How many of you divers own at least 1 dive light?

[Jim Lapenta]

Salvo 12 watt Rebel LED 5 hr burn time
Nocturnal 50 W Halogen 5 hour burn time
Dorcy 180 lumen LED 8 hour burn time
Pelican Mighty lite long burn time
Pelican Sabrelights(2) 70 lumen 4 hour burn time
Princeton Tech Shockwave 8 c cell 3 hour burn approx
Priceton tech Surge

My primary lights are the Salvo, Dorcy and Pelican. The others are backups, extras, rentals for students etc. I would not even look at a light with a 1 hour burn time regardless of lumens, construction, etc. 2 hours is the minimum I would consider. And I always have at least 2 lights on me. The Dorcy and the Pelican. And more often than not the Salvo is on my belt as well.

 

[giles45shop]

Salvo 10W HID, UK Sl4Led, UK SL4 Xenon

I'm assuming you are looking at back-up lights as a starting point. In which case a 2+ hour burn time is a good idea. For a primary light, I would suggest a minimum of 4 hrs.

 

[Matt S.]

-Please list the lights you have and when / what you specifically use them for.

-What type of bulb / batteries does the light use?

- What is the typical runtime that it gets? What type of runtime do you want?

- Approximately how much do the dive lights you own cost?

- Any other comments, tips, suggestions, or requests as far as the development of a new dive light.

Salvo 10W HID (500 lumens, variable focus, rated at 4 hours, paid $650)
UK 4AA cell backup LED (I forget the specs because I never use it. It was $40 and is plenty bright enough to read my instruments and abort a dive.)

I dive in Seattle where the vis is poor. Lights are critical gear for many of us, useful for signaling. The power and penetration of a 10W HID is, in my opinion, the least I would want to use.

I constantly use the adjustable focus on my HID. For signaling, I dial a nice tight beam. To illuminate something right in front of me, I dial it out to floodlight. At least to me, this is an important feature and I won't upgrade my light to a model that lacks it.

I also think that a canister with Goodman handle is superior to a lantern or pistol grip. The Dive Rite that is convertible from flashlight to canister is clever, though I'd only ever use can mode if I had one.

Because I only do 2 dives a day typically, a light that had all my desired features but only 2 hours of run time would be acceptable to me. I think most people will expect a minimum of 4 hours though.

What would it take for me to upgrade my Salvo 10W HID?

- First, it would have to be brighter... noticeably so, so that it was more useful for signaling on our rare sunny days. I am not sure how 700 lumens of LED compares to 500 lumens of HID. It might not be different enough enough to encourage upgrade, though it would be enough to recommend to a new diver.

- Brighter alone wouldn't do it though, unless the cost was fantastic. I'd also need a more compact light head. Mine's a beast.

- Adjustable focus is mandatory. If LEDs don't get this, I will stick with HID.

Hope this helps. I always love to see new toys on the market.

 

[tactical_hid]

Thanks for the posts so far guys!

The light I'm working on would have a minimum runtime of 2hrs... most likely closer to 3hrs on high capacity 18650 cells.

It would also have a magnetic switch that would allow you to adjust the brightness if desired.

Also would having a light that is practical for every day use (outside of diving) be a plus?

How many of you guys, like having a nice bright easy to use light for every day use?

Thanks,

Jason

Tactical HID

 

[Packhorse]

I use my W200/MC-E out of water for work. It has 3 power levels. So yes it is useful. But truth be told it is underpowered for diving as a primary light for any serious wreck/cave diving. Probably OK for good viz night diving though.

 

[mikemill]

Thanks for the posts so far guys!

The light I'm working on would have a minimum runtime of 2hrs... most likely closer to 3hrs on high capacity 18650 cells.

It would also have a magnetic switch that would allow you to adjust the brightness if desired.

Also would having a light that is practical for every day use (outside of diving) be a plus?

How many of you guys, like having a nice bright easy to use light for every day use?

Thanks,

Jason

Tactical HID

A light that could be used out of the water would be nice for night dives for gearing up/down and entering/exiting. But beyond that I'd use a regular light for everyday things.

 

[Matt S.]

Using it out of the water would be nice, but would only sway my purchasing decision if the competition was very close.

 

[HenrikBP]

I would like a magnetic switch - others feel differently - but it would have to be absolutely fail and fool proof. Can't have the mag switch fall off leaving you with no light at all.

Henrik

 

[djtimmy77]

UK Q40 eLED plus for looking in nooks and crannies on recreational dive. used it for a Blue Heron Bridge night dive but would use it as a backup on an OW night dive.

 

[tactical_hid]

Again thanks for the feedback so far! Feel free to check out this thread for more specifics regarding the dive light I'm working on.