IP rating
Also called IPX4, IP67, ingress protection
What is an IP rating?
A two-digit code for dust and water resistance. For a headlamp the second digit is the one that counts.
IP rating at a glance
- IPX4
- Splashes from any direction
- Covers rain, and nothing more
- IPX7
- 1 m for 30 minutes
- IP67
- Dust tight and submersible
- X means
- Not tested
- Not that it failed
What do the two IP digits mean?
The first digit rates protection against solids from 0 to 6, and an X means untested rather than failed. The second rates water from 0 to 8. IPX4 means splash resistant from any direction, which covers rain. IPX7 means it survives thirty minutes under a metre of water. IP67 means fully dust tight and submersible.
The scale is defined by IEC 60529, which is why the same two digits mean the same thing on a headlamp, a fish finder and a phone.
What IP rating do you need for fishing?
For fishing, IPX4 is the practical minimum since rain is a certainty. IPX7 or better is worth having if you fish from a kayak or wade, because the lamp will eventually go in the water rather than merely get rained on.
Why does an IP rating stop being true?
Ratings apply to the sealed product. A lamp with a removable battery door only holds its rating if the door is properly closed, and the seal degrades with age. Rubber gaskets dry out and crack, so an old lamp does not carry the rating it shipped with.
USB charging ports are the usual weak point on rechargeable lamps, since the cover over the port has to be seated correctly every time. Check it is closed before the lamp goes near water.
If your lamp will be near a boat or waist-deep water, hold out for IPX7. IPX4 is only rated for rain.
What this means when you’re choosing
- The second digit specifically. IPX4 and IPX7 are two very different products, and the marketing word waterproof is used for both.
- A gasket you can see and replace, or at least inspect. It is the part that ages, and nothing on the lamp tells you when it has.
- A rating on the rechargeable model, not just the battery version. The charging port is where the seal usually gives.
The common mistake
Reading IPX4 as waterproof
Manufacturers describe IPX4 gear as water resistant and shoppers hear waterproof, then drop the lamp over the side of a kayak. IPX4 is a splash test: water sprayed at the housing, not submersion. If the lamp can end up underwater, the rating you need is IPX7, and anything less is rated for weather only.
Common questions
Is IPX4 waterproof?
No. IPX4 is a splash rating, tested with water sprayed from any direction, which covers rain. Submersion needs IPX7, which is tested at one metre for thirty minutes.
What does the X in IPX7 mean?
That the solids digit was not tested, not that the product failed it. A manufacturer that only cares about water resistance often skips the dust test, so IPX7 says nothing either way about dust.
Where this is defined
- IEC 60529: Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code), International Electrotechnical Commission
Where this comes up
The guides that use ip rating and show it on real gear.
Last reviewed . IP rating is one of 222 terms in the fishing glossary.