Dive Rite LED 700

[kanonfodr]

Has anyone tried out this light yet? I'm looking for a good canister for tropical night diving and this light looks like some awesome bang for the buck, especially with the convertible factor and it's amazing run times on AA batteries. Anyone tried this one out?

PS. Link: SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - LED 700 Corded Flashlight

Peace,
Greg

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I have the slightly older LED 500 version and it or the LED 700 would be ideal for a tropical/travel light. The beam is decently wide and fairly even which suits it well to good viz, but is a bit of a liability in silty conditions.

In addition to the corded LED 500, I have a regular DR 10W HID can light as well as the LED 700 version using the same MR11 head. The HID is preferred in low viz/silty/tanic colored water where the LEDs do not penetrate as well, while the LED 700 is the go to light for diving in caves with good visibility. The LED 500 is still the travel light of choice as ther eis no need to trasport a charger, etd, but it only goes if I expect good viz. I will probably send it off to DR to get it upgraded to the newer LED 700 configuration.

The cannister portion is small, but the head is larger in comparison to the MR11 so that is a small downside to the light. A goodman handle is a must and any clip on goodman handle for a light head of similar diameter will work fine.

 

[kanonfodr]

So am I correct that the LED 700's brightness is comparable to that of a 10w HID?

Peace,
Greg

 

[fobturbo]

Greg,

I believe the LED 700 should be brighter than a 10watt HID. But the HID's may have a tighter focus pattern than LED's.

 

[buddhasummer]

I own the LED500 and if you are only going to be using it for tropical night diving its more than sufficient, I would think the 700 may be overkill, i.e. too much light just scares all the night creatures away. If you can get the LED500 at a reasonable price compared to the LED700 thats the way I would go. If you find its not bright enough for you you can always wait and upgrade to the LED1000 which Im sure will be out in the next 12-18 months.

 

[RJP]

If you can get the LED500 at a reasonable price compared to the LED700 thats the way I would go.

My LDS has these on sale currently for $200 off list...

DiveRite LED 500 at www.DiveSeekers.com

 

[kanonfodr]

Appreciate all the info, guys. Most of my diving is tropical, since I live in Hawaii, but occasionally i do trips elsewhere that water conditions aren't quite as pristine so I want enough light and that LED 700 has really caught my eye, especially if the advertised burn times are not too generous.

Peace,
Greg

 

[buddhasummer]

Appreciate all the info, guys. Most of my diving is tropical, since I live in Hawaii, but occasionally i do trips elsewhere that water conditions aren't quite as pristine so I want enough light and that LED 700 has really caught my eye, especially if the advertised burn times are not too generous.

Peace,
Greg

Don't be fooled into thinking the higher the lumen the more you can see as this does not necessarily follow. The DR LED has a fairly wide spread as compared to the relative narrowness of most HIDs, so you will find in conditions when visibility is less than ideal i.e. when there is a lot of particulate the LED will "scatter back" at you, think high beams in fog. Hope this helps.

 

[buddhasummer]

My LDS has these on sale currently for $200 off list...

DiveRite LED 500 at www.DiveSeekers.com

Sorry so that does that mean the price is $200 or $200 less that list price? (american terminology?) in which case it would depend on what the list(?) price was, but Im guessing list(?) price is around $499? so at $300 thats a great price including the corded attachment. I have the corded section also but very rarely use it YMMV. Cheers

 

[buddhasummer]

Greg,

I believe the LED 700 should be brighter than a 10watt HID. But the HID's may have a tighter focus pattern than LED's.

yes and yes...certainly tighter than the DR LED hand held anyway as is my only first hand comparison. Cheers.