Enough light for nighttime snorkeling?

[LovetoFloat]

My wife and I are traveling to Bonaire in February. As casual snorkelers (we do not dive), I'm sure we'll end up getting hooked on snorkeling at night, especially since we've never done it before. I want to buy us each a light for when we're putzing around in the water in the dark.

Will the Underwater Kinetics Mini Q40 eLED Plus Dive Light (Brightness:67 Lumens) provide enough light for us to float around and see the fishies at night? The Q40 can be had for about $40. The Underwater Kinetics Sunlight SL4 eLED Dive Light (Brightness:116 Lumens) is about $15 more, however, I have a concern about the weight. There is a significant difference between lugging around 4 AA batteries and 4 C size batteries. If it is too heavy it'll take away the enjoyment and experience, especially for my wife.

Well, what do you all think?

 

[ClayJar]

I used a Mini Q40 eLED *original* (non-Plus) as my primary light for some of my night dives in Bonaire. If you're not diving with someone with a "Sun, Mark II" dive light (i.e. one that not only scares everything away but also can be used to braise dinner in an emergency), you really don't need much light.

Frankly, much of the time I'll keep my hand over the light with just a little coming through my fingers, the better to observe without disturbing. For clear water like Bonaire, there's really nothing gained by having too much light. (There's no need to go single file and use only light signals, for example, and there's no need to have a bright beam to cut through the nonexistent silt.)

 

[Blazinator]

Since you are not diving, I would use a Mag Light - like the ones you see everywhere cheap in big box stores. They are plenty waterproof, but just not rated for depths, unless you want to breath hold and swim down with one. I've had my Maglite underwater plenty of times.

The best part (besides the cheap price) is that they are halogen which will give you warmer colors rather than the blue-ish color balance of LED.

If you are willing to spend some money, I'd go with a 10 watt HID like the UK light cannon for 200 bucks. HID will pierce darkness like you wouldn't believe.

See it on this page: Scuba Diving Lights

And if you really want light, I use the 24 watt HID Edge Brightstar on same page, but scroll to bottom. Been using and loving that light for about 30 dives now. No other light even comes close to its brightness until you spend way beyond a grand.

 

[HenrikBP]

I brought a UK Q40 eLED to St. Croix. During a night dive I used it as my "back-up" to a rental SL4 (non-LED). I honestly wasn't terribly impressed with the Q40. And while everyone is correct that you don't want too much light, I was happier with the SL4.

I've later picked up an Intova light, which is quite a bit brighter than the Q40, and can be found for about the same $$ as the Q40.

Ideally I'd like an LED light with 2 or 3 light levels. They're coming, but will be quite pricey at first.

Henrik

 

[redacted]

It is pretty hard to beat this one for lots of light from a small package.

PCA Light, Ikelite

 

[tuner fish]

I agree with Clayjar, the mini Q40 is plenty of light.

See you down there, I'm leaving in 9 days!

 

[Damselfish]

You don't need much light for snorkeling in Bonaire (if there is a full moon you can almost do without!) But I think the broader beam that you tend to get from C lights is more helpful in seeing things than the narrow beam of most little AA lights. The PCA might be a good compromise though.

A 4C light actually isn't that much to pack or carry in the water. But if your wife really wants a tiny light, you could always get 2 different lights (and be ready for her to want to swipe your bigger one. )

 

[LovetoFloat]

Thanks, folks. I think I'll stick with something lightweight and inexpensive. When comparing watts/lumens and cost, the smaller light gets the nod, especially when taking into consideration the "fun factor." I like Damselfish's idea of getting the Q40 for the Mrs. and the SL4 for myself. As my wife would say to me, "Duh, you're such a guy!" (translation - this is so obvious, why didn't you think of it?)
:snorkel2:

 

[ClayJar]

You don't need much light for snorkeling in Bonaire (if there is a full moon you can almost do without!)

What do you mean, "almost"? In the week leading up to a full moon, moonbasket and I did an entire drift dive along pink beach without lights. :biggrin: (Okay, so we *did* use our lights for the step in and step out, but that doesn't count as the dive, does it? )

A waxing gibbous moon (i.e. between the first quarter and the full moon) is the ideal time to be using moonlight for early-night dives (and snorkeling). Near the first quarter, the moon will not be quite as bright as when full, but it rises earlier, so it'll be higher in the sky and provide better underwater lighting. As it nears the full moon, it rises later and later, but it is brighter, so it's more or less a wash.

Our week in Bonaire coincided perfectly with a waxing gibbous moon, so we used very little light on the night dives. With only natural light, everything is greyscale (as the cones in your retinas that provide color vision need more light than the rods for black-and-white), but it's very cool to watch fish moving around in the moonlight. When you want to get a color view of something (or to check for things you can't easily see in subtle shades of grey), you just take your hand off your light and check it out.

Of course, it's likely that my willingness to settle for a little 4-AA light goes hand-in-hand with the fact that when you're doing the dive almost completely by natural light, it only takes a tiny amount of added light to make the colors explode into your night-adjusted eyes.

By the way, having a big tarpon buzz you during a nothing-but-moonlight dive is *fantasically* cool (and ever so slightly terrifying, in a happy way).

 

[LovetoFloat]

Looks like we'll be loosing the moonlight during our stay (2/14/09-2/21/09). If we start night snorkeling on the Saturday we arrive, we should have enough confidence to go out later in the week "in the dark."

Boo! :shocked2:

C'est la vie!

February 2009 Moon Phases Calendar / Moon Schedule