Future of Canister lights

[bamafan]

I think that the high end light manufacturers are going to have a hard time. There are very few divers who do dives where a handheld light such as the Big Blue 4500 isn't more than they need. They can buy several batteries for more than one dive per day. Yes there are a few people who are doing long dives but this is few and far between as I have been on a 5 hour dive with a buddy who used a Big Blue handheld light. For true exploration diving such as what the KUR / WKPP guys are doing there is a need for can lights at this time but I think battery technology and led' s will continue to improve and the can light market will continue to decrease. Also the Chinese / Tiawanese manufacturers continue to get better and with their price points I don't think a high end manufacturer can really compete with them except for building a higher quality longer burning light. Sadly the market for such lights will continue to decrease as you can buy 3 or 4 handheld lights such as the Big Blue 4500 for the price of 1 high end light.

 

[VR78]

I like the idea of the light head still being physically connected to me should I accidentally drop it.

 

[blac86]

I like the idea of the light head still being physically connected to me should I accidentally drop it.

You don't use a Goodman handle or glove?

 

[VR78]

You don't use a Goodman handle or glove?

Hard Goodman, yes, but not in a vice grip mode.

 

[blac86]

Hard Goodman, yes, but not in a vice grip mode.

Cool that's the perfect opportunity to use some 550 cord and make a short dummy line around your wrist. That way you don't have a huge cable or canister to worry about.

 

[VR78]

Cool that's the perfect opportunity to use some 550 cord and make a short dummy line around your wrist. That way you don't have a huge cable or canister to worry about.

How do I switch hands then?

 

[blac86]

How do I switch hands then?

Ok, lets stop and think for a second.

 

[tbone1004]

@blac86 what HID is brighter than a properly designed LED? I have yet to see it unless you are talking about a single emitter vs a single bulb. There is no real reason to stay with single emitters though as beam angle can be made tighter in a smaller package with 3 than it can with 1 believe it or not.
The inefficiencies are what really kills HID's as they tend to consume about 3x as much power as an LED package as well as requiring a significantly larger light head to help as a heat sink and fit all of the components.

 

[2airishuman]

The possibility of swapping small battery packs underwater might be interesting but not practically more advantageous to a can light.

Well that's my speculation for the day.
Cameron

Or bring two or more "primary" handheld lights as needed to reach the total burn time needed. Aggregate size, weight, cost, would be advantageous compared to canisters.

 

[Plongeur2000]

I am a LED lover personnaly