deepdiverbc
Contributor
I don't know how popular Pelican back up lights are but for years I used a SabreLite 2000 (Xenon Bulb) and was always impressed with the performance. Recently I switched to the new Pelican SabreLite 2010 LED but also bought a Salvo Rat LED.
Today my buddy and I took the three lights for a dive in low vis. Vis varied from 4ft - 12ft. Our primary lights are the UK Light Canon.
The Salvo light rocks. The body design fits well into the hand, it's twist on so no switch to worry about, it's double o-ringed, the lanyard attachment is centered and solid, the beam width works very well and I like C-Cell lights. It's also very bright. I switched between the 10 watt Light Canon and the Rat, and in low vis I preferred the 3 watt Rat. It did a great job of penetrating the fog. The only thing I didn't like was that my rechargeable batteries wouldn't work because they don't have metal caps on the positive end. For some reason this light is designed with the positive battery terminal matched to the spring. I had to drop in a brass slug to make it work.
The Pelican SabreLite 2000 (Xenon Bulb) that I used for years is also a very bright light with the twist on design. It has a tightly focused beam but isn't quite as bright as the Rat. I also prefer the white/blue beam of the Rat to the Yellowish Pelican. The pelican's light module only lasts 30 hours which isn't great but the problem with this light is the single o-ring. Over the years it flooded on me three times until it finally died. Pelican stands behind it's product though and replaced it. It's still a light with a lot of potential and a lot cheaper than the Rat. If I had kept it I would probably find a way to lathe in a second o-ring groove.
The Pelican SabreLite 2010 LED was my replacement warranty light after the 2000 model flooded. I paid the extra for the upgrade and had high hopes for this light. The "Recoil" technology is very innovative. The LED is directed at the reflector instead of the lens. You effectively bounce the light off the reflector and out the lens which focuses the beam extremely well. There is almost no halo around the light beam (it's square not round BTW). It is a solid beam of light and in low vis this is a great asset. Unfortunately it's underpowered at only 1 watt. Pelican claims it has the same lumens as my old 2000 model but they are no where near the same output. If this light was boosted to 3 watts the "Recoil" feature could make it an excellent back up light in low vis conditions. It's still a single o-ring though and guess what? It flooded on me on the first dive.
If you like a C-cell twist on light design the Rat is the way to go. But if you want to save some money take very good care of your single o-ring and go with the Sabrelite 2000 until the LED version gets a power boost.
Today my buddy and I took the three lights for a dive in low vis. Vis varied from 4ft - 12ft. Our primary lights are the UK Light Canon.
The Salvo light rocks. The body design fits well into the hand, it's twist on so no switch to worry about, it's double o-ringed, the lanyard attachment is centered and solid, the beam width works very well and I like C-Cell lights. It's also very bright. I switched between the 10 watt Light Canon and the Rat, and in low vis I preferred the 3 watt Rat. It did a great job of penetrating the fog. The only thing I didn't like was that my rechargeable batteries wouldn't work because they don't have metal caps on the positive end. For some reason this light is designed with the positive battery terminal matched to the spring. I had to drop in a brass slug to make it work.
The Pelican SabreLite 2000 (Xenon Bulb) that I used for years is also a very bright light with the twist on design. It has a tightly focused beam but isn't quite as bright as the Rat. I also prefer the white/blue beam of the Rat to the Yellowish Pelican. The pelican's light module only lasts 30 hours which isn't great but the problem with this light is the single o-ring. Over the years it flooded on me three times until it finally died. Pelican stands behind it's product though and replaced it. It's still a light with a lot of potential and a lot cheaper than the Rat. If I had kept it I would probably find a way to lathe in a second o-ring groove.
The Pelican SabreLite 2010 LED was my replacement warranty light after the 2000 model flooded. I paid the extra for the upgrade and had high hopes for this light. The "Recoil" technology is very innovative. The LED is directed at the reflector instead of the lens. You effectively bounce the light off the reflector and out the lens which focuses the beam extremely well. There is almost no halo around the light beam (it's square not round BTW). It is a solid beam of light and in low vis this is a great asset. Unfortunately it's underpowered at only 1 watt. Pelican claims it has the same lumens as my old 2000 model but they are no where near the same output. If this light was boosted to 3 watts the "Recoil" feature could make it an excellent back up light in low vis conditions. It's still a single o-ring though and guess what? It flooded on me on the first dive.
If you like a C-cell twist on light design the Rat is the way to go. But if you want to save some money take very good care of your single o-ring and go with the Sabrelite 2000 until the LED version gets a power boost.
