Dive Light

[Coral Diver]

Hi everyone!!

I'm thinking of buying a new dive light, one primary for daytime diving (I have a wide-angle light that works fine for night diving but isn't so great at looking inside nooks and crannies). I like to do 3-4 or even 5 dives a day, so ideally something that has a decent run time, or one whose batteries are easy to change. Any suggestions?

 

[ChuckP]

I personally like Light in Motion Gobe lights. The on off switch has a sort of safety that keeps it from turning on accidentally, it's rechargeable and compact.

Gobe - Choose Your Light - Light & Motion

 

[tbone1004]

i'll disagree with that above light for this scenario. The problem with L&M lights is that they are rechargeable, so if you're doing a bunch of dives a day, there isn't really enough burn time and usually not enough SIT time to recharge. I also don't like that they're designed for hand holding so putting them in a goodman sock is annoying.

Cave Adventurers - Cave Adventurers Expedition Back-Up Light - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!
I use the older version of these, but I like these a lot. Small enough to put on your mask if you want for night diving, have a button instead of twist-on which also gives you a rough battery life reading. Uses 18650 batteries that last about an hour and are cheap/easy enough to swap between dives *read up on here about good 18650's and chargers, there's a thread that's active now about them*, and you can easily put them in the Oxycheq light sock which is utterly brilliant. Goes on like a soft goodman handle with a bungee that goes around your wrist which is super comfortable and secure, but also means "hands free" so you don't have to worry about dropping it or having to clip it off if you have to hold onto something

 

[Pyro_]

I have been happy with the archon v10s lights I have been using

Amazon.com: ARCHON V10S LED Flashlight diving lanterna CREE XM-L U2 LED Diving Flashlight underwater diving flashlight+2600mAh 18650 battery+charger (black): Sports & Outdoors

 

[ChuckP]

i'll disagree with that above light for this scenario. The problem with L&M lights is that they are rechargeable, so if you're doing a bunch of dives a day, there isn't really enough burn time and usually not enough SIT time to recharge. I also don't like that they're designed for hand holding so putting them in a goodman sock is annoying.

This is the hand mount for them:

Hand Strap for GoBe/SOLA Light

That mount can be used with any of their lights, I also have a few of their Sola lights for a camera tray and swap them out every now and then particularly for night dives. My wife uses the hand mount, I clip and bungee mine off till I want it, then lanyard it to my wrist and hold it in my hand.

I dive open ocean, reefs etc... I take two lights on the boat with me, one at a time in the water unless at night. Doing four dives a day, I've never burned one of them down unless I've accidentally left it on which is the only reason I bring the second one with me.

My biggest thing is rechargeable - I don't want any part of changing batteries cause my dumb luck I'd flood it and junk the light. There's probably millions of battery changes that have happened successfully, I just don't want to worry about it. How long will a rechargeable light keep recharging is unknown to me, that's what I see as a downside but for me it outweighs changing batteries.

 

[noj3333]

I'm happy with my Dive Gear Express lights. At $59 they're cheap enough where I wouldn't cry (to much) if they flood, and the batteries can be swapped out between dives if needed. That being said, I use the push button one and flip it off and on throughout the dive when needed and it lasts for several dives... not sure if that's recommended, but it's been good so far.

 

[scubadiver888]

I had some good EVVA 26650 5200mAh batteries. I wanted a dive light that would work with them. A few people on here recommended the XTar D26 Whale. I bought that a few years ago and am very pleased with it. I've had it run off one battery for the entire day (4+ hours).

It claims to be 1100 lumens. I usually don't trust the specs on Chinese dive lights but side by side to by DiveRite BX1 (which is supposed to be around 1000 lumens), the D26 is definitely brighter.

XTar also has a 1600 lumen version of the D26 but I have not tried it.

I bought mine from Ebay (I got mine for $50) but you can now get them from Amazon ($87) as well.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I had some good EVVA 26650 5200mAh batteries. I wanted a dive light that would work with them. A few people on here recommended the XTar D26 Whale. I bought that a few years ago and am very pleased with it. I've had it run off one battery for the entire day (4+ hours).

It claims to be 1100 lumens. I usually don't trust the specs on Chinese dive lights but side by side to by DiveRite BX1 (which is supposed to be around 1000 lumens), the D26 is definitely brighter.

XTar also has a 1600 lumen version of the D26 but I have not tried it.

I bought mine from Ebay (I got mine for $50) but you can now get them from Amazon ($87) as well.

I'll second the Xtar D26. It's an amazing light although I don't have any other diving lights to compare it to, it is by far the brightest flashlight in my house. So much so I piss my wife off with it every time I pull it out pretending to be FBI or CIA with it. I got just the light for $43 on ebay after going back and forth with seller. No batteries, no charger, just light.

It also fits a light sock as @tbone1004 mentioned.

@stuartv did an amazing review on it on here somewhere.

Would really like to try the D26 1600 when price comes down some.

 

[Coral Diver]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I looked into all the options. I agree that the Gobe lights don't run long enough for what I need. I'm giving some thought to the Bigblue lights. For example, the VTL6300P runs for 3 hours at 6300 lumens in flood mode (120 degrees) and can also be used at 1000 lumens in spot mode (10 degree). Alternatively the TL-3500P-Supreme provides 3500 lumen in a 10 degree spot illumination for 3 hours. At lower illumination, they run a bit longer. Is there a big downside to these options (other than the price tag...)?

 

[Diving Dubai]

Take a look at the Orca Torch

I'm using a D620 which I'm very please with. I've been using it for 2 days on 8 dives without charge. It take 4 x 18650 rechargeable batteries which generally charge in an hour (although I have 2 sets as they're not expensive)