Akozon LED Nav Lights Review: cheap, bright, but a bit basic for serious boating

I put these Akozon LED navigation lights on a small 5m fishing boat that I use on a lake and occasionally on a river. I’m not a professional skipper, just a regular boater who needed simple 12V nav lights without spending too much. I used them for a few evening outings and two night runs to see if they were actually usable and not just cheap plastic from the internet.

The first impression was pretty clear: they’re basic but bright. You can see them from a good distance, and the red/green separation is clear enough if you mount them properly. For casual use, they seem to get the job done. But when you look closer at the build, the wiring, and the mounting, you can tell where they saved money.

Compared to proper marine brands I’ve used before (like Hella or Osculati on another boat), these Akozon lights feel lighter, less solid, and less reassuring in the long run. That doesn’t mean they’re useless, just that you need to know what you’re buying: entry-level nav lights for small boats, not gear for offshore trips or rough conditions. The IP66 rating is nice on paper, but I’m a bit cautious about how they’ll age with constant exposure.

If you’re on a tight budget, do short trips, and mostly stay close to shore or on lakes, they can make sense. If you’re doing long night navigation or rough seas, I’d personally spend more. So my mindset with these lights is: decent temporary or backup solution, but I wouldn’t rely on them as my only long-term nav system on a serious boat.

Given the price range these Akozon nav lights sit in, the value is decent but not mind-blowing. You get a working pair of LED side lights, they’re bright enough, low power, and reasonably sealed. For someone who just wants to make an older small boat somewhat compliant for short night runs without spending a lot, it’s a practical option. It’s the kind of thing you buy when you don’t want to drop serious money on a boat you only use a few times a year.

Compared to more expensive brands, you clearly give up on a few things: better plastics, more solid housings, marine-grade wiring, and a more precise beam pattern. If I compare them to the nav lights I have on another boat from a known marine brand (which cost about 2–3 times more), those feel sturdier, look better after years in the sun, and inspire more confidence for long night trips. But for a small fishing or leisure boat, that price difference can be hard to justify, especially if the boat itself is old or not worth a big investment.

Where the value drops a bit is if you expected a full navigation kit (including stern or masthead light). This set is mainly red/green side lights. You’ll still need something for the stern or all-round white light to be properly equipped, so factor that into your budget. Also, if you have to buy extra connectors, sealant, and wire extensions (like I did), the hidden cost adds up a little, even if it’s not huge.

In short, for a budget-conscious boater, the price/performance ratio is okay: not a steal, not a rip-off. If you want something to last many seasons with heavy use and minimal fuss, I’d say spend more. If you just need functional nav lights on a small boat without getting too serious, these can be a reasonable compromise.

Design-wise, these Akozon lights are compact and low-profile, which is actually a plus on a small boat. They don’t stick out too much, so there’s less chance of kicking them or snagging lines on them. The black housing blends in pretty well on a dark hull or on a black rail, and they don’t make the boat look cluttered. If you want something that doesn’t scream “cheap accessory”, they’re acceptable from a distance.

Up close, you can see where they cut corners. The plastic has that slightly shiny, budget feel, and the edges aren’t as clean as what you’d get from more expensive marine brands. The lens fit is okay but not perfect; on one of my units, there was a tiny gap line where the lens meets the housing. Not enough to leak immediately, but you can tell the tolerances aren’t super tight. I actually ran a thin bead of marine sealant around that area just to be safe.

The lights are supposed to have a 90° angle, which is part of the required sector coverage for navigation, but you really need to pay attention to how you mount them so the visible arc is correct. There’s no clever mounting base or integrated alignment guide – it’s just two screw holes. On a curved surface, that can be annoying. I had to adjust them a couple of times and step back to check that the red and green weren’t bleeding into the wrong angle.

In practice, the design is functional: small, light, easy to place in tight spots. But it’s also a bit generic and unrefined. If you’re picky about finishes and want something that looks truly marine-grade, you’ll probably find them a bit on the cheap side. If all you care about is that they’re not huge and ugly, they’re fine, just not impressive.

The lights use PA + PC plastic (nylon-style housing and polycarbonate lens), which is standard for low-cost marine accessories. The good news: they’re light, don’t rust, and can handle splashes and sun reasonably well at the beginning. The bad news: they don’t give that solid, dense feel you get with better-grade housings or metal bases. When you hold them in your hand, it’s obvious they’re on the cheaper side of the spectrum.

The lens is polycarbonate, which is fine for impact resistance. I accidentally bumped one light with a boat hook while docking; it scratched slightly but didn’t crack. So for small hits, it’s okay. My concern is more about UV resistance over time. Cheap polycarbonate tends to yellow and become brittle if it lives in the sun all year. I haven’t had them long enough to see that yet, but based on similar products I’ve used, I’d keep an eye on that after one or two seasons.

