Canister Light: beam angle 6° vs 16°

[crabtree]

Hi folks,

I'm shopping for a canister light, currently have eyes on the Gralmarine but need some help in determining whether 6° or 16° beam angle is right for me.

I'm a sidemount recreational diver, have logged just over 100 dives, and looking to start tech training in the next year or two. However, where I live (Taiwan and Australia) and the buddies I dive with means i won't be doing cave diving (at least not in the foreseeable future), but possibly some wreck.

Based on what i've read so far:
- narrower beam is good for signalling and seems to be the de-facto choice for cave divers. -
- with regards to low viz condition, some say narrower beam is good as it reflect back so much, but there are those who say otherwise too

So, I'd be very grateful if you could provide some guidances and recommendations.

Cheers.

 

[OMANDIVER]

Why gralmarine? There are good primary lights that dont need a canister dive rite lx20 and tillytec for example. Light technology is changing FAST. Dont just look at beam angle, although 10 degrees is a good allrounder, consider lumen, kelvin, and lux outputs too. And they are much easier to travel with from battery and weight perspective. I wouldnt use a can light for OC dives now unless I needed to run a heated vest off it too.

 

[crabtree]

Why gralmarine? There are good primary lights that dont need a canister dive rite lx20 and tillytec for example. Light technology is changing FAST. Dont just look at beam angle, although 10 degrees is a good allrounder, consider lumen, kelvin, and lux outputs too. And they are much easier to travel with from battery and weight perspective. I wouldnt use a can light for OC dives now unless I needed to run a heated vest off it too.

Hello OMANDIVER, the reason for Gralmarine is because i think the lumens output and the price is quite reasonable. But definitely happy to look at others too. What would you recommend?

I'd still be focusing on canister purely because of the burn time as i envisage doing deco dives in the near future (won't be extremely long ones in the beginning, but intend on furthering my tech training).

Thanks.

 

[divad]

I prefer the 6 degree hot spot over an 8 or 10 degree one.

 

[OMANDIVER]

I like the look of Gralmarine too and they make nice lights. But they are in Poland and I think I might look at light where you can get service and back up. It really depends what you want the light for. My recommendation would be to get a good quality hand held light with a narrowish beam, like dive rite lx 20, or some other big brand that you can get support locally with rechargeable lithium battery that suits the diving you are doing right now. Anything over about 800 lumen and around 20000 lux should do. Reckon on 1.5 times run time for battery life. Removeable batteries means you can swap the out between dives. You don't need a can light to do a tec course(except GUE). If you do the instructor will probably hire you one to practice with. Good dive lights are very expensive and it's important to get one that suits the diving you will actually be doing. The more ambient light there is the more powerful it needs to be, the bigger the battery pack, the heavier and more expensive it is. If you are travelling to dive by air keeping you weight down with tec diving gear becomes important. With less ambient light, like cave, the light can be weaker. That's why the Light Monkey 750 lumen light is popular - decent burn time, but lightweight battery pack and not very strong. If all you need for tec is something to tuck the long hose away with, EMT shears on the right belt side works well! The technology around lights is changing constantly both in terms of emitter technology and to some extent batteries. The danger is you get locked into an old technology by buying before you really need the light and pay a high price for it. Please ignore the folk on here who will try to persuade you to pay a load of cash for an UWLD light which you don't know if you need yet. If you buy good handheld now it can always become your back up later. I have a Dive Rite canister light but never use it now. I have two Tillytec handheld lights. One at 900 lumen and one at 1500 plus two back ups. That way if I get primary light failure, it's not the end of the dive.

 

[stuartv]

I don't understand the Dive Rite LX20. It's the same amount of light as a DGX 600 or Xtar D26, but costs 10 times as much. It runs maybe 3 times as long as a DGX 600, but who needs that unless you're doing extended cave dives?

My current favorite is the Xtar D26.

D26 XM-L2 LED Diving Flashlight Set

Under $60 on eBay.

With a good battery, it will last way more than 2 hours on High. The specs actually say 3.6h on High. Much longer or Medium or Low. And it's just as bright as a DGX 600 or DR LX20.

I got Soshine 26650 batteries for my D26 lights on eBay. They were well under $10 each and they test out at around 5300mAh. They run the D26 on High for a loong time. And I can easily swap to a fresh battery between dives, if I feel like it.

The only reason I can think of for a can light is if you need more light than what a single LED emitter can provide. All the top lights are using the Cree XM-L2 U2 (or U3) LED. That is good for around 1100 lumens, raw. In reality, probably more like 600 or so actual lumens out the front. For noticeably more light than that, you have to get to a light head with multiple LED emitters. And with multiple LEDs, a handheld light would have to be huge to hold enough batteries to run it for 3 or 4 hours. Thus the need for a can.

If it's a single LED, then the ONLY reason for a can is if you need more burn time than what a handheld can do. And since a handheld can do 3 to 4 hours, having a can for a single LED light only makes sense (to me) if you're doing extended cave dives. Even long, deco dives on wrecks aren't normally going to be more than 2 hours. And much of that will be deco time in shallower water where you probably don't need a light at all. So, you really don't need the burn time of a can light for "normal" wreck diving.

OmanDiver nailed it. If you get a good handheld now, it can always become your backup later, if you decide you need a can light. But, unless you start doing long cave dives, I doubt you'll ever need more burn time than what a good handheld can give you.

