Are can lights still necessary for non-cave tech diving?

[doctormike]

Hi!

This is my first post in the tech forum. I think that's OK since I finished TDI advanced nitrox and I'm two dives short of deco procedures certification (blowout on the last day of the class, need to reschedule the dive).

I have an inexpensive can light (a very nice DIY job by a SB member), but I'm having the usual issues getting used to dealing with the cable a times, especially when removing deco bottles, valve drills, etc... I'm sure that I would eventually get used to it, but given the recent improvement in power and burn time with cordless rechargeable LED lights, I was wondering what the thoughts were in this community regarding just using a cordless light as a primary, possibly on a Goodman handle.

I realize that for cave diving, you are absolutely dependent on an extremely long burn time (I have two backup lights on my harness in any case), but for what I might be doing (wreck penetration), I wouldn't need the burn time to match the run time, like you would in cave diving. I have heard that one advantage of the can light is that you can just drop the light and not lose it, but that can also be an entanglement issue...

My instructor agrees, and doesn't recommend can lights. Just wanted to get some other opinions before finding a good strong cordless light as a primary.

Mike

 

[laurin]

Tech and even cave diving might be doable with some of the current cordless lights. However, some of the issues with having a lighthead in the way don't have anything to with having a canister and cord. So you'll want to learn to deal with the light anyway:
-makes doing stuff easier, either one-handed or two-handed
-makes it safer, ie. avoid entanglements
-does not annoy the hell out of your dive buddies by randomly blinding them
-avoids giving erratic light signals; the boy who cried 'wolf' stuff - if your light is constantly doing the disco nobody is going to notice your emergency signals or might actually stab you to make it stop or something

Luckily the solution to the above is really simple stuff, it just takes some conscious effort to get things down to muscle memory (which is why you'll see lots of experienced guys struggling with this):

A) learn to switch the light between hands whenever you need to do something with one hand, keeping your beam calm (equalize, use inflators, dump gas, clear mask, check SPG, do valve drills and so on)
B) stow the light whenever you need two hands (shoot smb, switch gas, stow stage reg, remove tanks etc)

That's it - there's a whole bunch of finer points to that, like temporary hold, temporary and permanent stows and how to rig the light head, but getting in the habit of A and B above is a huge improvement alone.

//LN

 

[doctormike]

Tech and even cave diving might be doable with some of the current cordless lights. However, some of the issues with having a lighthead in the way don't have anything to with having a canister and cord. So you'll want to learn to deal with the light anyway:
-makes doing stuff easier, either one-handed or two-handed
-makes it safer, ie. avoid entanglements
-does not annoy the hell out of your dive buddies by randomly blinding them
-avoids giving erratic light signals; the boy who cried 'wolf' stuff - if your light is constantly doing the disco nobody is going to notice your emergency signals or might actually stab you to make it stop or something

Luckily the solution to the above is really simple stuff, it just takes some conscious effort to get things down to muscle memory (which is why you'll see lots of experienced guys struggling with this):

A) learn to switch the light between hands whenever you need to do something with one hand, keeping your beam calm (equalize, use inflators, dump gas, clear mask, check SPG, do valve drills and so on)
B) stow the light whenever you need two hands (shoot smb, switch gas, stow stage reg, remove tanks etc)

That's it - there's a whole bunch of finer points to that, like temporary hold, temporary and permanent stows and how to rig the light head, but getting in the habit of A and B above is a huge improvement alone.

//LN

Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate it.

Of course, I understand that I do need a bright, narrow beam primary light to serve as my "voice" in an overhead environment. And certainly I will need to be able to deploy and stow whatever light I use at the appropriate times. The other points that you bring up apply to both canister and cordless lights, right?

I guess my question was if there was anything specific to a can light (as opposed to a cordless light) that would make it still preferable on a technical dive, assuming that the cordless light has enough burn time to be functional when needed. My understanding is that recently the latest crop of LED handhelds have evolved sufficiently to make this question reasonable.

As far as I can tell, if the output and burn time of a handheld is adequate, then the main advantage of a can light would be the ability to drop the light head without losing the light. Would you say that is correct? Certainly, the cord represents both a failure point and an entanglement hazard (Dave Shaw's last dive was specifically discussed in the class), so it has to be justified somehow...

