integral lash loops or lanyard
  • Lens simultaneously focuses a beam of light straight ahead and a ring of light all around
  • Multi-faceted refracting lens intensifies light up to 20 times in the horizontal direction and 75 times in the vertical direction
  • Stainless steel attachment pin also engages top cap to prevent accidental disassembly
  • Intense incandescent light is visible up to two miles away, depending on conditions; produces a twinkling effect for signaling
  • Operates on two AA batteries; US Coast Guard approved for use with lithium batteries
  • Operates more than 8 hours continuously at 30° F

Manufacturer supplied specifications.

Imported.

Item 723347

ACR Electronics C-Light PFD Vest Signal Light Specs

Specification

Description

Weight1.3 (without batteries) ounces
Dimensions5.6 x 1.3 inches
MaterialABS plastic, nylon, steel

ACR Electronics C-Light PFD Vest Signal Light Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews
ACR Electronics C-Light PFD Vest Signal Light
 
2.0

(based on 3 reviews)

Pros

  • Reliable (3)
  • Waterproof (3)

Cons

    Best Uses

      Reviewed by 3 customers

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      Feb

      4

      2009

      (1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

       
      2.0

      Don't bet your life on it

      By shadowfox

      from Lexington, KY

      About Me Recreational

      Pros

      • Compact Design
      • Inexpensive
      • Reliable
      • Waterproof

      Cons

      • Difficult To Use
      • Dubious visibility

      Best Uses

      • PFD light

      Comments about ACR Electronics C-Light PFD Vest Signal Light:

      This is primarily an emergency/rescue light. When attached to a kayaker's PFD, it usually would be hung bulb up behind your shoulder. In that position, it takes a fair amount of effort to grasp and turn the collar which serves as the on/off switch. The light is very bright when viewed from directly overhead or from the side at eye level. From all other perspectives it doesn't make much of an impression. ACR makes a lot of good equipment, but I don't believe that in an emergency this light would give you as good a chance as many alternative products.

      • Gift:
      • No

      Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend

      (1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

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      Sep

      17

      2008

      (1 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

       
      1.0

      barely adequate

      By prion

      from northern Vermont

      Site Member

      Pros

      • Cheap
      • Reliable
      • Waterproof

      Cons

      • Ambiguous signal

      Best Uses

      • Canoeing

      Comments about ACR Electronics C-Light PFD Vest Signal Light:

      ACR makes great products. I use their strobes; in fact I use this little light. It's a clever design that puts a steady lamp behind a massively convex lens, producing a focused ring of light at right angles to the barrel. Any motion causes that ring to wobble. The effect to an observer in approximately the same plane is a winking beam. The problem is that it's an irregular, weak wink, not obviously a distress signal. It looks like what it is: a bobbing penlight. That's good for locating someone in the water at night, or keeping track of someone on the water at night, but it's worse than useless as an emergency beacon. It looks like any number of glints off the surface; if an approaching vessel even recognizes it as unusual, unless it's searching for a capsize it's more likely to bear off to avoid it as approach to investigate. That's exactly what you want if using it to keep a group of kayaks together, or mark a swimmer's location during an assisted rescue. It's exactly what you don't want if you're out there in need of assistance. A real strobe means one thing and is used for only that. This is not a strobe and it's meaning, if it's even recognized as a signal, is confusing. Confusion is not what you want in emergency gear.

      That said, I use it canoeing on quiet water (no powerboats), strictly as an emergency signal. It doesn't qualify as running lights, where those are mandated, and it's inappropriate, if not illegal, to use it in a way that may cause observers to take risks attempting an unnecessary rescue. If properly oriented and operated, it helps find someone overboard, shortening a search. That's all, but that's useful. It's a tough, cheap little unit with less to fail than electronic strobes (replacing expensive gizmos that've only been operated to test them can get tiresome), but a strobe is incomparably brighter, unmistakable in intent and imperative. There should be an electronic strobe on every PFD on the sea at night.

      Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend

      (1 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

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      Sep

      6

      2008

      (0 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

       
      3.0

      barely adequate

      By prion

      from northern Vermont

      Site Member

      Pros

      • Cheap
      • Easy To Use
      • Reliable
      • Waterproof

      Cons

      • Weak inconsistent flash

      Best Uses

      • Canoeing

      Comments about ACR Electronics C-Light PFD Vest Signal Light:

      Clever design magnifies light output radially perpendicular to the case. The result is a focused ring of light. As you bob in the water, an observer in approximately the same plane sees a winking dot as the ring wobbles up and down. The advantage is that this only depends on a polycarbonate lens (besides the usual lamp requirements: good batteries, clean contacts, continuous conductor etc.) which is inexpensive and nearly indestructible. The disadvantage is that the flash is pathetically weak and uncontrollably unperiodic. It's only useful to locate someone being actively searched for at night at close range. The alternative, a Xenon strobe, costs more and depends on electronic discharge control, which will fail eventually, but its flash is regular and bright enough to attract attention from someone not necessarily looking for you, even in daylight. It offers the hope, at least, of catching the eye of not only searchers but of passersby and especially oncoming traffic. I have both types, permanently attached to PFDs, but I use this one only for canoeing on quiet water where its faint glimmer will best stand out.

      Incidentally, to keep the ring of focused light horizontal this light needs to be mounted vertically. Anything else, especially if it's under water, compromises its function dramatically. I often see these dangling from or attached at an angle to lash tabs on PFDs, to make reaching the switch easier. That renders them pretty close to useless in a capsize. This is a solid piece of equipment, better than nothing and not much more expensive, but it's only better than nothing if used intelligently.

      An interesting question is the legality of using this lamp to keep track of companions and ward off other boats. The REI description almost implies that's its purpose. A strobe is a mayday signal, calling for heroic rescue measures, so its use for anything else is forbidden. This little winking glow bug might not qualify, it might be legal to use it casually, which would add to its usefulness in group night crossings (though it doesn't satisfy USCG running light standards) but that has to detract from confidence in it in an emergency. Its confusing signal, neither an emergency strobe nor a steady warning beacon, could give exactly the wrong message whichever way you use it.

      Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend

      (0 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

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