Ledlenser ML6 lantern review

When Mari, who is the First Mate on Midnight Blue, brought this lantern to my boat this summer, I thought of it as just another piece of equipment. I soon realized, however, that I was getting a real treasure on my boat!

I don’t know if its creators at Ledlenser realized the full potential of their creation and how much of a role it can play in sailing, sailing comfort, and sailing safety! In the past I have never gone to sea without a wrapped silver tape and WD40. Today I added this light from Ledlenser ML6.

We have fallen in love with the Ledlenser lantern it has become an integral part of our outdoor as well as indoor gear and we can’t let it go! Everyone can read our reasons and a (definitely incomplete) list of uses (not only on a sailboat) in the review below.

Those of you who are into purely technical specificationsm,can jump straight to the bottom of the page.

In fact, the concept of the lantern is very simple. A couple of LEDs, batteries to power them, and the necessary holes to charge them. But the “God” is in the details, and they’re really clever. Here are just a few of them.

First of all, I’d like to mention one dazzling fact. Namely, that the lamp does not dazzle 🙂 Behind the play on words is the feature that even when the lantern is lit at full power, which is really hearty, thanks to the internal structure of the lenses (probably more like the detailed shaping of the light tube – but we don’t understand the exact physics as ordinary users) you don’t feel that it is shining directly into your eyes and you don’t get any glare. A small detail, but useful. Because the side effect is that the light is not spotty and covers a large area evenly.

As another feature that I have appreciated and used extensively, I would like to mention the red light mode that the lantern can be switched to. A really great feature for night sailing when your eyes are adapted to the dark, you need to look at a chart or do something below deck or in the cockpit and the white light would blind you for a long time ahead. Having said that, I must point out that once you go into red light mode and turn the lantern off, the next time you turn it on it stays in red mode again. And even changing the brightness level is done without having to switch in a complicated way, so there’s no risk of accidentally turning on the white light, which is a vice many lights have.

Originally I thought that we would use the LEDLENSER ML6 only as a below deck light in case we ran out of power in the main battery. I was concerned that I would have to constantly recharge it. Now that we know what its capacity is (see Battery life) we use it almost constantly. This light came in handy for:

• the below deck light
• cockpit light
• work light when working virtually anywhere (small size, non-glare, shatterproof, waterproof)
• anchor light!!! The most awesome thing we’ve ever used as an anchor light – it’s waterproof and extremely strong! Video of the cruise on our Instagram @serenityexplorers
• battery bank
• tent light
• Flashlight for evening reading, backpacking

I probably see its biggest benefit as its use as an anchor light. I used to use headlamps, but they don’t shine evenly in all directions, creating blind spots where I relied on light reflecting off other parts of the boom. The Ledlenser ML6, however, shines in all directions and evenly too!

When I hung the lantern as an anchor light on the mast the first night, I thought I would find it dead in the morning. What was my surprise when I found it still lit the next morning and had to turn it off.

At that point, I thought, “OK, I guess the rest of the capacity will run out in the evening with a book”. In the end, the light spent the second night hanging on the mast. It lasted. And that was even though we’d used it the previous night in the hold while cooking or in the cockpit while dining under the stars.

Eventually, the anticipation of its discharge became our obsession. It wouldn’t and wouldn’t discharge. The light finally packed it in after 3.5 nights of shining, where it didn’t even let the rain and wind throw it off one night! So from our point of view, super stamina! Then to add to that waterproofness, I would like to add that the light fell into the mud during one of our evening barbecues. Knowing from previous experience that it would last through the night in the rain, we didn’t hesitate to stick it under the tap and the light was as good as new. We’re still a little worried about salt water, due to corrosion, in case we sloppily sealed the charging ports, but the workmanship is such that even this shouldn’t be a problem with proper handling.

We pulled it up the mast using a rope used for pulling flags, which I tied to a practical openable rubber tab, which is equipped with the lamp and which also serves as a cover for the charging port and power bank output. We then started hanging the lantern by this tab practically everywhere we needed to. Apart from the mast, we have tried hanging it on a backpack, a window, a loop in a tent, on our trousers, or just in our hand between our fingers,

Then on the underside of the light is a removable triangular stand that allows the light to stand up. It is very stable and at the same time, importantly, does not shadow the light itself. In addition, it is made of a soft but strong material so it won’t be damaged in a fall (and it won’t damage the boat either, as it cushions the impact and by being made of soft plastic it won’t scratch the painted surfaces which are plentiful in the hold). There is then a metal hook on the underside of the stand to hold the lanterns wherever previous versions were not suitable or as an additional belay.

A perfect addition to the attachment is the presence of a pair of magnets on the underside of the light (under the removable stand), which will hold the light on any metal surface, even if the angle is 90 degrees to the wall or when attached upside down to a metal ceiling. What more could you ask for on a rocking boat (or maybe in a car).

If you have room for a few beers in your backpack, you can definitely fit a flashlight in there, which is sized to fit between 3 cans of your favorite brand of beer. Rather than dry numbers in cm, we prefer to prove it with a photo 🙂

The rubber strip sealing and covering the charging inlet and outlet is fully removable and so we were concerned that, with the light hanging behind it, it might come loose in poorer weather conditions. This didn’t happen, but still, for peace of mind, we secured it for extreme winds with a simple rubber band that we pulled over the outlet covers.

However, unless you plan on sailing beyond the Arctic Circle, across the Atlantic, etc. as is it should be sufficient. Plus, when the standoff is removed, the screw thread is exposed. We didn’t exactly have the required bolt when we were at sea, but we will definitely get one and the attachment to the suspension will be flawless.

The extremely energy-efficient flashlight using micro prism lenses fits perfectly into our sustainable lifestyle concept. Besides the fact that it lasts a really long time, the fact that it can be charged during the day from a solar panel (we’ll review it some other time) makes it an invaluable helper. Not only is the consumption of non-renewable resources unnecessary (because solar or wind power is always plentiful 🙂 we can enjoy long days at wild moorings without having to go to civilization or turn on the engine to recharge, while maintaining light comfort.

Plus, the lamp is durable so it can withstand the roughest treatment. This is often a very important factor when sailing at sea. So after our first experience, we believe that it will last for a long time and this is exactly the kind of thing we like, for nature’s sake.

The Ledlenser ML6 flashlight has become our guide through the darkness and not only that, it has also become a symbol to signal that we are returning to our anchored sailboat from a trek through the Norwegian mountains.

The final verdict is:

5 whales out of 5

The battery is rechargeable via USB cable included in the package. The battery status is indicated by a light indicator.

The flashlight also functions as a power bank from which you can recharge small electrical devices.

Fluorescent parts ensure that the flashlight can be found without difficulty even in the dark.

Package contents: USB cable, rechargeable battery, travel case, stand

DIMENSIONS

LIGHTING PARAMETERS

STATEGIC PARAMETERS