AOW Night Light Requirement

[piikki]

Planning on AOW course in the early fall. I was told they require the students to purchase their own primary light for the Nigh Dive. Now, I have no idea what might be enough and what might be too much (too much meaning dragging around and buying the batteries).

Now, I had hoped the course would give me an idea what's good, so I would know what to invest on later if I got into night diving at all. However, if I have to put money into a light now I’d rather get something that would serve me awhile. I see night diving as a future possibility but not as something I would do in great amounts. If I did what conditions other than ‘night’ should I take into account when choosing the light? Cold water, viz?

One instructor told not to get anything less than D8 (from UK or Ikelite), another said that’s an overkill and C4 will do and is also more convenient. Both told not to get LEDs, so I don’t think I am gonna show up on the course with one of those… I think my LDS sells UK, Ikelite and Pelican. What pointers would you give on choosing between these?

And what are the benefits of the wider beam? I have no concept of how wide we are talking with, say, C4. I do not wish to be looking through a thin string of light but is the widest beam ideal either if the power is lost all over the place?

Cheers,

Piikki

 

[Walter]

The cool thing about diving at night is it's dark. I use the smallest light I can find.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

Me too...I used to use an Ikelite PCa, perfect for a night dive. I do own an 8C light, but I reserve that for wrecks. Which sucks, because it's too much for a night dive and not near enough for a wreck. So it's pretty much a nice paperweight.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Planning on AOW course in the early fall. I was told they require the students to purchase their own primary light for the Nigh Dive. Now, I have no idea what might be enough and what might be too much (too much meaning dragging around and buying the batteries).

Now, I had hoped the course would give me an idea what's good, so I would know what to invest on later if I got into night diving at all. However, if I have to put money into a light now I’d rather get something that would serve me awhile. I see night diving as a future possibility but not as something I would do in great amounts. If I did what conditions other than ‘night’ should I take into account when choosing the light? Cold water, viz?

One instructor told not to get anything less than D8 (from UK or Ikelite), another said that’s an overkill and C4 will do and is also more convenient. Both told not to get LEDs, so I don’t think I am gonna show up on the course with one of those… I think my LDS sells UK, Ikelite and Pelican. What pointers would you give on choosing between these?

And what are the benefits of the wider beam? I have no concept of how wide we are talking with, say, C4. I do not wish to be looking through a thin string of light but is the widest beam ideal either if the power is lost all over the place?

Cheers,

Piikki

A D8 is huge and heavy ... and I agree that it's overkill. I dive and teach in conditions somewhat similar to your local ones ... cold and traditionally murky water. You should avoid lights with a wide beam, because all that murk is caused by suspended particles, and a wide beam causes "backscatter" ... if you've ever tried driving your car in a snowstorm with your high beams on, you'll understand how that affects your vision.

Under your circumstances, one possible good choice would be a UK C8 halogen. If you can afford it, get the rechargable version ... not only will you save money on batteries in the long run, but the "high" beam is a higher wattage than is offered on the non-rechargable version. The C8 has a lot of nice features, including a dual beam, nicely focused, nicely packaged, balances nicely with the pistol grip (my preference over the lantern-style handle), and it's not overly expensive.

Another option is the Light Cannon ... the HID version of the C8.

I just picked up a C8 eLED, which is also a nice light ... but the problem with LED lights is they tend to "wash out" in ambient light, which makes them not very suitable for daytime diving.

You'll also need a backup light ... I recommend either the UK SL4 or the Ikelite PCa ... both provide a nicely focused beam in a slim package for not a whole lot of money.

Hope that helps ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mossym]

did your instructors say why they didn't like leds? i know quite a few people who really like them..

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

did your instructors say why they didn't like leds? i know quite a few people who really like them..

My guess is turbidity ... although they are growing in popularity here in the PNW, I do notice they don't throw a beam even as far as a comparable halogen (and they're more expensive). The "floaties" tend to wash 'em out ...

In clear water though, they ROCK! That's why I got mine ... it'll be a lot easier to carry to Bonaire than my canister light ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Damselfish]

D8s tend to big and awkward, I dumped mine for a C8.

Even if you don't expect to be night diving, a light can be useful in the day as well, to look under stuff, down cracks, that sort of thing. Really you want a backup for night diving, but if you only buy one light now you could get a C4 that would be good enough for your AOW night dive, and that you could use during the day. And later it can become your backup.

 

[mossym]

My guess is turbidity ... although they are growing in popularity here in the PNW, I do notice they don't throw a beam even as far as a comparable halogen (and they're more expensive). The "floaties" tend to wash 'em out ...

In clear water though, they ROCK! That's why I got mine ... it'll be a lot easier to carry to Bonaire than my canister light ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

makes sense, i was considering getting a c4 led so that i didn't have to bring my light cannon when i fly, i like how tough they are, and they should rock for clear water...but the HID in the light cannon really cuts through crap floating in the water...

 

[miesemer]

Based on the lumination vs time curve provided with the eLED lights. The C4 eLED burns about 7 hours with a slowly diminishing lumination. The C8 eLED burns about 8 hours at near full lumination and dies quickly. At least with the C4 eLED you'll know when it's time to change the batteries and decrease the chance of getting caught with a dead light mid-dive.

 

[piikki]

At this point, I really like the idea of getting a light that would 'do it' for this 'requirement' and later maybe function as a backup or handy enough to be carried around daytime too. I think both of the C8 and D8 by size alone (weight yet to be tested) are quite something to take around 'just in case' on a day-dive.

Bob, you are correct about the reason for grimaces re: LEDs. I had imagined a compact LED might do it for peeking into those cracks and stuff during day dives but there is a good amount of gunk where I dive in. Also, the other guy said they are more prone to flood I think (?)

I'd like to get the Light Cannon - but not dropping that much dough before knowing a little bit more. Where are the instructors who have all the gadgets to show here up north, I ask?? We do not need backup for the course, so I am starting to lean on the C4; maybe some coursemate will have some cool toy to check out. By the time I am allowed to dive down to the kewler wrecks here I might be ready/savvy enough to choose my real primary.

Thanks for your input, any votes against any brand or are they pretty much equal?