Dive Rite LX25

[LiteHedded]

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.

the halcyon lights beat an HID hands down. additionally, and EO is a MUST for me and I woulnd't dive without one. completely disagree there.

 

[tbone1004]

the halcyon lights beat an HID hands down. additionally, and EO is a MUST for me and I woulnd't dive without one. completely disagree there.

why is it a must?

 

[LiteHedded]

why is it a must?

for a dozen reasons. if your light head dies (likely with an HID) you can swap it out with a buddy's light on the spot. you can run any canister you have with any light. you can use a vest. you can run a separate video light head etc.

it opens up a world of options (and not having it closes that door for you). It's not a failure point. it's an ANTI failure point.

 

[PfcAJ]

Also if any component is compromised (knick in the cord, broken test tube or lens, oring failure, sealing gland issue, etc) it only effects one part of your light. The whole thing isn't ruined. A cut light cord might only flood your battery but itll save your light head, which you can then easily swap with another canister.

EO is good.

 

[tbone1004]

we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. The prevalence of legit handheld primaries like the Focus, LX etc. have helped mitigate the desire for primary light head swapping. The stack caps from UWLD are to me a much better way to skin the modularity cat albeit requiring the commitment before you get wet. The heads and canisters should be potted so a nick in the cable doesn't flood anything.

 

[PfcAJ]

we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. The prevalence of legit handheld primaries like the Focus, LX etc. have helped mitigate the desire for primary light head swapping. The stack caps from UWLD are to me a much better way to skin the modularity cat albeit requiring the commitment before you get wet. The heads and canisters should be potted so a nick in the cable doesn't flood anything.

Makes it tough to replace a cord if everything is potted.

None of those lights are bright enough or burn long enough for me to be even a little interested in. The focus 2 handheld has a 3hr burntime. Thats not great for cave diving.

 

[LiteHedded]

we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. The prevalence of legit handheld primaries like the Focus, LX etc. have helped mitigate the desire for primary light head swapping. The stack caps from UWLD are to me a much better way to skin the modularity cat albeit requiring the commitment before you get wet. The heads and canisters should be potted so a nick in the cable doesn't flood anything.

not surprising.

 

[tbone1004]

@PfcAJ you can pot the cable at the gland which just means replacement of the glands when you have to replace the cable. You can water block in some interesting ways that make it serviceable. Unsure who if anyone is doing that though.

On the handheld primaries, I was talking about having them as a backup light. I.e. one of the historical uses of e/o and what you both brought up was swapping light heads. If you're going to bother with that, why not have something that is just as bright as your primary in your pocket for a backup in the event that happened?

 

[LiteHedded]

@PfcAJ you can pot the cable at the gland which just means replacement of the glands when you have to replace the cable. You can water block in some interesting ways that make it serviceable. Unsure who if anyone is doing that though.

On the handheld primaries, I was talking about having them as a backup light. I.e. one of the historical uses of e/o and what you both brought up was swapping light heads. If you're going to bother with that, why not have something that is just as bright as your primary in your pocket for a backup in the event that happened?

I do. I keep a flare light head in my pocket, which I can put on my can because I have an EO cord...

 

[tbone1004]

I do. I keep a flare light head in my pocket, which I can put on my can because I have an EO cord...

mine lives in my pocket, but it has a battery on it so it's fully independent. Well, eos mini not a flare, but close enough.