Lights for OW diver

[phoenix31tt]

I have 2 of Archon d11v (or some version of it) that i use with my gopro.Always clipped on to me is my DRIS Shorty (love that light).On night dives I have a couple an Intova and a couple el cheopo's from ebay as extras.the cheapos are rated at 1000 lumen but the DRIS (also rated at 1000 lumen) is way brighter.The D11V is rated at 860 Lumens but are wide angle...Depends on what you're using it for really would be what power you actually want.

 

[Storker]

The D11V is rated at 860 Lumens but are wide angle...Depends on what you're using it for really would be what power you actually want.

Well, IM(NSH)O wide angle lights suck cojones for night diving. They may be great for GoPro footage, but they're completely useless for light signals. Give me a spot every time.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

There are plenty of relatively inexpensive options out there these days ... the improvements in LED technology have made even moderately priced dive lights suitable for all but the most turbid conditions. My HID light has been off for repairs these past couple weeks, and I've been using my DRIS 1000 lumen backup light instead. For less than $100 USD, it gives me more than adequate light for night dives in typical Puget Sound conditions, and would be more light than I'd need for diving in places with better than 30-foot visibility ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[stuartv]

Dive Gear Express DGX 600

https://www.divegearexpress.com/dgx-600-handheld-light

$50 for the light, with a decent quality battery (mine both tested out around 2600 mAh), and a charger. I have 2 of the lights, thus 2 of the batteries. I tested them with an Opus BT-C3400 smart charger/tester.

They claim 600 lumens, but you may notice the light uses the same LED emitter (Cree XM-L2 (bin U2)) that are in a lot of other dive lights (like the DRiS/HOG Morph, etc.) that claim 1000 lumens. The DGX 600 is a BRIGHT light.

The DGX 600 also uses 1 18650 rechargeable battery. That means it's pretty compact and I find it comfortable to use with a soft Goodman-style handle on the back of my hand. A longer light body would hit my wrist/arm if I tried to angle my hand up. I also find it a nice length to have snapped to a D-ring on my harness shoulder strap and then stick the big end through a bungee loop or rubber band lower down the shoulder strap. I have one longer light and the length makes it harder for me to get the big end through a rubber band lower down the shoulder strap.

And the burn time is good. I have used mine on a number of dive days to wrecks where I used the light for most or all of a 2 dives in one day and I have never had it get dim or run out by the end of the second dive.

It is a twist-on type switch, so it does take two hands. I don't have a can light, so my 600s are my primary and backup. If it's a low viz dive, I usually just turn my primary on at the start and leave it on, even if it's still just clipped to my harness.

I would like it even better if it had one-handed on/off and a battery indicator. But, what do you want for 50 bucks?!

At $50 each, I think 1 or 2 of these make an awesome light (or lights) for OW diving and will become awesome backup lights if/when I eventually get a can light.

 

[phoenix31tt]

Well, IM(NSH)O wide angle lights suck cojones for night diving. They may be great for GoPro footage, but they're completely useless for light signals. Give me a spot every time.

Hence the dris shorty... But maybe it's me the only light signal I give in the night is to get my buddy's attention if necessary... And that's very easy with the wide angle (but at night I'm shooting gopro footage as well so they act as primary, if I'm not shooting then the dris is on). Other signals are hand in light after that, which is easier on the eyes with a wide angle vs a spot


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gopbroek]

I like the DGX MAX (I think the mag switch is an improvement over the DGX 600, but otherwise the same light). I carry both a spot and the video wide angle. I spend a lot of time in dark places looking for Lion Fish and sometimes the softer defused video light can be used to prevent spooking them as a tight beam sometimes does when hunting. The narrow beam works great for looking into holes in daylight or on night dives. At $50 with rechargeable battery and charger it is pretty competitive with the other general purpose lights out there.

 

[Storker]

maybe it's me the only light signal I give in the night is to get my buddy's attention if necessary... And that's very easy with the wide angle (but at night I'm shooting gopro footage as well so they act as primary, if I'm not shooting then the dris is on). Other signals are hand in light after that, which is easier on the eyes with a wide angle vs a spot

Which is why I said IM(NSH)O Diff'rent folks, diff'rent strokes. I prefer to use my light for signaling on night dives. Both the "OK" and the "attention" signal is difficult to give properly with my light on WA. The beam is just too wide for signaling. While other signals are given hand in light, I find it awkward to give the "OK?" "OK!" that way, while it's very easy and convenient to use the light spot. The "attention" signal even more.