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Well we don't have much to go on because we do not know what your kit looks like or configured. I would guess that you have the cannister on your Rt. hip mounted on the waist belt. If that is true then the cord should wrap around your arm to take out excess slack. (Practice wrapping it in different directions). After a while you will have no trouble doing any task, other than maybe SMB deployment, with the light in you right hand.

You brought up a very interesting point pertaining to hand held lights...the burn time or the lack of burn time. My buddy and I just picked up a hand held light after years and hundred of dives with cannister lights. We love them but the burn time is only 1.5 hours on high. Heavy accent on the word high. So if the battery starts to get lower, we can switch to a lower setting to increase burn time. A word of advice if I may. If you go with a cordless light get one that has lower settings and I love the battery indicator on out BigBlue 2600's.

One last point and please do not take this the wrong way. I think that since you are new to the tech. side of diving your view of " but for what I might be doing (wreck penetration), I wouldn't need the burn time to match the run time, like you would in cave diving," is off. Overhead is overhead and you can get lost in a wreck.

 

[asha]

I have a small Light Monkey canister light and a Sola video light and I wouldn't dream of replacing the LM with the Sola. The power just isn't there, and even if I were personally okay with that, it's difficult to signal my teammates with an underpowered light when they have canisters. (I have a litany of other complaints re: the Sola, but I'll save those for another time.) Additionally, I appreciate being able to hang the light around my neck via the cord when I'm doing something with my hands (e.g., tying off a reel) so as not to false-signal with erratic light movements.

 

[Kristi@CCDS]

Hi!

This is my first post in the tech forum. I think that's OK since I finished TDI advanced nitrox and I'm two dives short of deco procedures certification (blowout on the last day of the class, need to reschedule the dive).

I have an inexpensive can light (a very nice DIY job by a SB member), but I'm having the usual issues getting used to dealing with the cable a times, especially when removing deco bottles, valve drills, etc... I'm sure that I would eventually get used to it, but given the recent improvement in power and burn time with cordless rechargeable LED lights, I was wondering what the thoughts were in this community regarding just using a cordless light as a primary, possibly on a Goodman handle.

I realize that for cave diving, you are absolutely dependent on an extremely long burn time (I have two backup lights on my harness in any case), but for what I might be doing (wreck penetration), I wouldn't need the burn time to match the run time, like you would in cave diving. I have heard that one advantage of the can light is that you can just drop the light and not lose it, but that can also be an entanglement issue...

My instructor agrees, and doesn't recommend can lights. Just wanted to get some other opinions before finding a good strong cordless light as a primary.

Mike

What exact issues are you having? Cable too long/short? dragging? Describe what is happening and where you have the light rigged up. I personally have an RX8 from Dive Rite and love it for certain things (esp diving rebreather and sometimes in sidemount) Having one less cord or item to deal with while clipping things in is nice and I really like the RX8 as a light. The quick release handle it comes with is pretty awesome too and makes switching from left to right hands pretty simple.

 

[LiteHedded]

a seldom mentioned benefit is that you can't drop it. more of an issue in open water tech diving than in caves

 

[eelnoraa]

I am with LitHedded. I actually like the cord so that if for any reason I need to let go the light head, I won't lose it.

 

[Garth]

I am with LitHedded. I actually like the cord so that if for any reason I need to let go the light head, I won't lose it.

+3 I think.. if my math is right.

I worry about dropping things from time to time and with the cord it is not an emergency since it's attached to you.

Garth


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[TSandM]

With no intention at all of being offensive, the original posts reads to me as someone seeking an equipment solution to a technique problem. All of us have had to struggle with light heads and light cords while figuring out how to move around equipment, cameras, etc., and enough practice makes one facile.

I understand the issue of entanglement with the light cord, which is one of the values that I see in having the light cord UNDER the long hose (keeps it from looping down). But you can do the same thing by having the light cord cut back to the right length. Manufacturers make them very long so they'll fit everybody, but they're too long for many people and do end up with a hanging loop. Shortening the cord fixes this, and it's a cheap alteration.

As far as the arguments for a canister go, not losing the light head is one. Being able to use the canister (via E/O cords) to power various things can be a good reason for a canister, too.