just a personal marker light.
Princeton Tec Eco Flare
- Cheap
- Robust
- Doesn't blink (though there is a "flashing red" setting.)
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
just a personal marker light.
Underwater identification. While on the Manta Ray Night dive in Kona, HI there are literally 4-6 different dive ops in the same area. They have mutually agreed on different color markers for the divers. You have to stay with your DM and that color marker. Follow a random set of flash lights and you may find yourself in the wrong group and then on the wrong boat topside. I've also been along a reef for a local shore dive and had at least 3 separate groups of divers enter the water. As they swim along the reef you may find yourself in the wrong group without a tank marker.I never understood the idea of those tank valve lights on a night dive... I know that they provide a sense of security to new night divers, but assuming that everyone has a light of some sort, the handheld light is much more visible IMHO than one of those little glowing lights sticks or small tank lights.
I find that there are FAR fewer issues with buddy separation on a night dive than a day dive. Unless the vis is spectacular, you can easily lose track of a buddy a short distance away, even in the Caribbean. At night, no matter how engrossed I am in macrophotography, I just look up and at a glance I can tell exactly where the other divers are.
Especially today, when even relatively cheap dive lights are extremely bright LED versions. Just the reflected light is enough to be seen from far away.
Underwater identification. While on the Manta Ray Night dive in Kona, HI there are literally 4-6 different dive ops in the same area. They have mutually agreed on different color markers for the divers. You have to stay with your DM and that color marker. Follow a random set of flash lights and you may find yourself in the wrong group and then on the wrong boat topside. I've also been along a reef for a local shore dive and had at least 3 separate groups of divers enter the water. As they swim along the reef you may find yourself in the wrong group without a tank marker.
Pretty basic question, but where is the best place to attach a night dive strobe light so that it doesn't get tangled with various hoses etc, but will be prominently displayed?
The best place for these is kept in your dive bag to find things in the dark. These are a major entanglement hazard.
These are a major entanglement hazard.
But if you are really concerned about entanglement, and you want a light, you could use one of those lighted yoke valve knobs.
oh, for Pete's sake. Not if you're diving where there's nothing to get tangled in, which is the case for the vast majority of rec night dives done by anyone who would consider wearing one.The best place for these is kept in your dive bag to find things in the dark. These are a major entanglement hazard.