HID lights, whats the skinny ?

[trymixdiver]

I here other poster menton HID likes.

1. whats so great about them ?

2. They are expensive, is it worth it ?

3. Why should i spend that much money when a cheaper light has worked great for me all these years?

4. Do they have a longer burn time?

5. Do the bulbs last a long time or this just a ploy from the manufaturers to bend us over every time we need a bulb?

Anyone care to answer ?

Andy

 

[randyjoy]

I can't answer all the questions, but...

1. They emit the cleanest, natural light (looks like sunlight) of anything I've ever seen underwater. The beam also penetrates the murk, slit, etc. better than anything.

2. For me (Sheriff's office, doing some recovery dives, etc.) they are definately worth it. Some of our lakes at 20' require a light, none of the other types of lights even illuminate in some of the black water we've got.

I would never go back to any other type of light when I really need the light! Diving in a quarry for fun, I'll use a smaller light. Looking for stuff in a blackwater lake: HID!

 

[ericfine50]

The bulbs do last longer because there is no filament to break if you where to drop the light head. When you fire the light up, you are mixing several gases and that gets you the 6000 K temp, white light. Should you get one, that i s up to you. I love the 6 hours of burn time I get from my 12V/14AH canister and 18Watt HID head.

Eric