Future of Canister lights

[VR78]

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.

Each of the lights will need an attachment point, battery charge label, a reliable storage system to distinguish between spent and fresh ones, and a separate charger. How many are we talking about? Caves aside, a full day of liveaboard diving will easily give you 4-5 hours in the water.

As a side note, on project dives we use a 10,000 lumen video light fed by a 29V, 17Ah canister battery which gives ~3,5-4 hrs of burn time. That thing is about the size of a pony bottle, and in fact some divers choose to attach it as such. I don't think such battery is easily substituted with anything substantially smaller without a massive loss in burn time and output.

Finally, many divers feed their heating systems from canister batteries, often enough from the same batteries as their main lights.

 

[Remy B.]

I have LED 1000 Lumes that go 5 Hours continuously, for only 100Eu, have been to 56m with it and have more than 50 dives on it, still no problem, I have it mounted on top of my hand so my hands remain free 100%, no bar across my palm.

Canister lights is heavy, cucumbersome, many fail points and tangling points and dam expensive. is a dying thing that nostalgic people will not let die.

 

[USNMARS]

Well as an electronics nerd that does underwater electronics for a living I must say that can lights are very fun engineering projects. My newest design that is in prototype phase will have its drawings posted online for all to see and copy(once the kinks are worked out), is an absolute beast of a light. I made it overpowered just to say "I did" and thought of this project like making a hot rod. So, it uses several 12v XHP-70 LEDs at 5500ma and pushes 33,000 lumens on a calibrated photometer. The light is famous for setting things on fire from 3 ft away without the lenses installed yet. It is dimmable, and has preset settings for 5k, 10k, 20k and full blast 33k. Like I said, dont ask why I did it I honestly dont know why, but it is insane. I haven't had it wet yet as I am still machining heatsinks but calculated burn time will be about an hour. I am not a cave diver or anything else so I just need to make a spare battery pack to change out between dives.

 

[_Ralph]

You don't mention non clear water divers....

I recently sold my 21w HID for a fancy new LED.

Easily 1/2 to 1/3 the size (canister and battery each), and out performs in every aspect (size, weight, output power and duration, durability, and price ... intact the sale of the HID paid for 3/4 of the LED)

It blows away the previous generation of LED, and easily outperforms the 21w on its 'low' setting.

I can even see the beam in clear water shallows on a bright sunny day in light sand/silt .... from quite a distance away (~3-4m/9-12ft)

_R

..... I see mainly cave divers with very long runs the only ones in the future with them.

,

 

[WantSomeScuba?]

As somebody who just bought a canister light, they're definitely here to stay. Right? Guys...?

In all seriousness, the cord was something I actually was looking for--being able to switch light heads, plug into a heated undergarment, and having the thing physically tethered to my clumsy ass were a big reason I didn't go cordless. Cordless burn times are obviously catching up to corded, but I'm thinking it will be a while before they get there.

And to counter the whole "can lights are heavy and bulky and will tangle you"--that's true of literally every piece of gear outside of a mask, fins, regulator and BCD (and even that last one is subject to lively debates here about what constitutes a good BC). Learn how to safely use a rifle before you go hunting; learn how to use your gear before you go diving.

 

[joshk]

I dislike the size of a larger light head so adding a massive battery pack to it is a non-starter for me.

 

[divad]

Canister lights have a bright future.

 

[manni-yunk]

I see can lights going away...

I have a new(er) UWLD Can light that is awesome, but Ive been thinking about selling it. I do long dives.....but at least half of my time is in an area of the water column that I do not need a light.....

Plus the canister....the cord....would be great to get rid of for better streamlining and gear reduction.

As soon as I find a light without a cord....and a glove that is bright enough and lasts long enough for my local diving....Im done with the canister for good.

That being said.....I see the canister itself sticking around to power heated vests.....just not lights....

 

[stuartv]

As soon as I find a light without a cord....and a glove that is bright enough and lasts long enough for my local diving....Im done with the canister for good.

Xtar D26 light + Oxycheq Raider I glove.

Or, if you want to spend real money, the new Dive Rite XHP50 light (in cordless config) and their QRM mount glove.

 

[manni-yunk]

Xtar D26 light + Oxycheq Raider I glove.

Or, if you want to spend real money, the new Dive Rite XHP50 light (in cordless config) and their QRM mount glove.

Yup

I looked at the prior DR model and wasnt impressed with the brightness. I have high hopes for the XHP50 and I want to get my hands on it to see what the light looks like.