Dive Rite LX25

[kensuf]

Unfair that I pointed out that the UWLD is a poor choice for conditions with particulate in the water? This is exactly my point. Everyone has different requirements for what they want in a light, diving conditions play an important role, as well as the ability to communicate, beam appearance, etc. I don't care what the specs say, the LX25 has a tighter beam and is brighter than the LD15.

Please don't think I'm knocking the UWLD lights, I'm just pointing out that there's a compromise with all lights.

The OP is gathering facts to make a decision on an expensive piece of gear, let's help him make a decision based on his needs.

I had written up a lengthy response, but it got deleted... Sigh.

I just finished an article for UWS on the topic of lights. I did some comparisons with a few different lights for background research, those that I played with included a Halcyon Focus, a LM 32W, an LX25 and my 21w HID.

One thing of interest that I found was that some lights appear brighter under certain "ideal" conditions -- the Focus had a "brighter" beam than my 21w HID in a spring with very little particulate in the water, but the HID blew it away in particulate laden water.

Keep in mind, peak beam intensity is basically the brightness your eyes can perceive, and tthe focus (spot) impacts that. Things that impact the spot include the reflector, lens, and optic.

At any rate, back to the OP's question. The LX25 is a fine light, I wouldn't hesitate to buy and use one for cave diving purposes.

 

[tbone1004]

@Knotted Lion very few in cave country especially seem to have any experience with the LD15 or the LD13 which have the tighter beam angle. Most compare against the 26/35 which are 8* and obviously significantly wider.

I've had the LD13 in the water with the LX25 and the beam angle was similar and the LD13 was a bit brighter. Not significantly, and only noticeable side by side, but still there. Granted, the LX25 had been burning for at least an hour by the time we got to it, but the high end lights shouldn't have brightness taper off. Light and Motion has done a bunch of lumen testing and is showing that lights like the Big Blue have a huge dropoff after about 30 minutes, so maybe the LX25 does the same thing. It was also the NiMH not Li-Ion version, but it shouldn't have mattered if the boards were programmed properly.

Unfortunately they don't have any of the lights in question tested yet. They have the Hollis LED25 which we all know is a piece of junk, and the Light Monkey 12w, neither of which performed anywhere near their claimed specs in terms of brightness. Light Monkey at least in the 12W is using a very good driver with no falloff in light output throughout the burn. They just got a bit under 500 lumen, instead of the claimed 750...

 

[Knotted Lion]

@Knotted Lion very few in cave country especially seem to have any experience with the LD15 or the LD13 which have the tighter beam angle. Most compare against the 26/35 which are 8* and obviously significantly wider.

I've had the LD13 in the water with the LX25 and the beam angle was similar and the LD13 was a bit brighter. Not significantly, and only noticeable side by side, but still there.

This gets back to my belief that individual preferences impact the perception of the light output. you obviously prefer a wide beam, I prefer a more focused beam that penetrates. I found the LX25 to be superior.

 

[karstdvr]

One thing of interest that I found was that some lights appear brighter under certain "ideal" conditions -- the Focus had a "brighter" beam than my 21w HID in a spring with very little particulate in the water, but the HID blew it away in particulate laden water.

.

Good point. I have found this to hold true.

Where I know that the tendency in cave diving that more must be better...more watts, more lumen, more lux etc, there is one function that I like, and that is the fact that my eyes dilate quite well in low light and I can see detail with less lighting. Ken, you and I came along in an era where we used 35w or 50w halogen with a monster canister, and I don't care to go back,but I saw just as much then as I do now,but I do appreciate the lighter canisters with longer burn time versus huge light output.

 

[306dive306]

hi, everyone!

First and foremost: thank you all for putting time into writing such extensive and detailed reviews.

I'm a "cave-diver-wannabe", who's (hopefully) going for the full cave course this year (2017) in Mexico. I have been reading a lot about primary lights and am inclined towards the Dive Rite LX25 simply because of the great things I've heard about DR's customer service.

My biggest "problem" about buying a light is figuring out if it's going to last a few years or if it's going to get flooded as soon as I hit the water. I know... it's impossible to tell...

