Back up to canister light

[stas]

Hi,
I will be purchesing a canister light in the near future to use as I get more involved in the local diving. For me right now that means upto 130 fsw in the notheast on wrecks. In a year, I plan to take my first tech course. I was wondering what would be an aceptable backup light (I hope I don't need another canister since those things arent exactly being given away. Any and all sugestions welcomed.
Thanks, Stas

 

[Vie]

In no particular order:

Halcyon Scout http://www.halcyon.net/lights/scout.shtml
Photon Torpedo http://www.cnsales.net/photontorpedopage.htm
selected! Solaris http://www.selected-tools.com/solaris1.html
MAL-Lighting µHLD1 http://www.mal-lighting.com/html/homeeng.html
Dive Rite Delrin Tec http://www.diverite.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=LT6035-LED

Or beg, borrow, steal or trawl eBay for an Oceanic Hylite.

My backups are five year old Scouts - no problems so far.

 

[grazie42]

Mal-lightings light can be found here at a decent price (depending on your location):
http://www.dyk-brand.se/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7413

 

[Metalsub USA]

Hi,
I will be purchesing a canister light in the near future to use as I get more involved in the local diving. For me right now that means upto 130 fsw in the notheast on wrecks. In a year, I plan to take my first tech course. I was wondering what would be an aceptable backup light (I hope I don't need another canister since those things arent exactly being given away. Any and all sugestions welcomed.
Thanks, Stas

Hello Stas,

There are many good backup lights out there, just remember that the light you choose must be bright enough and have a long enough burn time to get you safely to the surface. For shipwreck dive in the Northeast you’ll want a bright light that you can still use to search for the buoy or anchor line in all conditions.

Before I started distributing Metalsub lights I was, and still am, an Underwater Kinetics light fan.

http://www.uwkinetics.com


I still carry a “Sunlight SL4 Dive Light” in my BCD pocket as a backup on normal lake dives but I take a Light Cannon 100 as a back up on dark water shipwreck dives. All that said, I’ve never used my backup because my Metalsub HID200 canaster light has never failed in the two years I’ve been diving with it.

I have never used any of the lights others are talking about in this tread but I have “never” had “any” problem with Underwater Kinetics or Metalsub products.

 

[Vie]

I like the UK SL4 but it is quite bulky. The non-LED version of the Halcyon Scout and similar lights use UK SL4 (or similar) heads but are much more streamlined and simple (twist on/off, no switch) and do not "over drive" the bulb.

Personally, I would never use a UK Light Cannon 100 as a backup. It is expensive, very bulky and not reliable enough, not to mention the bulb is relatively fragile. Pointless to backup a canister light (which also has a relatively fragile bulb) with a light using the same kind of bulb. A backup should be extremely reliable and "KISS" in design, imho.

 

[ppo2_diver]

I have two Photon Torpedos. They work great, are reliable and are reasonably priced.

DJ

 

[Vie]

Forgot to mention the LED-LENSER Frogman - I've heard good things about this light. It is rated to "only" 60m though.

http://www.zweibrueder.com/english/...lights/ledlenserfrogman/ledlenserfrogman.html

 

[DA Aquamaster]

There are newer lights available but the Pelican Saber Light was an old standard for a back up light. Just remove the clip to eliminate the entanglement hazard and attach a bolt snap with cave line.

It is streamlined, reliable, has a simple twist on/off function and is sealed with 2 o-rings. Saberlights are readily available virtually everywhere for around $25.

In any case you want a light that is low profile, simple, and extremely reliable - including a bulb that is not over volted to produce extra brightness.

 

[Jason B]

including a bulb that is not over volted to produce extra brightness.

This is a key point to be looking at in a back-up light.

 

[ianr33]

I have never heard of anybody using another HID as a backup. If you are in an overhead environment a small backup light should be more than adequate to follow the guideline out . Your buddy should have an HID as well.

Of course,should you be soloing overhead environments with no guideline then you might need a spare HID..............