Canister vs handheld

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The_Goat

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Messages
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Location
British Columbia
# of dives
50 - 99
Just wondering what the great advantage of a canister over a handheld light are?

Is it just the length of battery life?
Thanks again for all of your help.
 
Some say canister lights are a dying breed with brighter longer lasting handheld torches becoming available. A while ago the technology wasn't accessible. Now
it is.

I do like a can light because it stays attached to me when I drop it.

Some people also like the canister for tucking a hose under in back mounted long hose configurations.

They also can serve to power a heated vest (I want one!)

If you need extreme burn time and don't want the weight on your hand, a canister is still a good solution.

Cameron
 
I dive a heated vest (best buy ever), but besides that, I like a long lasting, high power light with a goodman handle on my hand.

I don't like handheld, it does not feel relaxed to hold a torch the whole time. My dives are in dark waters or at night and typically longer than one hour (average dive time last year was 78 minutes).

When I dive in the more typical waters on holidays (clear, daytime, less than 60 minutes), I have a Dris 1K shorty with a soft goodman handle to look into crevices or for signaling.
 
It is mainly preference for most people as you said it is mainly battery life. Very few people are doing dives where they need more than 3 hours of burn time.
 
I have and dive both depending on the situation. Several handheld lights easily can burn well over hour without any issue..

Here are some points / opinions based on by experience with both.

Burn time on HH (LX20) is easily over 2hrs on High with good batteries. Extra batteries are cheap and easy to source and keep on hand vs expensive proprietary packs in most can lights. They can simplify things as you don’t have to deal with can mounting or cord routing. Switching between gear configurations is easy.

It (HH) can be bulky on the wrist. I have dropped mine both above and below the water, where it would have been less likely with a can light. Wearing a dive computer and HH on same hand/wrist can be a problem. I find my LX20 tends to bump my perdix unless I turn the computer to underside of my wrist.

I like both. For new cave/tech divers, I think a HH light is a great option. You are probably >year away from needing over 2 hrs of burn time, and why not save that $1,000 for now, knowing that light technology will probably be even better in a year when you are ready for that “big dive”
 
Handheld lights are great when you don't need a reserve. They also tend to be larger and heavier on your hand. Most current LED canister lights like the UWLD, LM, Halcyon EOS, are all smaller and lighter on your hand. That doesn't mean you can't put a small handheld on a goodman handle, but you're not getting the benefit of the larger handheld battery packs like the DR HP50, LX20, Big Blue, etc.

With HID's going out of style, there's really no need to carry a large canister light head anymore, which negates the primary advantage of the older handheld stuff, they were smaller than comparable HID's.

Handhelds tend not to do well with hard goodman handles. They don't balance as well and you have to be more proactive with keeping them secure. You can't just extend your arm forward and snug the light back. The answer to that are the soft goodman handles/light socks, things like the DR QRM system, the Oxycheq Raider, etc. The problem with these is that they are not as convenient as a hard goodman handle if you need to do things like adjust your wing, hit a MAV, do anything while on a scooter, really anything you need your left hand to do. You can do it with it still strapped to your hand, but that's poor light discipline. The consequence of that varies depending on the dive and who you're diving with. If the answer is to dive with it on your right hand, and also primary donate, you're a jerk (I say this lovingly, solo divers I'm looking at you). I've been bashed in the face and blinded during an s-drill by someone who swore that their right hand was the correct place to wear their light......

That doesn't mean they don't have a place. For open water recreational dives I like my LM canisterless. However it is dead simple, twist on, nothing fancy. It's basically a big backup light with much greater capacity. No magnetic switches that can get corroded and stuck (LX20), no need to shim battery packs to make sure they have a good connection (again, LX20), simple bolt snap on the back to clip it off, no fuss. No push button switches (although piezo's are fine). And since it's essentially a delrin tube, if I want, I can clip it to a helmet with some PVC. Fancy hand mounts require a fancy helmet mount, not always easily acquired in some locales.

For anything in an overhead environment, I will always take a canister light. Aside from not having to worry about dropping it, I find that they balance better, the obvious long hose storage solution, the substantially greater battery life, the ability to use heated accessories, and the reserve necessary to cover any issues that might occur that may delay your ability to surface in the planned amount of time.

It really is dependent on the type of diving you do. If a handheld is the best light for your situation, don't let anyone dissuade you from buying one. Just make sure you understand the differences and why they matter.
 
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all echo'd above.
No handheld is putting out the actual output capacity of my UWLD lights. Some of them claim to be, but they're just not. The battery packs aren't high enough capacity to deal with that kind of draw yet.
Can't do a heated vest for any real length dive without one, and no the thermalution doesn't count IMO
Head size is a significant issue for me. I have owned a Halcyon EOS mini, and currently have a LX20 and Halcyon Flare handheld. they're OK for "normal" dives and in the OW, hell the LX20 is going to be my primary for the next week in cave country while I'm getting some upgrades done to my UWLD, but it's not in the same league.
Light etiquette, particularly while on a scooter is rather annoying. The handhelds for me are primarily on my right hand since my left hand "does" most everything while in the water, but on a scooter that is an issue
 

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