You guys gave very detailed info about many aspects of quite a few lights but what about flooding?? Is DR, or LM, or UWLD, or any other brand/model KNOWN for flooding "all the time"??

I'd appreciate some input.

Safe diving!!

 

[tbone1004]

@306dive306 there is no advantage in customer service between Dive Rite, Halcyon, Light Monkey, or UWLD. They will all bend over backwards to make sure that you are taken care of so unfortunately it can't be used to narrow down from the brands.

regarding flooding, none of them are known for flooding. Lights just don't flood randomly. You have to either nick the cable, or pop a latch to flood them if you do your predive checks properly. The big thing there is making sure the o-rings are clean and seated properly when you put the lid on. UWLD gets the nod here because with the Gen5, there are no more latches and with the charging base, there is no need to open the canister unless you are changing the heads or o-rings, neither of which should be a regular occurrence.

If you go Dive Rite, I would STRONGLY recommend you wait until the HP50 is out because it will blow everything that DR, LM, and Halcyon currently make out of the water in terms of light output and efficiency. Will be about 3x as bright as the Halcyon lights, and will be as bright as the 32w LED from LM but do it with just over half the power consumption which keeps cost down without sacrificing burn time and size.

If you want my opinion on UWLD vs. LM, see this thread from yesterday in post #48. @halocline answered the question at the bottom of the post with the only reasonable answer to that question which is because he prefers HID. If you prefer HID, then it's a good light, but you can find them used pretty regularly for some great prices. I personally wouldn't recommend HID for various reasons, particularly if flying, and if flying, I definitely wouldn't recommend any battery packs from LM over their 10ah packs
How much light for night diving?

 

[kensuf]

Uh, I've flown with LM packs with no problems. However, even a 10AH pack is sufficient for 5 hour dives on a 21w HID.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the bottom charging port on the UWLD. The latchless thing is pretty nifty though.

I own two Dive Rite lights and a Light Monkey light. I also have an older Halcyon canister I use for suit heating. I'm happy with all of them.

 

[tbone1004]

Uh, I've flown with LM packs with no problems. However, even a 10AH pack is sufficient for 5 hour dives on a 21w HID.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the bottom charging port on the UWLD. The latchless thing is pretty nifty though.

I own two Dive Rite lights and a Light Monkey light. I also have an older Halcyon canister I use for suit heating. I'm happy with all of them.

what's the objection to the SECS base out of curiosity? You can charge them by removing the head, it's just not nearly as convenient as setting it in the base.

 

[Roger Hobden]

Hello Tbone, are you stil happy with your Ano CL2300 ?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

There is a lot of good information in this thread.

I'm in agreement that you can have too much light in a cave. A 21W LED is the upper end of practical in my opinion. Save the 35W and 50W lights for dedicated video purposes.

I'm also in agreement that nothing beats a narrow beam HID when it comes to milky or particulate laden water.

We dove 12W Light Monkey LEDs for years and they are still a valid option giving sufficient light with a bright center spot and decent burn time in a small can. We switched about a year ago however, but spent $100 each for a new hand held battery for the heads to convert them to back up lights, which keeps them useful.

We switched to LX20 hand held lights. Lux, lumens, whatever, they are noticeably brighter in the water and hold their own with a regular team mate's 21 Watt LED with no issues with our signals being washed out. Dive Rite quotes 4 hours on high, 6 hours on medium and 12 hours on low, but we've gotten 5 hours on high, probably due to improvements in batteries. They are a $500 light, but I got mine for just over $300 as a DEMA special and I've seen similar key man deals since then. Still, it's been a great light and I'd actually pay $500 for one.

I've also used and still own a UWLD light. It was an early conversion and eventually got a newer battery and can. Bobby uses what is more accurately described as a corona than a spot. It makes for a very nice transition from 'spot' to peripheral beam, and it works great for video as it reduces issues with dynamic range in some cameras. But as someone noted above the downside is in water with particulate.

I've also used lights with EO connections and I won't make that mistake again. they do offer flexibility, but the connection is a source of potential failure and if you use one, use one with a locking connection. And unless you need the EO connection to run splitters, suit heaters, etc, don't use one at all. The fewer potential failure points on your primary light the better.