a few primary lights choices

[stargost]

I'm debating between 3 'good prices' canister primary lights, all from divegear express while they can be found at other places:

a) Hollis 16W LED, 849$
has the tighter beam, but the lowest burn time

b) Dive rite LED LUX, 679$
Little smaller, cheaper, wider beam, longer burn time

c) DiveRite 700, 499$
smallest, cheapest, almost similar beam as the LUX, and little longer burn time.


I see b) as the wrong compromise, as being in between not really having more value compared to the DR700. (but i may be missing something there).

The 'benchmark' divegear express did there : Beam Comparisons for LED Dive Lights - Dive Gear Express
seems the show that the Hollis would be better for signalling, which is one important decision factor. But beam size difference not large, and I'm wondering if within rec. open water limits, the DR700 would do pretty good for buddy signaling too.


Any hints for people who have used them or even multiples of them ?

thanks a lot

 

[Atomic_Diver]

The LED 700 is a great light, how ever if you are looking for a primary Canister light I would go with the LED LUX... You might also want to look into Salvo's (Light Monkey) LED 21w...

 

[BabyDuck]

salvo doesn't exist anymore. it's light monkey.

 

[stargost]

Well, yes, the 4th light proposed is the Light Monkey 21W. 1279$, little larger but with more amps to sustain a 5h burn time.
I believe (hope!) that the beam will be really much tighter than the 3 other ones.

But back to: is the price difference worth it ?

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

If you are going to go with L.E.D. then it should come down to the DiveRite LUX or the Light Monkey!!

LED LUX - LED LUX Canister Light LT6250LED-LUX *Buy Dive Rite at DIVESEEKERS.com 888-SCUBA-47

Light Monkey - Light Monkey Rebel 21 Watt LED with 10.4A Li-Ion Battery *Buy Light Monkey at DIVESEEKERS.COM 888-SCUBA-47

If you want better signaling and more punch then the Light Monkey is slightly more.

I haven't had a chance to dive there (California) but I believe that you have more particulates in the water. In that environment, I am still partial to HID. If you choose to go HID, the DiveRite H1000 is probably your best value.

HID 1000 Slimline Canister Light LT6250-HID1000 *Buy Dive Rite at DIVESEEKERS.com 888-SCUBA-47

Although I still am partial to the punch of the 21w HID. If you decide to go that route then Light Monkey probably has the best price point.

Light Monkey Rebel 21 Watt HID Focusable Light with 10.4A Li-Io*Buy Light Monkey at DIVESEEKERS.COM 888-SCUBA-47

I can justify this expense because of how much I use it and the need of this tool for Tec diving.

If you NEVER have plans for Tec then I would look at the price options of $800 or less. If it is a possibility then spend the extra money now and get use to it rather then re-spending money down the road. Either way, I think CAN lights are worth the money especially from the "hands free" aspect.

 

[BabyDuck]

also consider used - you can often get nice lights much cheaper when someone upgrades.

 

[Atomic_Diver]

salvo doesn't exist anymore. it's light monkey.

Yea, true But don't more people know the company by the name Salvo.... and Salvo just sounds cooler too....

 

[BabyDuck]

well, i bet most know it as something the current iteration doesn't want everyone thinking about anymore - so let's help them out & not go there.

 

[Atomic_Diver]

well, i bet most know it as something the current iteration doesn't want everyone thinking about anymore - so let's help them out & not go there.

Sure Thing

 

[h2oSkier]

Over on TDS a couple months ago Nick Hollis confirmed that Light Monkey is producing the Hollis 16W LED on their behalf.

Your warranty would be through Hollis but any service (if necessary) would be done by Light Monkey. I'm one of many that can attest to the customer first attitude from the guys at Light Monkey. You can place your own value assessment on that but it would be a pretty big deal to me.

Good luck with your decision.