I've used something which if not the same, was remarkably similar in the past. My only critisism was that they were too bright, I can only see the bottom picture and I attached mine the opposite way round,thinking there would be less likleyhood of the leader getting caught and snapping the tip of the rod,also having the light nearer to the tip would show more movement. Never had any problems with them apart from the dazzle. Unfortunately can't remember the brand name,it must have been 10 years ago at least.

 

Thanks interceptor. Yes there are some of the bigger button cell lights that are far too bright. These ones produce a steady and comfortable to watch glow that doesn't hurt the eyes and yet is clearly visible with the moon directly in front of them. I haven't tried them the other way round yet, but have had no problems with line whipping around them.

 

i dont use any tip lights,much prefer some good reflective tape and a light fixed to rod rest with a moveable clamp ,i use a mfa 3 led light on 3 duracell which last about 10 winter sessions and lights up my rod tips brilliantly ,i find that tip lights can cause problems like catching the line etc

 

Yes I've used the ones called "tip lights" made by a company called funnily enough tip lights, Phil & Jo Hyde were using them in an old sea angling vid,they were much bulkier but could be seen at long range too,they had a dovetailed slide on/off carrier.

 

You could probably wean me off chemical lights IF the shelf life of the batteries is better than the shelf life of chemical lights.

I bought a bulk load of chem lights last year to get them cheap and when I came to use the remainder this year all they'd give is a feeble yellowish glow

You could always give me a dozen or so to "field test" I'm sure I could give them a 'glowing' report

 

i dont use any tip lights,much prefer some good reflective tape and a light fixed to rod rest with a moveable clamp ,i use a mfa 3 led light on 3 duracell which last about 10 winter sessions and lights up my rod tips brilliantly ,i find that tip lights can cause problems like catching the line etc

fftopic:As I said I'm after views on tip lights. I know many use tape, as do I, and excellent it is. However tip tape only works when you shine a light directly from your view point. I prefer to keep my fishing spot as dark as possible. The tip tape helps when I am watching the tip for small bites after I have spotted the initial dip in the rod, Any tip light has the advantage of beieng able to see the rod tip from any angle.

My query regarding tip lights is really concerning the take up of battery operated lights as opposed to chemical lights. Is it purely down to cost becasue i believe they can be supplied at a cost that would be comparable to chemical lights but with several advantages. I can envisage a single led tip light lasting me all summer eg. Suppose you fish twice a week from say 9pm till 1am. You probably don't need the tip light till around 10pm. Thats 3 hours of use a night. With an 80hour battery life that gives 12 weeks use! Personally I would rather fix one of these lights on my rod and not have to worry about changing it.

 

I use the MK IV tip lights, love 'em to bits. You can get replacement batteries from www.cheaperbatteries.co.uk
for peanuts and if you site them in the right place on the rod you shouldn't get any problems with line catching them either, although if you pendulum I'd slip them off for casting and pop them back on after just to be safe.

You can see them 100 yards up the beach and they come in different colours so if your fishing buddy is using a different colour to you it helps sometimes.

 

You could probably wean me off chemical lights IF the shelf life of the batteries is better than the shelf life of chemical lights.

I bought a bulk load of chem lights last year to get them cheap and when I came to use the remainder this year all they'd give is a feeble yellowish glow

You could always give me a dozen or so to "field test" I'm sure I could give them a 'glowing' report

LOL. A dozen Martyn? Thats about five years worth of use!! I've looked into the specification of the lithium cells used and they state that they have a ten year shelf life! I can get a couple to you to test but I am charging a small fee for them to cover shipping costs. After all if I give them away you won't need to buy them for several months!

I'm not keen on the button cell lights like the mark IV. They look bulky and are, as you say, extremely bright and almost painful to look at for any length of time.

 

Those rods with tip lights always seem to move in the dark out of the corner of your eye, obviouly an optical illusion. I prefer reflective tape and just look at it with an LED headlight, plenty bright enough. What is the point of a tip light if you are not looking at it anyway.

 

I also have a green isotope but am not sure whether it will be bright enough on a 12' beachcaster,has anyone else tried them? Very neat only about the size of a match.

 

I tried using similar tip lights some time ago.
Got them from here:- http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_r327.htm .
Dont know if they are the same as the ones that you use but shelf life is good and from memory they lasted a good long time.

However, finally came to the conclusion that I had a headlamp, it uses rechargeable batteries, I was going to use it anyway and the low light setting was more than adequate to light up the mighty bright tape without sending signals to passing ships.

Now I dont bother with tip lights chemical or otherwise.






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Don't be a stool pigeon Dave :hammer:

I take the point about the tip tape and as I have said several times, I'm not really interested in the pros and cons of tip light versus tape and headlamp. That discussion has been done to death. Some people use tip lights some use tape, enough said.

What I am interested in is whether those that use chemical lights can see the advantages of the battery ones both in convenience and cost over the chemical lights.

I haven't noticed any problem with "optical illussions" making the tip appear to move. Maybe wishful thinking on quiet nights!

I did look in to the isotope lights. If they where brighter they would be the perfect solution, but in reallity they only work on the darkest nights.

 

Just had a phone call about these things bizzarely enough! my opinion, my own opinion that is. waste of time. I had a tronix tip light that was used on a snood well over a week ago. I opened my squid jig box a week later at the same venue and it was still glowing. now I have no problem with these lights but I would not sell them (and I have been asked) the fact is that I can personally get better value from glo lights such as the tronix ones. that is my only opinion and it is my own. Sorry if it is not shared by all.

 

Don't be a stool pigeon Dave :hammer:

I take the point about the tip tape and as I have said several times, I'm not really interested in the pros and cons of tip light versus tape and headlamp. That discussion has been done to death. Some people use tip lights some use tape, enough said.

What I am interested in is whether those that use chemical lights can see the advantages of the battery ones both in convenience and cost over the chemical lights.

I haven't noticed any problem with "optical illussions" making the tip appear to move. Maybe wishful thinking on quiet nights!

I did look in to the isotope lights. If they where brighter they would be the perfect solution, but in reallity they only work on the darkest nights.

I am sorry Richard but I don't know what you mean by "stoolpigeon".
You asked for peoples opinions of battery tiplights on an open forum with special regard to their cost effectiveness.

I have given my opinion and the reasons for reaching it.

I will give MY opinion again.

For me, battery tip lights are not cost effective, neither are chemical tip lights.

Nuff said.




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To be honest you are better with reflective tape and headlight, no tip light. This makes you watch the rod tip... so in theory at least, you will never miss a bite!

 

Oh oh, just read the other post.:shutup::shutup:

 

Fair enough Dave.

Since it was raised, tronix lights cost £0.75 for two. So for 16 sessions that works out at £6.00. At £2.00 the battery light is 3 times more cost effective! The big question is when you come to buy 50 for £5 from the likes of Lidl. Never bought these before so don't know how effective they are or what their shelf life is like. As MartynG pointed out they do tend to go out of date quite quickly and I have had similar experiences with them not working after 6months storage.

 

Oh oh, just read the other post.:shutup::shutup:

LOL. No worries. Everyone has a preference.