The wiring is where you really feel the cost savings. The wires are fairly thin and not especially long, and the insulation doesn’t look particularly marine-specific. I ended up adding heat-shrink butt connectors and extra protection because I don’t trust bare crimps with that kind of wire near salt or constant humidity. If you just twist the wires and tape them, don’t be surprised if you get corrosion or intermittent contact after a while.

Overall, the materials are acceptable for light recreational use, but I wouldn’t call them heavy-duty. For a small lake or river boat that gets used occasionally, they’re probably fine for a couple of seasons. For a boat that lives outside in the sun and salt 365 days a year, I’d expect some aging: faded housing, maybe micro-cracks on the lens, and possible wiring issues if not well protected. So: not garbage, but definitely not top-tier marine quality either.

After a few weeks of on-and-off use (evening fishing trips, a couple of night returns in light rain), the lights are still working perfectly: no water inside, no fogging, and no visible corrosion around the screws. So in the short term, the IP66 claim seems realistic enough, at least for spray and normal rain. I checked the inside of the hull where the screws go through, and there were no leaks from the mounting holes after I sealed them properly.

Where I’m less confident is the long-term durability. The plastic housing already shows some very slight dulling where the sun hits it directly, and that’s after a relatively short period. It’s not dramatic, but you can tell this isn’t premium UV-stabilised material. On a boat that spends months in the sun, I wouldn’t be surprised to see fading and maybe some hairline cracks over a couple of seasons, especially in hot climates.

The other point is the sealed LED module. On paper, it’s great: no bulbs to change, low power, long life. In practice, on cheap products, when the seal eventually fails or moisture manages to sneak in, the whole unit tends to die suddenly. There’s no way to open and clean or repair it neatly. So if one side fails, you’re basically buying a new pair or at least a new unit. For the price, that’s not a disaster, but it’s something to keep in mind if you want a set-and-forget solution.

Overall, I’d rate durability as adequate for occasional use. If you’re a weekend boater on a lake, they’ll probably last long enough for you to feel you got your money’s worth. If your boat lives in a salty, sunny environment and you’re out at night a lot, I’d either treat these as temporary or backup lights, or invest in a more robust brand from the start.

On the performance side, the brightness is actually pretty solid for the price. When I first powered them up in the driveway at dusk, I was pleasantly surprised: the red and green are clear, strong, and easy to spot from a distance. On the water, my friends in another boat told me they could see me well before I got close, which is the whole point of nav lights. So in terms of “being seen”, they do the job.

The beam is relatively focused on the expected sector, but as with many cheap lights, there’s a bit of light spill. It’s not bad, just not as precise as more expensive models. For basic night navigation on a small boat, it’s fine. Just don’t buy into the idea that these are headlights. They’re not made to light up your path, only to show your position and heading to others. I still needed a separate handheld spotlight to actually see floating debris and the shoreline.

The LEDs fire up instantly and don’t flicker. I didn’t notice any weird color shifts or dimming after several hours of use. Power draw is low – I ran them off a small 12V battery together with a fishfinder and an extra LED bar, and the voltage drop was minimal. That’s one advantage of LED nav lights: you can leave them on all night without worrying too much about draining the battery, especially compared to old-school incandescent bulbs.

In rougher water (short chop, some spray), the lights stayed on without issues, no intermittent contacts yet. That said, I did my own waterproofing on the connections, so out of the box I wouldn’t trust bare connectors. Overall, performance is decent for casual boating: visible, bright, low consumption. For professional or heavy night use, I’d want something a bit more robust and with verified compliance to navigation standards, but for a small recreational setup, it’s okay.

Out of the package, you get two lights: one red (port) and one green (starboard). They’re meant for 12V systems, which is standard on most small boats. The description also talks about a black stern light, but in reality what you have here is a pair of side lights, not a full 3-light kit with masthead/anchor light. So if you expected a complete nav setup, you’ll be a bit disappointed – this is mainly for port and starboard.

The casing is black plastic, fairly compact, and the lenses are colored (red and green). The lens material is polycarbonate, which is pretty common: light, impact-resistant enough, and cheap. The lights are listed as IP66, so in theory they’re protected against strong water jets. I didn’t hit them with a pressure washer, but I did get them splashed several times and they handled rain and spray without any sign of water inside the housing during the first few outings.

Inside, it’s a simple LED module. Nothing fancy: no replaceable bulb, just a sealed LED board. That’s good for low power draw and long life, but if a LED fails, you throw away the whole light. The wires are thin but usable, around the usual gauge you see on cheap LED accessories. Don’t expect long cables either – I had to extend them to reach the existing wiring on my boat.

The product page claims they can be used as headlights, stern lights, or driving lights. Realistically, they’re nav lights, not proper forward-facing headlights. The beam is more about being seen than seeing. If you’re hoping to light up the riverbanks, you’ll need an extra floodlight. As long as you understand you’re buying basic side navigation lights, the contents of the box match the price and the description fairly well.