As for light brands and models, every diver has to decide which signaling protocol fits them and their style best.

 

[stuartv]

I like the DGX MAX (I think the mag switch is an improvement over the DGX 600, but otherwise the same light). I carry both a spot and the video wide angle. I spend a lot of time in dark places looking for Lion Fish and sometimes the softer defused video light can be used to prevent spooking them as a tight beam sometimes does when hunting. The narrow beam works great for looking into holes in daylight or on night dives. At $50 with rechargeable battery and charger it is pretty competitive with the other general purpose lights out there.

I had a DGX Max and a DGX 600. The Max died for no apparent reason after I'd only had it for 2 months. DGX replaced it, no problem, and, at my request, gave me another 600 instead of a Max.

I got the Max because I thought it would be nicer to have a light I could turn on and off with one hand. But, the Max twist ring was just stiff enough that I usually could not turn it with one hand under water (i.e. wet, possibly with gloves on).

Also, the on/off ring on the Max did not have anything to really let me distinguish it by feel. I had to actually look at it to make sure I was turning the correct thing. I tried to turn it on once without looking and realized I had turned the light head and not the on/off ring. Fortunately, I did not turn it enough to let water in. It was numerous dives later that it actually turned up dead.

Also I note that SOP is to turn the light on before unclipping it from the harness. Turning the Max on (using only one hand) while clipped to my harness was even more difficult. And, seeing the light to be sure I was turning the on/off ring and not the light head was also sometimes challenging with it still clipped to my harness.

If the light is going to require two hands to turn on, then I'd rather have the bulletproof simplicity of the 600. Not to mention the 3 O-ring seal on the 600 seems like it might be more reliable than the 2 O-ring seal on the Max.

The 600 may require 2 hands to turn on, but it is certainly easy to do, and do so reliably, with it clipped to my harness.

Maybe I got a bum Max. Does your on/off ring turn easily using just one hand to hold the light and turn it on?

---------- Post added November 16th, 2015 at 05:15 PM ----------

I have 2 of Archon d11v (or some version of it) that i use with my gopro.

I also have a D11V for use with my GoPro. Like Storker, I don't find it very useful for signaling. And I do wish it was on/off with only one hand. But, for the same reasons mentioned above, I like it better than the DGX Max (wide angle) for video use. And I like that the D11V allows you to turn it off and back on quickly to change the mode from High to Low to Strobe.

And the D11V is the same LED emitter as the DGX 600, DGX Max, DRiS/HOG Morph, etc.. So, it puts out a pretty good amount of light for a small light with just one battery (an 18650).

 

[dmaziuk]

El cheapos:

• one of these: TOMTOP LED Submarine Light Diving Flashlight Underwater Torch Waterproof CREE Q5 Lamp - Basic Handheld Flashlights - Amazon.com -- died after a few battery replacements, the emitter fell off the PCB, plus
• two of these: Amazon.com: Lerway 800lm Lumen CREE XML T6 LED Waterproof Underwater Diving High light Lamp 18650 Flashlight Torch: Sports & Outdoors (total of 3 for the two of us). They're twist-to-flood, that sucks especially underwater where the metal bit gets slippery, but otherwise they were OK until my buddy dropped hers somewhere around Salt Pier. Replaced with
• one of these: Amazon.com : FREETOO® Waterproof 1800 Lumens XM-L T6 LED 8 Switch Mode Diving Light Adjustable Focus Range : Sports & Outdoors
• and I'm probably getting a 3-LED kind like the one posted by Doby or similar for the 3rd light. Though I'm not sure on the runtime of a single-battery version.

Main problem with the last two is 26650 batteries that are about the worst ones to buy right now: 90% of them a .cn junk including the expensive ones (counterfeit .cn junk). The single-LED 26650 does a couple of hours off a freshly charged battery before it starts noticeably losing brightness.

PS. Ignore the lumen ratings on the cheap LED ones: they've very dim lumens down in the People's Republic.


Plus two of these Amazon.com : Trident LED Light Stick Dive Light-Blue : Sports & Outdoors for night dives -- but today I'd've bought the "firefly" versions instead.

 

[Littlerayray]

Uwk kinetics e led wrist mount light it's lite very powerful doesn't get in the way