Light for Warm Water Day Diving?

[WetBoy101]

Just about any small back up light will do the trick. I dive with a light regardless of it being day or night. Mostly the day dives it is a just in case light or for, like you want to do, look in holes. I use a Light Monkey 3C Rat. I love it. It is well built and bright. I also like how reliable it is. Being a twist on, it is less likely to be turned on accidentally when you do not need it, either blinding your buddy or running down the batteries.

I have to disagree!! You should have a "narrow beam" for daytime diving. I have three Intova lights that I use for diving. The Ultra Nova for daytime. (220 lumen) The Super Nova for night dives (500 lumen) and the Mini (220 lumen) as a back up for night dives. The 500 lumen wider beam doesn't work half as well as the narrow beam 220 during the day. Just sayin!!!

 

[scubafied]

Anyone heard much about these? Big Blue 170 Lumens LED AL Light 1x5W The wrist mount looks pretty sweet.

 

[Damselfish]

I am not the most experinced diver out there but I would not recommend diving with a light in the day time. Just for the fact of the matter being that it would use battery power that you could be using during a night dive.

I highly recommend diving with a light during the day for exactly the reason the OP has in mind - peeking into dark crevices and such. Try it sometime, you may be surprised what you see. Bring more batteries, or use rechargeables if your light is ok with that. (Better to have more than one light anyway, as in the tropics you're better off with a bright focused beam for days, and something broader at night. Plus a backup is good.)

Twist on lights generally are the ones that come on when you don't want them to due to water pressure. They are less likely to come on by accident in your travel luggage I suppose.

I don't travel with batteries in the lights, then they can't turn on. I think in theory TSA is happier that way.

 

[gcbryan]

Anyone heard much about these? Big Blue 170 Lumens LED AL Light 1x5W The wrist mount looks pretty sweet.

I've heard of but don't know much about Big Blue. This light has a beam angle of 60 degrees so it might work on a night dive in the tropics. It would be useless most anywhere else. In general for diving you are looking at a beam angle in the 6-8 degree range.

 

[Charlie99]

I don't travel with batteries in the lights, then they can't turn on. I think in theory TSA is happier that way.

I find that storing the batteries in the lights is the safest place for them. But for safety, I
1) reverse 1/2 of the cells.
2) put a piece of paper between the top of the batteries and the contacts to the switch.

Then use some blue masking tape across the switch that says "Safed. Do not remove batteries".

 

[Charlie99]

I've heard of but don't know much about Big Blue. This light has a beam angle of 60 degrees so it might work on a night dive in the tropics. It would be useless most anywhere else. In general for diving you are looking at a beam angle in the 6-8 degree range.

The narrow spot is very critical for divers in clear tropical waters with bright sun. To be able to see into the crevices, under ledges, and back into hole you need a very bright spot. The narrower the better.

I consider a flashlight a basic piece of safety gear and bring one on every dive, night or day. I don't intend to go for my daytime dives to turn into an extended drift dive that goes into nighttime, but if that happens a good light is an awesome signalling device at night.

 

[DevonDiver]

I recently bought an Aquatec 5w LED torch as a back-up... but will be using it as a general day-time rec torch too. It's awesome...and cheap!

Great spot. Very bright... and you can't argue with 18 hours burn time from 3x C batteries

5 Watt LED Aluminum Flashlight with high brightness and very long burn time (approx. 18-20 hours). Attractive design. Virtually indestructible.
- requires 3 C batteries
- Color temperature: 6000-8000 K
- 230 lumens
- Max. Diameter: 44mm
- Length: 200 mm
- water resistant up to: 120m

 

[Revid1]

Appreciate all of the replies. I noticed that the Penetrator light had an option for a SS swivel bolt snap. Is this a good option and how is it used? The lanyard comes attached to go around your wrist. Thanks.

 

[FireInMyBones]

I have to disagree!! You should have a "narrow beam" for daytime diving. I have three Intova lights that I use for diving. The Ultra Nova for daytime. (220 lumen) The Super Nova for night dives (500 lumen) and the Mini (220 lumen) as a back up for night dives. The 500 lumen wider beam doesn't work half as well as the narrow beam 220 during the day. Just sayin!!!

I do not keep the light on, if perhaps that was what I implied. I too have one of the Intova lights, and though I like it's beam pattern better all around, I have had the switch come on before without realizing it. Thankfully my buddy caught it before I lost too much juice. My comment was based on what I have found best for my diving. I respect your right to disagree.

Appreciate all of the replies. I noticed that the Penetrator light had an option for a SS swivel bolt snap. Is this a good option and how is it used? The lanyard comes attached to go around your wrist. Thanks.

How to attach the bolt snap.

After the bolt snap is placed on the end of the light, it can be stored by being clipped to your left or right chest D-ring and held in place so it does not dangle by a piece of bicycle inner tube over your strap. If that is too thin based on what BC you are diving, bungee tied in a loop works well too.
One thing you would need to be aware of with this method: not dropping the light. While the wrist lanyard can help prevent lose of the torch, you can easily "unsheath" the torch, turn it on, and then unclip the torch. This way, if you do drop it at night, you should be able to see where it goes.

 

[Revid1]

Thanks for the feedback on how to attach the line to the clamp. I placed an order for the Penetrater 220 from Piranha. Randy is great to deal with.