Good Back Up Light under $50

[rhwestfall]

That is a pretty good light, and it is sold for a few bucks less under the brinyte label

but try to get service...DGE wouldn't hesitate to help ypu out should something possibly happen... overseas vendor/e-b*y, yeah, right...... following my scuba training, I wouldn't hold my breath..

 

[Keith.M]

but try to get service...DGE wouldn't hesitate to help ypu out should something possibly happen... overseas vendor/e-b*y, yeah, right...... following my scuba training, I wouldn't hold my breath..

Although I completely agree with this, at the cost of these, you just have to consider them almost disposable.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I was looking about the Dorcy but I noticed all the bad reviews said it did great for about a year then the light started flickering and not working right.

It's a $40 light, WTF do you expect? Mine came off the bottom of the Pacific well over a year ago, and it still works great. The odds of my buying a $40 light are zero. If you want a $40 ticket at possibly getting a good backup light with your preferred battery specs, buy a Dorcy. If you get a lemon after a year, buy a new one.

If want a great backup light the first time, get a Light Monkey 3W. It won't cost $40.

 

[scubastingray]

but try to get service...DGE wouldn't hesitate to help ypu out should something possibly happen... overseas vendor/e-b*y, yeah, right...... following my scuba training, I wouldn't hold my breath..

I'm not sure what your point is, since I was agreeing to get that light from there vs elsewhere. I'm saying typically the mark up is higher when bought domestically, but this seems like a good price when you factor in shipping, battery, and charger. I'd buy it there if that were the light I wanted. Hell, it'd be a great excuse to load up on the cheaper things they have with free shipping. Everyone can always use a few extra SS boltsnaps.

 

[rickym96]

"It's a $40 light, WTF do you expect?"

There is no point being rude. I'm simply saying if I know its going to break I might be better off with a different one that is more likely to last longer than a year.

 

[lemke]

Any light that uses 18650 batteries is going to provide significantly "better" light than one that uses AA batteries... both in brightness and burn time. I have the DGE 600, and it is a really nice light! I would consider it one of the best bangs for the buck out there, AND for 50 bucks includes a charger!

 

[victorzamora]

These lights are $70, but they're well worth looking into. Hollis Mini LED3. They're powered by 3xAAA batteries. They're rated at like 220lm, but they're a freaking laser beam. The reason I love them so much is that they're focused enough to be noticeable over a VERY bright primary. My buddies and I typically dive with the obscenely bright UWLD 35-144s, and it takes quite the little light to shine over them. Even my Dive Rite 10W HID had a hard time signalling them on full-focus.

I also have a pair of the chinese $35 "1800 lumen" lights (tops 1000lm) powered by 18650s and they're awesome. Definitely not as nice, but they make great fourth and fifth lights in a cave....and will eventually be good on a camera tray, or maybe a helmet.

 

[rhwestfall]

as to the Hollis Mini LED3, it is one of the few things I wish they had not made.... The light head (rotate as the switch) turn opposite of the industry standard - twisted all the way down is off, and you unscrew it to turn it on). While being a decent light in terms of beam tightness, 220 lm is marginal here in the Great Lakes. The one I trashed took too much of a twist to activate it, and flooded when turning it on for its first use.... Also, I know of others that, due to the opposite nature of the switch, flooded lights because it was opposite, and they opened them too far turning them off (used to opposite direction for operating twist-on lights).... as a back-up, it will likely be used "under duress", and I just can't be thinking about my light's "quirks"...


Hollis was awesome in replacing mine due to something just not being right in the number of turns to energize it, but, after other's issues, it sits on the shelf...

 

[victorzamora]

That's one thing with it, but considering I have no other lights with a similar switch method, I've never had that issue.

Regardless of how you turn it on, it's got a fantastic type of light output that I just haven't found a better alternative to.

As for being under duress upon pulling out your backup light, it's never been more than a minor annoyance for me or my dive buddies. In fact, it happened to a buddy in a cave just a couple of weeks ago. His light head flooded and quit working just as I rounded the corner. I didn't notice anything weird as I was around the corner. A moment later, I noticed there's something weird, my buddy comes around the corner with a weird-shaped light output, and we continue the dive on his backup.....no worries, other than keeping him in front of me for signalling (he had like 7 lights on him, and I had 5 on me....losing one was of little concern).

 

[scubastingray]

MagicShine MJ-810E CREE XM-L 740lm 4-Mode White Diving Flashlight Set - Black (2 x 18650) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

So this one is a bit bigger, and a bit more expensive, but this is one of the best out there. Even as a main lamp on normal dives in our murky waters it suffices. They are very sturdy and I know people who have used it > 300 dives.

I missed this one earlier. This is sold at Divers-supply too (under the sea-elite brand), and is generally well reviewed but it is an older light, and the newer model lights seem to be a bit better (this one is a bit outdated). The major complaint I heard with this light was the sharpness of the ring around the front element. It apparently cuts drysuit seals quite well.