Scared Silly
Contributor
A short review of UW Kinetics AquaLite Pro light. For background I have been using UW Kinetics lights for over 20 years. I have had great success with their lights and with customer support. As such when it comes to lights UW Kinetics are a top choice for me.
Recently we decided to buy new lights for night diving but having can lights we did not need a visible light but wanted to get UV lights. Using UV lights are pretty incredible. Do search on fluoro diving to learn about this unique aspect of night diving. The most interesting bits are moving critters like fire worms and anemones. But coral is certainly the most abundant. Even on a low setting it is pretty easy to pick out the fluoro colors from a distance.
When it comes to fluoro diving one has the choice of 455nm or 395nm wave lengths. With 455nm lights one gets lots of blue but it requires a yellow filter. With the 395nm lights one gets enough light but not too much so no filter is needed. (Ultra Violet Lights » Underwater Kinetics). Going the 395nm is the way to go. Especially as one's night vision will have adapted quite well if when one turns the light off. Diving with natural light can be fun. Especially as big tarpon cruise by repeatedly.
As we already had UK-SL4 lights we looked at getting the UV-395 light head but UK Kinetics does not sell these heads separately. IMHO that is a mistake as many people own SL4 LIGHTS which are used by divers everywhere. (Our SL4 are now up for sale as we have too many)
So instead we decided to get the AquaLite Pro. There is also AquaLite-S which is is not quite as bright; 500 lumen vs 1200 lumen. But the S has a longer burn time. We also liked the turn switch on the Pro versus the push button switch on the S.
With either of the AquaLite lights they are compact. Really compact. Both use the same form factor so the only difference is the switch and the power consumption. Each use a single Li-Ion rechargeable battery.
The other feature is the interchangeable heads UV 395, 20 or 100 degree beam. During the day or for cavern/wreck backup we use the 20 degree head. At night we use the UV395 heads (plus either our can light or a SL3 light for visible light).
The light comes with a hand free set up which was a bit gimmicky. I think a better system would be a hard plate that the light screws into with elastic around the hand. The light comes with ¼-20 threaded screw holes so one can use it with std. UW camera mounts. (I have not tried to use it with my camera yet).
Overall we paid around $250 for the 20 degree light and optional 395 UV head.
Recently we decided to buy new lights for night diving but having can lights we did not need a visible light but wanted to get UV lights. Using UV lights are pretty incredible. Do search on fluoro diving to learn about this unique aspect of night diving. The most interesting bits are moving critters like fire worms and anemones. But coral is certainly the most abundant. Even on a low setting it is pretty easy to pick out the fluoro colors from a distance.
When it comes to fluoro diving one has the choice of 455nm or 395nm wave lengths. With 455nm lights one gets lots of blue but it requires a yellow filter. With the 395nm lights one gets enough light but not too much so no filter is needed. (Ultra Violet Lights » Underwater Kinetics). Going the 395nm is the way to go. Especially as one's night vision will have adapted quite well if when one turns the light off. Diving with natural light can be fun. Especially as big tarpon cruise by repeatedly.
As we already had UK-SL4 lights we looked at getting the UV-395 light head but UK Kinetics does not sell these heads separately. IMHO that is a mistake as many people own SL4 LIGHTS which are used by divers everywhere. (Our SL4 are now up for sale as we have too many)
So instead we decided to get the AquaLite Pro. There is also AquaLite-S which is is not quite as bright; 500 lumen vs 1200 lumen. But the S has a longer burn time. We also liked the turn switch on the Pro versus the push button switch on the S.
With either of the AquaLite lights they are compact. Really compact. Both use the same form factor so the only difference is the switch and the power consumption. Each use a single Li-Ion rechargeable battery.
The other feature is the interchangeable heads UV 395, 20 or 100 degree beam. During the day or for cavern/wreck backup we use the 20 degree head. At night we use the UV395 heads (plus either our can light or a SL3 light for visible light).
The light comes with a hand free set up which was a bit gimmicky. I think a better system would be a hard plate that the light screws into with elastic around the hand. The light comes with ¼-20 threaded screw holes so one can use it with std. UW camera mounts. (I have not tried to use it with my camera yet).
Overall we paid around $250 for the 20 degree light and optional 395 UV head.
