Buy or rent light?

[Damselfish]

If you are likely to do one night dive and never want a light again, then rent. But I think dive light rentals are expensive given the quality of the lights they usually rent you and it can quickly be worth buying one. I think the real question is, how much tropical diving are you going to do, period? Not just night diving. Thing is, a light is handy during the day to peek in holes and under ledges, you see things and colors you wouldn't otherwise. You probably wouldn't rent a light everyday for daytime use but if you had your own you'd probably use it more often than just night dives.

For clear water you actually don't need that much light at night, it can even be a drawback as the night critters don't like it. You can buy small lights that are easy to carry in a pocket, adequate for night and good for the day, and might even be useful as a backup at home if you dive there.

I do all tropical diving now and prefer something with a wider softer beam at night (currently a PT Shockwave LED) and a tighter brighter beam during the day (currently a PT Torrent.) I suggest LED lights for the battery and bulb life, though you can get some great deals on Xenon/Halogen lights because they're mostly discontinuing them nowadays.

 

[Scared Silly]

I am going to say buy a light even if it is your first night dive. Here is my suggestion:

UK SL4 Dive Light reviews and discounts, UK Lights

The UK SL4 is not expensive and is a fine all round light. I have been using the same one for 15+ years. It has survived a flood. Just clean it out and scrub the contacts. The zenon bulb is pretty much indestructible. Though under powered for most night dives it will work. Also great for looking under nooks during the day. Sure go a head and rent a more powerful light and use this as a back up. Rental lights are typically questionable. So it is good to have backup.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Gosh there are choices, some of our favorites and more popular ones are the Princeton Torrent Xenon ($39), TEC 400 Halogen ($29), Tec-40 ($16), and the Impact XL LED ($31). From pelican you have the 1800 ($20), 1820 & 2000 models (both $24). From Tektite you have the TREK 400 ($30), and finally,from Ikelite you have the PC series ($27 & $29). All of those should get you going and all are small enough to be an "every dive" light.

Dave

 

[RonFrank]

Buy a light! They come in very handy on the suface as well!

I paid $25+ship for the one shown below. It is bright enough to act as a primary dive light. I also purchase rechargeable batteries, as the LiON batteries for this light are $1 each (online) and it takes two. The rechargeable kit was maybe $20 with four batteries and a charger.

Well worth it IMO, and environmentally the right thing to do also. The only downside to these rechargeable is they burn at 100% brightness for 50 minutes, and then die. So use non-rechargeable if this is your primary dive lite. The LiOn non-rechargeable will provide two or three dives at full burn.

Unfortunately the retailers of this Intova flashlight discovered that hey, dive lights are more expensive vs. regular flashlights, and they have upped the price to almost double what I paid. Still a great light for a reasonable price at around $40. It has a nice small footprint (6 1/4" x 1'~1 1/2" at the head).

OMS makes a nice light that is even smaller, but over 3X what I paid. I see this at LP for $59, which is a good price for this light. This light has an even smaller footprint at 5" x 1" with the head being 1 1/2" but the base is not flared. It is also lighter, but does not have a switch, rather a screw down head to turn it on. Both lights have double oring seals.

all-battery.com sells the above kit for $26.00, and non rechargeable CR123A batteries for a buck.

all-battery.com sells the above kit for $26.00, and non rechargeable CR123A batteries for a buck each.

If you do buy a CR123A light, do NOT buy batteries at the local grocery store! They wanted $15 for a set of two! Outrageous!

I own both of these light BTW. The OMS is *slightly* brighter, but not by much. I generally dive with an HID, but as my bulb broke ($100), I've been using these as primary lights. While not a bright as my 10W, they work surprisingly well.

 

[Hatul]

Buy a light! They come in very handy on the suface as well!

I paid $25+ship for the one shown below. It is bright enough to act as a primary dive light. I also purchase rechargeable batteries, as the LiON batteries for this light are $1 each (online) and it takes two. The rechargeable kit was maybe $20 with four batteries and a charger.

Well worth it IMO, and environmentally the right thing to do also. The only downside to these rechargeable is they burn at 100% brightness for 50 minutes, and then die. So use non-rechargeable if this is your primary dive lite. The LiOn non-rechargeable will provide two or three dives at full burn.

Unfortunately the retailers of this Intova flashlight discovered that hey, dive lights are more expensive vs. regular flashlights, and they have upped the price to almost double what I paid. Still a great light for a reasonable price at around $40. It has a nice small footprint (6 1/4" x 1'~1 1/2" at the head).

OMS makes a nice light that is even smaller, but over 3X what I paid. I see this at LP for $59, which is a good price for this light. This light has an even smaller footprint at 5" x 1" with the head being 1 1/2" but the base is not flared. It is also lighter, but does not have a switch, rather a screw down head to turn it on. Both lights have double oring seals.

all-battery.com sells the above kit for $26.00, and non rechargeable CR123A batteries for a buck.

all-battery.com sells the above kit for $26.00, and non rechargeable CR123A batteries for a buck each.

If you do buy a CR123A light, do NOT buy batteries at the local grocery store! They wanted $15 for a set of two! Outrageous!

I own both of these light BTW. The OMS is *slightly* brighter, but not by much. I generally dive with an HID, but as my bulb broke ($100), I've been using these as primary lights. While not a bright as my 10W, they work surprisingly well.

That's an informative post. I still have not come around to using the CR123 batteries. When I travel I take lots of NiMh AA batteries and a small charger and I believe 4 AA cells hold more energy than two CR123. You can now buy a bright LED dive light with 4 AA cells (eg UK LED Q40 Plus) and very compact for travel, so it does not make much sense to rent dive lights. At least for tropical open-water night diving, as you don't need any more light than a compact LED.

Adam

 

[andrethediver]

Thanks all, I purchased Intova Nova Wide Angle and liked it so much just purchased another one.