 

[OMANDIVER]

I don't understand the Dive Rite LX20. It's the same amount of light as a DGX 600 or Xtar D26, but costs 10 times as much. It runs maybe 3 times as long as a DGX 600, but who needs that unless you're doing extended cave dives?

My current favorite is the Xtar D26.

D26 XM-L2 LED Diving Flashlight Set

Under $60 on eBay.

With a good battery, it will last way more than 2 hours on High. The specs actually say 3.6h on High. Much longer or Medium or Low. And it's just as bright as a DGX 600 or DR LX20.

I got Soshine 26650 batteries for my D26 lights on eBay. They were well under $10 each and they test out at around 5300mAh. They run the D26 on High for a loong time. And I can easily swap to a fresh battery between dives, if I feel like it.

The only reason I can think of for a can light is if you need more light than what a single LED emitter can provide. All the top lights are using the Cree XM-L2 U2 (or U3) LED. That is good for around 1100 lumens, raw. In reality, probably more like 600 or so actual lumens out the front. For noticeably more light than that, you have to get to a light head with multiple LED emitters. And with multiple LEDs, a handheld light would have to be huge to hold enough batteries to run it for 3 or 4 hours. Thus the need for a can.

If it's a single LED, then the ONLY reason for a can is if you need more burn time than what a handheld can do. And since a handheld can do 3 to 4 hours, having a can for a single LED light only makes sense (to me) if you're doing extended cave dives. Even long, deco dives on wrecks aren't normally going to be more than 2 hours. And much of that will be deco time in shallower water where you probably don't need a light at all. So, you really don't need the burn time of a can light for "normal" wreck diving.

OmanDiver nailed it. If you get a good handheld now, it can always become your backup later, if you decide you need a can light. But, unless you start doing long cave dives, I doubt you'll ever need more burn time than what a good handheld can give you.

Thanks for the tip on the D26. I'll take a look at it.

 

[crabtree]

I don't understand the Dive Rite LX20. It's the same amount of light as a DGX 600 or Xtar D26, but costs 10 times as much. It runs maybe 3 times as long as a DGX 600, but who needs that unless you're doing extended cave dives?

My current favorite is the Xtar D26.

D26 XM-L2 LED Diving Flashlight Set

Under $60 on eBay.

With a good battery, it will last way more than 2 hours on High. The specs actually say 3.6h on High. Much longer or Medium or Low. And it's just as bright as a DGX 600 or DR LX20.

I got Soshine 26650 batteries for my D26 lights on eBay. They were well under $10 each and they test out at around 5300mAh. They run the D26 on High for a loong time. And I can easily swap to a fresh battery between dives, if I feel like it.

The only reason I can think of for a can light is if you need more light than what a single LED emitter can provide. All the top lights are using the Cree XM-L2 U2 (or U3) LED. That is good for around 1100 lumens, raw. In reality, probably more like 600 or so actual lumens out the front. For noticeably more light than that, you have to get to a light head with multiple LED emitters. And with multiple LEDs, a handheld light would have to be huge to hold enough batteries to run it for 3 or 4 hours. Thus the need for a can.

If it's a single LED, then the ONLY reason for a can is if you need more burn time than what a handheld can do. And since a handheld can do 3 to 4 hours, having a can for a single LED light only makes sense (to me) if you're doing extended cave dives. Even long, deco dives on wrecks aren't normally going to be more than 2 hours. And much of that will be deco time in shallower water where you probably don't need a light at all. So, you really don't need the burn time of a can light for "normal" wreck diving.

OmanDiver nailed it. If you get a good handheld now, it can always become your backup later, if you decide you need a can light. But, unless you start doing long cave dives, I doubt you'll ever need more burn time than what a good handheld can give you.

thanks for your advice! I actually am already using a DGX 600, it's a good light and i have 3 18650 batteries and i just swap them out during the day and charge them at night.

Thanks to you and OMANDIVER, i'll put off buying a canister until the day comes when I really need it, and use the $$$ toward other gear : )

Cheers guys.

 

[tbone1004]

disclaimer, I own a UWLD light, and truly believe that it is the best dive light on the market, if you're an engineer and have seen the other offerings, it doesn't take long to realize why. That said, they are very expensive. For those of us doing big, long cave dives where you benefit from that, then it is well worth the money.
I only use a canister light when I need to use a canister light. If a handheld is sufficient for the diving I'm doing *for me that is brightness, not burn time*, then I will use a handheld. Please remember that the good handhelds are putting out comparable light to the 10w HID canister lights so they are no slouch.

For me the general rule is OW diving will almost always have me using a handheld. I will keep the normal pair of backups and I will take 1-3 "primary" lights depending on the burn time I need. Typically this is only one as they burn for an hour and you don't need them during deco, but if you do you're already on deco and that's what the backup lights are for.
R105T HANDHELD DIVE LIGHT-Technical-A Lighter Ocean with Ano Dive Lights
Cave Adventurers - Explorer back-up lights - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S8Z7PZ...UTF8&colid=20R1B8EYPPCRL&coliid=IPJFBTD2D2FQT

These are my current favorites and own all 3. All are very good lights and good prices considering what you're getting.

WRT beam angle, I think 6*-8* is the sweet spot, and 16 is way too wide.

 

[buddhasummer]

FWIW I prefer a narrower beam, unless you're night diving in crystal clear water 16 IMO is too wide, the back scatter is blinding. 6 is narrow enough, to be used during the day as well for signaling or liking into nooks and cranny. Having said that I have the best of both worlds with a variable beam light 6-25 degrees.