Good UW light (for free diving)?

[RickI]

What sort of lights do folks use for free diving in particularly dark areas? With minor wreck penetrations offshore, I usually don't need any lighting. As a result my old halogen UW Kinetics lights get rare use. Still, recently in some minor cave penetrations and passing under inverted ceiling areas in a sinkhole, the cone of coverage and intensity were inadequate.

Time to get another light, something bright, with about a 60 degree cone, an LED, rated for about 170 to 500 lumens and suitably compact for free diving. Not expecting a lot of use but if needed it would be good to have the right light available. Oh, affordable would be a great thing too if possible!

What are folks using out there that they like?

Thanks!

 

[Scared Silly]

If you want something more powerful you might look at something like the Dive Rite LED 500 Flashlight.

I have not used this light just know about them.

 

[RickI]

Thank you for the suggestion. Dive Rite makes good gear. I opted to get a Princeton Tech Shockwave LED (the new one, not the 2008 model). Got it for about $109. at Divers Direct. Best part, it puts out 400 lumens! I hope it might even help for fill light in some video. Let you know on that part. It isn't as bulky or heavy as the description implies either for free diving.

 

[DCBC]

NiteRider makes an excellent single and dual beam HID light. The new ones are 14 Watt (1000 lumens) and are adaptable to a head-mount or the hand-mount can be used. Mine is an older unit (10 Watt / 500 lumens), but the company offers an update program which I'm considering.

 

[SubMariner]

NiteRider makes an excellent single and dual beam HID light. The new ones are 14 Watt (1000 lumens) and are adaptable to a head-mount or the hand-mount can be used. Mine is an older unit (10 Watt / 500 lumens), but the company offers an update program which I'm considering.

From the NiteRider website:
"Like other NiteRider lights, the HID is housed in a compact, impact-resistant casing, with the battery attached by way of a flexible cable. A variety of attachment systems allow the light to be handheld, worn as a headlamp or mounted on a diving helmet, safety reel or even a DPV. As you might guess from these mounting options, the NiteRider system is popular with technical and commercial divers."

No offense, but the NR is an HID unit with a cable to the battery pack. A little big & cumbersome for free diving, methinks.

 

[DCBC]

Perhaps SubMariner, I did assume however that as this is a SCUBA Board that free diving may not be the only application where it would be used. Personally I'm not a free diver, so I can only assume how much (or how little) a properly positioned cable would affect the dive.

 

[RickI]

Thanks guys, I frequently free dive using a scooter opening things to a canister light. Drag and weight become less significant with scooters. Although I am usually fairly restrained in confined space entries on the scooter particularly if it is a deeper wreck. Normally don't bother with the scooter in caves where light is an issue. May give it a go later on this year to moderate depths in a sinkhole where artificial light could help. Much of my video is nearly monochromatic shooting available light while free diving particularly the deeper stuff. If the Shockwave makes a significant improvement, I may bite the bullet and invest in a brighter canister light to improve the image quality.