LED Flashlights
The SureFire L1 Lumamax and the Tektite Expedition Star take Best Buy honors. Incandescents may not pale in comparison, but they're fading fast.
Binoculars: 7×50, Waterproof, With Compasses
Optical acuity was very good across the board, but the devil's in the details. Steiner and Fujinon are still superb - at great cost. West Marine and Nikon share Best Buy honors.
Foul Weather Jackets
The Henri Lloyd Rapid Coastal takes top honors among the coastal jackets, followed by the Best Buy, Ronstan's Inshore. Of the offshore jackets tested, we liked the Gill Atlantic best.
Glove Up!
There's a big market these days for "exam" gloves—the kind that used to be reserved for doctors and dentists, but are now used...
Compact Binoculars
For onboard back-ups and excursions ashore, a set of good compact binox are almost required. Nikon fielded a strong team—their Mountaineers are a Best Buy. But the race is also to the Swift.
LED Lights: Low-Power, Long Life
The revolution continues. LEDs serve a growing range of uses on board.
Marine Watches
Casio's Sea Pathfinder 40 gets top honors for functionality, readability, and price - but it's not for the slim-wristed. Higher-quality watches lack some functions we like.
Seaboots Under $100
You should be able to keep your feet warm, dry, and on deck for a reasonable price—and you can.
Cold-Weather Gloves
In freezing temperatures we field-tested 12 pairs of cold-weather gloves from different sports to see which ones keep hands warmest, yet still offer a bit of dexterity.
Brinkmann, LSI, Optronics Shine Bright in Spotlight Test
Sixteen lights from six manufacturers.
Doing ‘The Ditch’ Capt. Frank’s Way
Be aware that a less-experienced sailors report of a great anchorage with plenty of depth, or statements like We ran aground here! don't do you much good if they fail to include basic info such as their boat's draft, state of the tide, etc. Other sailors' facility reviews should also be taken with a grain of salt. For example: The dockmaster hates Algerian Snaggle-tooth Poodles (like our Fluffy), so were never coming back, and you shouldnt either!