Can anyone recommend a light with a nice balance of price and quality to use as a primary for recreational diving? I ask because my family of five is heading to Bonaire for a week, and we plan on taking a few night dives. Buying gear for myself and my wife is painful enough, but now that we have given our kids the gift of diving...ouch.
Inexpensive Primary Light for Rec Diving
- Thread starter rye_a
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This light from DGX does the trick for my family of 4. High, low, and strobe settings. The lower light setting is often good for diving the reefs in Bonaire. Triple O-ring body seal.
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@OrcaTorch D530 or D710. One of the best things for travel is that their batteries come with USB charging in the tips. The D710 has USB-C but the D530 still has micro-usb so that may weigh on you.
D530 is $95 on Amazon right now. Depending on adblocker the link may not work.Uses 18650 batteries, bright, well built. No complaints.
D710 is the upgrade and is $135 on Amazon. Uses 21700 batteries so about 1.5x the brightness due to the larger battery.
They come with a wrist lanyard which works but I don't love. I do think the Oxycheq Raider goodman socks that can be ordered from Cave Adventurers are the best ones out there because it allows you to use both hands without any danglies. I think it's Raider III.
The DGX600 mentioned above is also good, but throw the chargers straight in the trash and buy a good one like the Xtar VC4 which charges from USB-C
D530 is $95 on Amazon right now. Depending on adblocker the link may not work.Uses 18650 batteries, bright, well built. No complaints.
D710 is the upgrade and is $135 on Amazon. Uses 21700 batteries so about 1.5x the brightness due to the larger battery.
They come with a wrist lanyard which works but I don't love. I do think the Oxycheq Raider goodman socks that can be ordered from Cave Adventurers are the best ones out there because it allows you to use both hands without any danglies. I think it's Raider III.
The DGX600 mentioned above is also good, but throw the chargers straight in the trash and buy a good one like the Xtar VC4 which charges from USB-C
1000 Lumens Dive Light
The MAKO Spearguns 1000 Dive Light delivers a HUGE 1000 Lumens with 70 degree projection and 8 degree center beam. Rated to a depth of 150 meters.
makospearguns.com
Salamandra
Registered
Contact Orcatorch Ashley Lee <outdoorequipmentexpert@gmail.com>, they are looking for people to test flashlights and compensating the cost - for Amazon/social media reviews. I am bringing one light from them on my next trip and psyched to try it. I found out about it on this site. Need testers! 
Who Are Interested?
Who Are Interested?
Robert H. Diver
Contributor
Orcatorch d530
I'll throw in a vote for the Orcatorch D550. Around $90 or so depending on what deals they currently have on Amazon, comes with a soft glove to wear it on your hand (I'd still keep a tether on it), two batteries, and 1000 lumens. If you buy from Outdoor Equipment Expert on Amazon, they had a deal where they'd throw in a free boltsnap as well. Compared to my old light (Underwater Kinetics SL3) it's silly bright.
Robert H. Diver
Contributor
They're pretty close performance-wise, but while the 550 is 1000 lumens v. 1300, it also has longer burn time. And comes with two batteries instead of one. Probably can't go wrong with either.
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