On cold winter nights, with over ten hours of
darkness, light is a necessity, but, light leakage
from the bivvy is at best unsightly and at worse a
give away to wary fish that something in their
environment is different (especially with the clear
water conditions that are prevalent in
autumn/winter).
For those reasons, the majority of tackle companies
lighting solutions are not ideal. LED lights are
very bright, and rarely dimmable, most of these
lights offer limited directional control and (worse
of all) once they are on in the bivvy, the anglers
eye is unable to see anything outside and low
lighting visibility is ruined. Also, these lights
run on batteries, which run out (and run badly in
cold conditions).
For just these reasons, the Bushlight Candle Lantern
is one of the best angling lighting options for
dedicated winter carpers.
Sitting at 6" high when packed away, the Bushlight Candle Lantern is not the most compact of
lighting units, but neither is it cumbersome. Whilst
the lack of batteries also leads to the unit being
exceptionally lightweight.
To operate the unit, the inner core slides upwards
to reveal a hardened safety glass circular inner.
Inside the glass is the candle holder system, this
is removable by unscrewing the bottom of the unit to
access the candle. Once unscrewed there is an inner
spring loaded holder, that keeps the wick of the
candle within the glass tube at all times, ensuring
the light is even and consistent.
Here's the best bit, the Bushlight Candle Lantern
operates using regular household candles, so it
literally costs pennies to run for an entire
weekend. To light the candle, you simply push the
inner core down, so the wick is near the top of the
unit, and light it through the hole at the top.
The light given off by the unit is consistent and
unflickering due to the design of the lantern, it is
a complimentary light to read under, whilst also
giving out enough light to perform angling jobs such
as rig tying and splicing leadcore. The natural
candle light is also kinder to the retina, and
allows the user to still retain a degree of night
vision. The Bushlight Candle Lantern Set also comes
with a reflector, which fits inside the glass screen
and means that you can direct the light, or, cut the
light from the lantern being spilt out of the front
of your bivvy.
One other bonus of the lantern is that due to the
nature of the light source, a certain amount of heat
is given out by the unit. Now in no way is it a
central heating system, but this heat residue is
certainly enough to raise the temperature in your
bivvy by a few degrees, and when fishing in the
depths of winter this can make a great deal of
difference. In the summer, this heat can be utilised
for a different purpose. Supplied with the Bushlight
Candle Lantern Set is a "Mozzy Clip", this attaches
to the top of the unit and allows the user to place
a Mozzy Pad safely on top of the unit, and the heat
from the candle activates this, giving out an anti
mosquito vapour.
Also included in the kit is a candle tube (to
transport your refills without breaking them) and a
useful canvas carry bag.
