Lights --can't afford a HID

[GearHead]

By the way, I forgot to mention that my light was just under $140.00, and that you can get a non-rechargeable version for a lot less, more like 50 bucks for something like the IKELITE RCD SUPER-8 LITE.

Originally posted by GearHead
HID can be cheaper than you think. You can get a UK Light Cannon for under $150.00 at LeisurePro, which is a great deal for a non-canister HID light. But at the same time, you can do very well going with a halogen/xenon light which has its own solid attributes.

Halogen/Xenon Lights:
1. Generally cheaper than HID lights
2. Replacement bulbs are much cheaper, though HID bulbs last longer (until you drop your lamp)
3. Illuminate what you want them to without "overlighting" which can offend some wildlife and other divers. If you want the power of the Sun underwater, then definitely go HID, but I think a higher end H/X can give you plenty of light as well.

I can recommend the one that I recently purchased, the Underwater Kinetics Sunlight C8R (Rechargeable). It has two bulbs for highbeam/lowbeam and redundancy, and a light output of up to 20 watts. For the record, the light output of the UK Light Cannon HID, is 25 watts.

Happy Diving

 

[Uncle Pug]

...there are a lot of cheap alternatives.

You really should save up you money and get a focusable 10w HID light....

Not until you have used a narrow beam HID for buddy communication can you realize how vital it is... one of the very best purchases in diving I have ever made! I would give up my backplate and wing before I would give up the EE Pro4 10W HID!

The deal is your buddy needs to have one too... but it really has made buddy diving fun as well as stress free.

 

[Burke]

Uncle Pug that is a GLOWING recommendation I have ever heard one, some how I just can't picture you strapping your canister light to your ranger though.

 

[art.chick]

Glad Pug brought up the focused beam issue. You may find that night diving in particular does not require constant use of the light, & that the brightest-bright is not always the "best." I went on my first night dive of the year last night & appreciated the lights with narrow, concentrated beams a lot. We turned them off for portions of the dive & just let our eyes adjust. Sigh...I need to do nights more often.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by art.chick
You may find that night diving in particular does not require constant use of the light, & that the brightest-bright is not always the "best."

Actually at night the brightest isn't the best for ocean diving IMO...

The animals that are out are more sensitive to light and even the smaller tightly focused lights are easily seen for signaling. Turning lights off can be fun but only when both buddies are in agreement and stay in contact.

The super bright and tightly focused HIDs are the only light effective for signaling in daylight... and in places with great clarity and ambient light might not be efficacious during bright daylight. Here in the *dark deep at noon* PNW they are always the ticket.

 

[john_a]

Rugged, reliable, move a good amount of light and best of all - cheap ($60 or less).