LightMonkey or alternative?

[Rumata Estorsky]

The time for a new primary light has come and I was ready to pull the trigger for 15-32 VF LightMonkey, but a week ago my instructor (and ex-fan of LightMonkey) told me that LM switched to chinese wires on their lights and one guy bought 3 lights from them, came with those to Mexico and in 2 weeks all 3 failed because of wires. LM customer support answered with "Sorry, light wires are not covered by our warranty".

I'm not ready to spend $1700 on light which may fail in couple weeks and is not covered with warranty so I started looking on alternatives like Razor 4200 or Focus 2.
I really like Focus, but I'm a sidemount diver and really want to have 90 deg cable and center mount on a battery.

I would really appreciate any recomendations/feedback about lights you use.

 

[divad]

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[Compressor]

Welcome to ScubaBoard Rumata. I am really surprised by what is said by your instructor. A brand like LM is high end but if the customer service is lacking, there is going to be a problem.

Other brands: Dive Rite, Halcyon and Underwater Light Dude.

 

[Rumata Estorsky]

As far as I know - Dive Rite is a LightMonkey under a different logo. Thank you for "Underwater Light Dude" recommendation. I'll definitely take a look on it

 

[SandyRobinson]

Dive Rite and Light Monkey are both located in Lake City, Florida but they are two separate companies. They are definitely not the same company with a different logo. From my experience both companies (and UWLD) excel in customer service and support for their products. I have 4 primary and 4 back up from these three companies and they have all performed as expected. What your instructor said makes no sense to me, and I doubt that 3 of their lights failed within 2 weeks. Check them both (and UWLD) out from their websites.

 

[JohnnyC]

"Switched to Chinese wire" is a new one to me. Sounds like he just has beef with LM.

LM lights are great. Halcyon lights are great. UWLD lights are great. I've had issues with DiveRite handheld lights but no experience with any of their modern canister lights. Light Monkey and Dive Rite are absolutely not the same just under a different logo.

I would buy either Light Monkey, UWLD, or Halcyon depending on which best met my needs at a price I was willing to pay.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

If my broke A$$ could afford a LM or UWLD, I would likely buy one in a second. I know many divers who use the Halcyon and they love them. The DiveRite canisters I have seen issues with them getting stuck in the on or off position.

For the record I currently have an OrcaTorch D620 which is as Chinese as dim sum but works great and with the small can, it mounts quite nice in sm.

 

[rjgiddings]

Hard to say... I really like my HID Light Monkey but it's my first can light so I have scant other data to go from.

Think of a used one maybe ? They are out there :

Light monkey 35 watt HID can light scuba diving

 

[Compressor]

Agree 100% that as far as I know LM and Dive Rite are not the same company. I have a LM light and its awesome. I have a LM double wing and its quality is also top notch.

Once I had an issue with my light where the light would not go out. LM fixed it and price was reasonable. Customer service was very good except couple of times, I had issues getting thru. But when I did, they were nice and customer centric. I thought quite a bit again about the issue presented here and am really perplexed by what was presented to you (as others have said).

My suggestion: Call them and ask about their warranty.

 

[bamafan]

Sounds like BS to me. I would be interested to know what light he recommended and what his financial interests are.