September 1, 2009.

I worked late again tonight but having the new Alpenglow lights here, yet uninstalled, was just killing me. We have a friend who owned a boat and when he sold it he removed his Alpenglow fixtures to put on his next boat. He swore that they were so good that it was worth the trouble. If that’s not a testimonial, I don’t know what is.

So I decided to install one of the reading lights that we had ordered. I had another dim/dull fixture that I wanted to replace so it was a simple remove and replace job. The old light was marginal at best for reading even with the light positioned right over your shoulder.

The Alpenglow’s use LED technology. LED’s use a fraction of the power used by conventional light bulbs. The problem is they are often not very bright. We’ve purchased several different fixtures for “reading lights” in the salon before and the results have always been marginal and we have been sorely disappointed.

Things were different tonight. I wired and mounted the new fixture and when I flipped the switch we were amazed at the difference. I was thinking, get out your sunglasses and maybe even some sunscreen! OMG these lights ROCK! We use big fluorescent tube lights in the head and over the sink in the galley. They’re energy hogs, but very bright. The new reading light from Alpenglow use a fraction of the energy and puts them to serious shame. The quality of these lights are very impressive, the reading lights are gorgeous chrome, heavy duty, substantial unit that are very well made. The overhead light is a beautifully finished wood trimmed light with a domed lens that is top quality. They offer many different options such as night vision, different wood finishes and the traditional brass finish. Plus they are really nice folks.

I know this is starting to sound like an Alpenglow commercial but if you’re in the market for new 12v lighting you won’t do better than Alpenglow, they are a bit pricey but worth every cent. If you purchase lights from them, tell them Veranda sent you just so they know us sailors support their business. www.alpenglowlights.com We still have another reading light and an overhead light to install and I'm actually looking forward to it.