Dive Rite RX1... opinions?

[Tetra84]

I can't seem to find any reviews on the Dive Rite RX1, it seems like a good light, but does anyone have any experience with it?
SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Sidemount, Rebreather, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - RX1 LED Flashlight

DiveGearExpress.com has a deal on them right now, I'm just wondering if its a good overall primary light (wreck/reef), or what.

Thanks
Paul

 

[buddhasummer]

I used to have the LED500 (500 lumens) a couple of versions before this one, I liked it, for clearer open water night diving it was great. If visibility went down the light wasn't as good, I think the beam angle was around 12 degrees. As this one my LED500 also ran on AA which is great as not too expensive and readily available. This light I believe is 700 lumens. As a primary for reef diving Id recommend it, it may even bee a little "too" much light. I have no real experience with wreck diving so cannot comment. Good luck.

 

[Mark Michaud SELAUSAR]

RX2? I love mine. I use it in the caves and it does fine. A few weeks ago I was diving with someone who had a 10W HID and mine was at least equal as we compared beams. I had a 10W HID then upgraded to an LED 700. I have that, and the RX2 and really like both of them. You can get a light that is more bright but that costs more money. I have nothing but good to say about this light.

RX2 LED Canister Light System by Dive Rite - Dive Gear Express

 

[buddhasummer]

RX2? I love mine. I use it in the caves and it does fine. A few weeks ago I was diving with someone who had a 10W HID and mine was at least equal as we compared beams. I had a 10W HID then upgraded to an LED 700. I have that, and the RX2 and really like both of them. You can get a light that is more bright but that costs more money. I have nothing but good to say about this light.

RX2 LED Canister Light System by Dive Rite - Dive Gear Express

RX1 is the handheld. DGX currently has them on special.

Sorry just realised you may have been suggesting the RX2 although I couldnt find it on sale at DGX.

 

[Tetra84]

I used to have the LED500 (500 lumens) a couple of versions before this one, I liked it, for clearer open water night diving it was great. If visibility went down the light wasn't as good, I think the beam angle was around 12 degrees. As this one my LED500 also ran on AA which is great as not too expensive and readily available. This light I believe is 700 lumens. As a primary for reef diving Id recommend it, it may even bee a little "too" much light. I have no real experience with wreck diving so cannot comment. Good luck.

I'm a little confused on that too regarding the lumens. Some sites say the RX1 puts out 700, others say 450 system lumens (if that's different?). Some sites even say both 700 and 450 in the same description.. Weird.
But overall, I'm quite surprised I cant seem to find a single professional or customer review on it. I would have thought a quality light like that would have something written about it somewhere on the internet.

Paul

 

[buddhasummer]

I'm a little confused on that too regarding the lumens. Some sites say the RX1 puts out 700, others say 450 system lumens (if that's different?). Some sites even say both 700 and 450 in the same description.. Weird.
But overall, I'm quite surprised I cant seem to find a single professional or customer review on it. I would have thought a quality light like that would have something written about it somewhere on the internet.

Paul

They are two different units of measurements. Just go with 700 lumens, its simpler. It is relatively new if you do a search for the DR LED 500 handheld and DR LED700 handheld youll get more hits. Only the LED, and with the LED500 output, is different the light itself is identical in everyother way. Its a very solid robust light, I had zero issues.

 

[eheupel]

I have an RX1, my dive buddy has two of the slightly older LED700. I bought the RX1 through my LDS because I was so happy with the performance of the LED700. It could use alkaline or standard rechargeable batteries (they recommend only using Alkaline though), and with a fresh set of 2500mAH rechargeables it burned for over 2 hours through our average night dives with no dimming noticeable. I never tested the full burn time on it, with rechargeable batteries though.

The RX-1 can't use standard rechargeables at all, well they kinda work, but because NiMH AA's are 1.2v not 1.5 the light thinks with brand new batteries in place , that the batteries are low, then it throttles back the power dimming the light. I have an issue going through 8 Alkaline batteries for every night dive or day of wreck diving from both expense and disposal reasons. Even on Alkaline batteries my light dims significantly after only 40 minutes. As far as I am concerned the LED700 as a far superior light to this one. I would gladly trade this one for the 700. As it is, I am probably going to replace the LED/reflector etc with my own LED head. Simply no reason a relatively new LED light like this should be dimming that soon.

Of course it is possible I have a dud, and that my results are not the norm. In fact given the newness of the light (less than 10 dives on the damn thing) it is likely that it is a dud, and I do need to contact DR about it, but right now... that's my $0.02 about this light. If I find out this is a fixable issue from DR I will amend my opinion here based on the fixed light's results.

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

Forget the specs for a second, part of your question was if this was a good primary for wrecks/reefs? My answer to that is no. The most efficient way to dive (especially wrecks) is have a light that still enables the use of our hands (handheld lights don't allow us to use our hands). That's why a lot of our recreational wreck divers (not just tec guys) use can lights. Now I understand not everyone wants the can light but for a recreational diver that does want the hands-free benefit, you can check out the SOLA lights from Light & Motion.
If you have a harness style BC and are serious about the wreck diving then go with a 21w HID Halcyon or Light Monkey can light and you'll be set (great for night dives & powerful enough for signally/communication during the day). If you really are set on LED both manufacturers also offer a canister model of them as well.
Lights

Scuba diving lights for recreational, technical, and wreck.

 

[buddhasummer]

Forget the specs for a second, part of your question was if this was a good primary for wrecks/reefs? My answer to that is no. The most efficient way to dive (especially wrecks) is have a light that still enables the use of our hands (handheld lights don't allow us to use our hands). That's why a lot of our recreational wreck divers (not just tec guys) use can lights. Now I understand not everyone wants the can light but for a recreational diver that does want the hands-free benefit, you can check out the SOLA lights from Light & Motion.
If you have a harness style BC and are serious about the wreck diving then go with a 21w HID Halcyon or Light Monkey can light and you'll be set (great for night dives & powerful enough for signally/communication during the day). If you really are set on LED both manufacturers also offer a canister model of them as well.
Lights



Scuba diving lights for recreational, technical, and wreck.

Can you please advise why you think this light is no good for reef diving, having used a version of this light on many reef dives, other than sometimes being a little too much light, I can see no issue. Thank you.

 

[eheupel]

As stated above, generally want a wreck primary to be hands free (canister light + goodman handle) with a pretty tight beam for punching through low vis and signaling. Diving on darker reefs usually don't need a tight beam & a floody light works better. This light has a decent beam pattern, maybe a little too wide for wreck diving, but still a tight beam with a gentle spill region. But since it's not hands free it's not ideal wreck primary. It's a bit too tight a beam for me (and not adjustable like some HIDs) for daytime dark/deep reef use. But nice for night reef diving. (if only it didn't require alkalines each time!)