best underwater flasher/beacon

[Ken Reid]

So I am up here in the chilly waters of Newfoundland and I do a bunch of scallop diving. Sometimes I like to leave the bag where it is, go collect the scallops and bring them back to the bag. Sometimes the bottom silts out making the bag difficult to locate. I have found attaching a lift bag onto the grab bag, inflating it a little to hold the grab bag upright and having a flasher/strobe attached is a great way to sure up me seeing the bag again when I swim off.

Over the years I have gone through multiple different kinds of strobes and have not really liked any of them.

The Princeton Tec Aquastrobe....I have been through a dozen of these. Pro: the flash is decent and they float upright and are affordable. Cons: they have to be screwed down to activate...meaning they are easier to flood. I also find they can be finicky to use and give out.
Any switch activated flashers from Princeton Tec flood if looked at wrong.
I have had a couple of Jotron: Amazingly bright. More pricey. Hard to get. Supposed to be indestructible....I have gone through 3. Two of them stopped working within 6 months of use. The last one I brought second hand and the top popped off after the first dive.

What is everybody using? Open to all suggestions.

 

[scubadada]

I have used a Tex Tite Strobe 200 from DGX for many years. They make more powerful and durable models

Strobes - Marking Lights

Submersible strobes and marking lights are an excellent tool to mark the location of the anchor, up-line or meeting point on low visibility and night dives. The marking lights are designed specifically for visibility from any direction and provide a bright steady light. The strobes are not just...

www.divegearexpress.com

 

[FezUSA]

I have both the Orcatorch SD01 mini glow tank strobe beacon $14, as well as their SD03 dive beacon $35. I attach them to our kids on night dives, different color for each one. For cheap but functional, the SD01 is a good value. The SD03 is more robust, can be used as a mini flashlight (UW and good for walk home after night dive!). Both have been on numerous dives and are good so far. Not sure how applicable they would be for your particular use case though. Might be worth checking out still.

 

[Tassi Devil Diver]

I use the Narked at 90 path finder strobe PATHFINDER STROBE (OUT OF STOCK), supposedly the most powerful diving strobe in the world. Highest light output. Highest flash rate of any emergency or location strobe for diving use. Has lasted me nearly 10 years.

 

[buddhasummer]

I use the Narked at 90 path finder strobe PATHFINDER STROBE (OUT OF STOCK), supposedly the most powerful diving strobe in the world. Highest light output. Highest flash rate of any emergency or location strobe for diving use. Has lasted me nearly 10 years.

I've had my eye on one of those but they have been out of stock for well over a year. Wondering if no longer in production?

 

[buddhasummer]

I've been using this for a few years, no issues.

TekTite Strobe 200

The TekTite LED 200 Strobe Light will run 30+ hours on a set of two C-cell batteries.

www.divegearexpress.com

 

[buddhasummer]

Used to have a Jotron but case cracked and customer service was non existent.

 

[nickbutcher]

I use the Narked at 90 path finder strobe PATHFINDER STROBE (OUT OF STOCK), supposedly the most powerful diving strobe in the world. Highest light output. Highest flash rate of any emergency or location strobe for diving use. Has lasted me nearly 10 years.

I have a Pathfinder and it pales in comparison to my Trojan strobe. Those claims may have been valid when N@90 came out with it but no longer hold true.

Trojan also make the ‘Extreme’ version, which is bonkers.

Diving strobes and marking lights

Submersible strobes and marking lights are an excellent tool to mark the location of the anchor, up-line or meeting point on low visibility and night dives.

trojandiving.pl

Also consider the Light Monkey BAF.

 

[nickbutcher]

Used to have a Jotron but case cracked and customer service was non existent.

Jotrons are toys compared to the Pathfinder/Trojan/BAF strobes. I’ve still got a couple but wouldn’t consider using them ‘standalone’ when I absolutely had to return to the shotline.

 

[happy-diver]

Tektite Strobes

» Tektite Strobes | reflections from my underwater world

www.johnchatterton.com