Another light choices question: Intova 4.7W vs Dorcy II

[eelnoraa]

Does anyone have both? What are your thoughts on them?

They are similar size. From spec, Dorcy is brighter and with a narrower beam. Intova is not as bright but broader beam. Also there is the difference in battery use. Any other differences? Which one do you guys prefer? again, this is for AOW prymary.

 

[DarkCoffee]

From what I've seen (I have the Dorcy lights, friends have the Intova):

Switch: Intova: Sliding magnetic switch
Dorcy: Head twists for on/off

Batteries: Intova: Uses 3xCR123 (I think I have the battery type correct...)
Dorcy: 6 x AAA

Beam: Intova: Comes in narrow or wide bean versions.
Dorcy: V1 version: fairly tight beam
V2: (just shipping now) appears to have a wider beam (so I've read)

CONS: Intova: Magnetic switch has history of popping out
Intova: Had a few cases where dropping the light caused a wire to break
in the head
Dorcy: Battery cartridge on early models would break. Replacement cart.
were sent out for n/c.
Dorcy: Hole in handle for snap attachment had sharp edges that would
fray line used for attaching snaps.

Friends have used rechargeable CR123 batteries in the Intova with success but these were special orders to obtain.

I went Dorcy for availability, price and the use of standard batteries. Some feel the twist head switch is an issue but its never been for me.

 

[eelnoraa]

does your friend think the Intova is bright enough?

 

[HenrikBP]

I have an Intova narrow beam. It's from when they still called them 3W - don't know if they actually changed the LED when they started calling them 4.7W, but now they're not putting wattage on there at all - so who knows.

The short of all that is, that the Intova narrow is plenty of light for a primary light fo a clear water night dive. Nice even beam and a quite solid body. The switch on min has held up fine. It uses 2 CR123 batteries (not 3), which takes a bit more effort to find at reasonable prices. You'd probably want to order online where they can be found for around $1.

I just received the Dorcy II, which I think is a bit brighter (hard to give actual numbers) and has a slightly smaller central hot spot. Beam is very even except for a tiny dark spot right in the center. I have no doubt it'd work great as a clear water primary as well.

Henrik

Edit - just checked a bunch of lights side-by-side.

The Dorcy hot spot is actually a bit smaller than the Intovas. It's also completely evenly lit, where the Intova has a smaller central hot spot in the hot spot (hope that makes sense)

 

[gcbryan]

I have an Intova narrow beam. It's from when they still called them 3W - don't know if they actually changed the LED when they started calling them 4.7W, but now they're not putting wattage on there at all - so who knows.

Glad to hear that they did what they said they were going to do. I emailed them about the 4.7 W not being accurate and they agreed that referring to led's in terms of watts as was done with Halogens was not appropriate and they said they would quit referring to their lights that way.

The only change would have just been to a more efficient "bin" which is exactly what has been going on with the Dorcy. They've always used Cree XR-E leds and the 170 lumen vs 220 lumen models are just due to them using more efficient "bins" of that same led.

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

The Intova is one of the smallest, brightest, great price point B/U light on the market. If don't like the slide switch they also offer it with a push button at the end.

Here is the link to the 2 options that we offer.
DIVESeekers.com Call us Toll Free 888-728-2247

 

[DiveGear4Less]

Intova has come out with a few different models of lights now. They have a light that uses 2 CR123s, a light that uses 3 AAAs. They have magnetic switch and push button. The push button has 3 different modes, too - 100% beam, 30% beam, and strobe. Regardless of what all the companies have said about their lights, we have compared Intovas side by side with several different lights and the Intovas have blown away all the other lights we've seen. And the Intovas are usually about 1/2 the price!

 

[gcbryan]

Intova has come out with a few different models of lights now. They have a light that uses 2 CR123s, a light that uses 3 AAAs. They have magnetic switch and push button. The push button has 3 different modes, too - 100% beam, 30% beam, and strobe. Regardless of what all the companies have said about their lights, we have compared Intovas side by side with several different lights and the Intovas have blown away all the other lights we've seen. And the Intovas are usually about 1/2 the price!

What lights have you seen? The new Dorcy?

 

[dolesorchard]

I have one of the Intova 2-cr123 lights and love it. Thought my old halogen light was fully charged on a night dive, when it went dead I switched to the Intova and it was better than my big light. I used it as a punch light on 30 dives on the trip, as well as my primary on the other two night dives and did not kill one set of batteries. Cabela's has cr123 batteries pretty cheap.

 

[SkimFisher]

Beware of the Intova's with the tailswitch (run on 3 AAA's as opposed to the Lithium). I had one flood after 4 dives and was told by Intova that it was a new design and they were having a lot of problems with flooding. They replaced it free of charge - which was nice. The replacement also has a tailswitch, but of a different design. 30 dives later and no problems. Even still, just a heads up.