lake diving light

[jashaw]

I am looking for a decent light that won't drain my wallet for great lakes diving. What are some models to look at. Along with some models to avoid. It looks like LED isthe way to go since they burn longer and are tougher than HID light from what I have been reading.

 

[tstormdiver]

I would agree with you on what you like about the LED's vs The HID's, except that if there is much turbidity in the water, the HID would win out hands down.

 

[craracer]

Knowing your budget might help to narrow down the possibilities.

 

[jashaw]

Turbidity could be an issue, things can unexpectedly happen, i'll have to do more research before any more progress. My budget would be about $200-225, i might splurge if one really catches my eye.

 

[devilkitty]

The answer is... it depends.

Planning on night diving? You'll need at least two.
How deep and how dark do you expect to go?

 

[jashaw]

It will mostly be evening/night dive use, the depth will vary widely from 100 to as little as 15.

 

[devilkitty]

It will mostly be evening/night dive use, the depth will vary widely from 100 to as little as 15.

Primary:
I used (still do, on occasion) a Princeton Tec "Shockwave LED". It's fairly heavy, plenty bright for what you're looking at, and the battery life (8 "C") is great. Unless you exclusively dive at night, one set should last most of a season. Recently I've been using a Tusa TUL-300 as both a general purpose daytime and primary night light. Small and very bright (4.8W), narrow beam, 2 CR123 lithium cells.

Your secondary needs to be reliable, because you're going to use it as a "backup" light -- to go "back up" if your primary light fails. I've used a 4 AA twist-on Princeton Tec "Impact XL" for a number of years now with no problems at all. Again, great battery life. I ran a SS shackle through the lanyard hole on the end to attach a double-ender.

Either of the primaries I mentioned and a solid backup will come easily within your $200 budget.

 

[jashaw]

Thanks, i'll keep those mentioned in mind when i'm looking.

 

[bladephotog]

I use a 10 watt Dive Rite HID and you can usually pick them up used at a reasonable price. Having a tight beam is nice in the Great Lakes. The 10 watt is puny compared to my buddies 21 watt but it's more than adequate. I used it on a 200 foot dive a couple weeks ago and it was fine.

 

[spectrum]

I have the Shockwave LED (2005) and it's been a good light. It's no HID canister light but it does well on New England shore dives. Burn time is on the porder of 20 hours. I believe they now have a 1/2 pint version that looks like the same front end and only 4 C Cells.

I have also been very happy with PT customer support.

Pete