Earlier this year another one of my Dive Rite CX1s died, being that it was continued years ago I started a search to find new back up lights to replace it. I loved the CX1, it has a decent 1000 lumens output with a narrow 6-degree beam with a 3.5 hours runtime. The rear tail cap was easy to turn on while on the harness but was shielded so it rarely ever came on across the hundreds of dives I have with it. For a cave diver I felt it was a perfect back up light.
Realizing that the end of my time with the CX1s was near, I checked the market and ordered three lights that I felt would meets my needs similarly to the CX1. I chose the Dive Rite CX2, Orcatorch DC710, and the DGX 1000-6. For various reasons that I will outline below I eliminated the Dive Rite and the Orcatorch. That just left the DGX 1000-6. When I say that this is the best light you’ve never heard of, I mean sure most people know that DGX has their own lights. And their lights are recommended as values lights, but they were nothing to write home about. Though this light stands out as one of the best back up lights on the market, and most divers have probably never heard of it. As DGX doesn’t send out free samples to anyone and everyone or pay for reviews like some brands. Instead, they just released it out to the world with little fanfare.
The DGX 1000-6 is priced as a value light at only $89 at the time of this review, half the price of many of the competitors. You can go read the specs on the site but for me the reason I picked this light was for the tight beam with a reasonable output on medium for over 2.5 hours. My first test of this light I took it into the cave to see how well I liked the beam. The beam is like a laser, very bright with a reasonable amount of spill. Unlike the Orcatorch DC710 which might have a 6-degree spot, but the spill to spot ratio is nearly equal, so there is hardly any contrast between the two. This is important for a back up light as you can still signal reasonably well against primary cave lights that often output over 4,000lumens. The Dive Rite is between the two, it isn’t as much of a laser beam as the DGX but it still has a very distinctive spot. In testing was able to exit the cave on my scooter at normal speeds using both the Dive Rite CX2 and the DGX 1000-6
All three lights are push buttons with a fuel gauge, but the DGX and the Orcatorch lock feature. By holding down the button in the DGX for three seconds it flashes three times and will either lock or unlock. The lock seems to work, the DGX 1000-6 hasn’t turned on accidentally once in the last six months. Unlike the CX2 which accidently turned on twice in the couple of months I had it on my harness. I didn’t trust it at all, so I would always remove it from my harness and hang it, so it didn’t accidently turn on in my box. The Orcatorch has a lock as well that involves double clicking the light, I didn’t test how well it works in practice, as I couldn’t stand the beam.
Now the negative because it is a value light, they minimize the amount of machine time by just having a smooth tube as the body of the light. Unlike the CX2 which has a slightly enlarged tube with well machined knurling. The CX2 feels great in your hand, just the right diameter and bite. The DGX 1000-6 still works but simply not as good. The DGX 1000-6 physical design is better than the CX2 in one regard, the length of the DGX is fairly normal, while the CX2 is so long that is barely fits in most harnesses. The Orcatoch is somewhere in the middle between the two other lights, it is longer and larger in diameter than the DGX but smaller than the Dive Rite, it felt better in the hand, but not significantly as the exterior is still pretty smooth.
Battery wise all three lights use a replaceable 21700 battery. The Dive Rite CX2 has a built-in charging port under the tail cap, so it is fairly easy to charge but requires the usage of a USB A to C cable, it will not work on any USB C charger I have. The easiest to charge is the Orcatorch DC710 as it has a charging port that you can revealed by simply unscrewing a cover and plugging in any USB C cable. I personally don’t trust this charging method, there is no information on if the port is naturally waterproof. And the seal on the cover seems at best to be a single o-ring on the bottom, and perhaps one on top but there is no way I can see to check or change the top o-ring.
The DGX 1000-6 is the hardest to charge, it doesn’t require any special chargers as it has a USB C port built into the battery that works with any USB C cable, but you need to remove the battery from the light to charge. This battery is also more expensive, as of time of writing a high drain 21700 with a built in charging port is over $20 on Battery Junction, while a Samsung protected high drain version is $8. None of the lights use USB PD and instead charge using the standard 5v 1amp charging, taking several hours to charge from empty.
Overall, after six months of diving it I’ve found that the DGX 1000-6 is the best back up light for me. I will be keeping my existing DGX on my harness as a long-term test of it. But I am comfortable enough to removing the spare CX1 that I’ve been keeping in my pocket. As my CX1s die, I will be replacing them with DGX 1000-6s.
On another note, I can’t believe I write an over thousand-word review on back up lights. It is such a minor thing that few people think of. I honestly didn’t even think of them until I was on the market again.
Left to right: Dive Rite CX1, DGX 1000-6, Orcatorch DC710, and Dive Rite CX2
