DIR GUE and backup lights

[Gombessa]

A backup light is a light head with a bulb and a plastic tube with an o-ring and metal strip in it. It's really simplicity itself, and made to be tough and utterly dependable, as that is its purpose. This isn't an HID we're talking about. I wouldn't hesitate one second to buy a Rat, especially if the price is good. Besides, the Light Monkey guys have started up and can/will service Salvo gear.

 

[liuk3]

It is not a GUE requirement. It can be done if it makes things easier, but it is not required.

 

[vioch]

No. Where are you getting this bad information from?

Okay, will ask in another way. Are 2-C long backups approved for cave diving by GUE?

 

[rjack321]

Okay, will ask in another way. Are 2-C long backups approved for cave diving by GUE?

They are fine with LED modules. Don't bother with a 2 cell halogen.

13.Two reserve lights: Reserve lights should be powered by two or three in-line non-rechargeable ccell batteries, with a minimum of protrusions and a single attachment at its rear. The light should be activated and de-activated by twisting the front bezel.

From Cave Diver Level 1 | Global Underwater Explorers

 

[HenrikBP]

Okay, will ask in another way. Are 2-C long backups approved for cave diving by GUE?

Halcyon makes 3C and 2C back-up lights:

Scout Back-Up Light | Halcyon Dive Systems

edit: rjack beat me to it.

Henrik

 

[rjack321]

Halcyon makes 3C and 2C back-up lights:

Scout Back-Up Light | Halcyon Dive Systems

edit: rjack beat me to it.

Henrik

I was gonna say that but they also make CCR wings

Showing up for Cave1 (or Cave2) with 2C cell backups is fine.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Heard that GUE teaches to use on the right side shorter backup light than on the left - to avoid interference with canister and for easier canister switch access. Is it true?

As philosophy-compliant equipment is developed and DIR divers become more educated about their needs for recreational, technical and exploration diving, recommendations are changing within certain parameters depending upon the needs of a diver. Back-up lights are one such example. Whether to use a halogen or LED light, the burn-time of the light, and the needs of the individual and team safety will dictate which lights are appropriate for what dives and conditions.

My girlfriend's GUE instructor, recommended that she use a shorter back-up lights or at least a shorter one on her right side to make it easier for her to reach her primary light switch with the 18w Helios she currently owns. Personally, I don't have much of a problem due to my height and the position of my D-rings. Divers with a smaller build or shorter torso may prefer shorter or a right-side shorter back-up light.

While exploration teams may prefer certain lights, the skill needed to deploy any philosophy-compliant back-up light, properly, is the same. Therefore, a recreational DIR diver or a DIR who prefers a shorter light, will be creating similar muscle memory and team protocols regardless of which back-up light is more convenient for his or her current level of diving.

 

[HenrikBP]

I was gonna say that but they also make CCR wings

Good point - hadn't thought of that

Henrik

 

[SparticleBrane]

Okay, will ask in another way. Are 2-C long backups approved for cave diving by GUE?

Who cares?

Are you asking due to worries about whether or not someone will let you take the course with a 2-C backup light, or are you asking because you are taking GUE's 'requirements' as gospel and have decided you'll never use anything except what GUE recommends?

My wife would really benefit from a 2-C backup light, possibly two of them. She is quite petite and her harness is pretty small -- a 3-C light looks huge on her harness. A 3-C light might be do-able on her left side, but it would be a real pain on her right while using a canister light. It would be impossibly crowded.

I can't really see any GUE cave instructor 'not accepting someone' for a course if they have a 2-C cell light on one side as long as it meets all the other requirements which have already been posted.

 

[mikeguerrero]

I asked the OP's original question some time back when I first got my rig and purchased the Scout. No problem until I got the 21 Halcyon HID, then I had to change the Scout over to my left shoulder D-ring and everything was great.

I am only 5'5 and thus have a short torso. If and when I get another back up light, I will look at the shorter one and see if it interferes with my can light.