Looking for a good primary light

[broncobowsher]

My 1k DRIS light has done me good. Still works but I am now diving to the point I should have upgraded long ago.

Looking for a big upgrade. Canister style. I can do a couple of hour plus dives in a day so I want some endurance. I want some power as well, the local lake will get an algae bloom on top, but it stays super clear at depth where the water is cold. That algae layer makes the bottom into a night dive in the middle of a bright summer day. Also do ocean and wreck. Budget about $1500 but not solid, I can wait (aren't we all) and save if I need to or spend less. No caves.

I think I have my rough specs down;
Able to travel
4k Lumen
LED (I've played with lights before and I don't need an HID
2.5+ hours at full power
Tight beam pattern.
Anything else?

The travel part appears to be pretty standard, but it is a must.

Local dealer suggested Dive Rite EX35 as a great bang for the buck. Hits most of the specs but the endurance of only an hour before output slowly fades away. If I were only doing a single dive, not an issue. I feel the battery is undersized for my needs

Underwater Light Dude LD40 looks promising. But they have not listed burn times yet, "working hard to update". But the sealed charge station looks good.

Light Monkey, They have so much different stuff I get lost. They add in a variable focus option, and models for rebreathers but don't really say much about them. I was even looking at some 32W versions but never priced them.

So after a couple days of shopping around, not being able to see product in hand myself, Long Beach dive show is canceled so that won't even work to see them in person. Time to throw this to the web and see what I get back. Filter out the fan boy responses, pay attention to comments about anyone who has had multiples or at least dives with people with other lights to get a reference. So what should I be looking at or avoiding?

 

[Johanan]

Ammonite is something worth exploring.

 

[grantctobin]

Given your constraints, I’d be between the LM 32VF and the LD40.

Advantages to LD40:
160wH tall can is guaranteed to fly
Stack caps if you want to later add suit heat
Modularity
Battery indicator status LED
Smaller head
Bobby is a great dude
The DiveRite video diffuser fits on the head and turns into a passable video light for paralenz/GoPro
New tighter beam is nice

Advantages LM:
20aH can is 230wH but the method they use to certify it as UN38.3? compliant is a very liberal interpretation. I have flown with mine on a few different occasions without issue but YMMV.
Cost is less
Variable focus (kind of a fad, I don’t change mine very often)


Don’t get too lost in the LM website. Know what burn time you need, whether you want a sidemount or a top mount head, and whether or not you want the 32W VF head or something smaller. If you need suit heat and only want one battery (I don’t like this if you’re in properly cold water for extended durations/overhead environment), you can get a head with two outlets. Unless you add an E/O wet mate onto that lighthead slug, you cannot make this change yourself. The UWLD equivalent adds effectively a cap onto your battery and you can do it in two minutes. Both have great customer service and stand behind their products. The UWLD heat controller is nicer than the LM Pitkin controller equivalent but I still don’t like having one battery for both applications.

 

[halocline]

I recently got the LM 20W variable power LED head to replace a HID head that was not repairable. I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but it's very bright, nice tight spot with a little spill. It's quite a bit brighter than the 21W HID head it replaced and supposedly has better burn time. With the 10ah canister I think it's about 5 hours on full power. I have high hopes for this light in caves.

If all you need is a 2 hours+ burn time, you don't really need a canister light. Something to consider. Another thing is that UWLD has a great reputation for service. LM is good IMO but not quite great anymore.

 

[Valyngar]

If you are euro, I would suggest looking at seaya 70w light. I am in process of getting one myself. Have been studying canned lights for few months now. Ammionite is other brand to look.

 

[Bobby]

My apologies on the burn time matrix for the new G6 not being posted yet. I've had parts back ordered, that will hopefully be here next week, that are needed to build lights and do the burn time testing. The watts on the LD-40 are about the same as the old LD-35, here is the old burn time matrix. As soon as I can run a batch of lights through burn tests to have real numbers I'll post a new matrix. The internals between the two are completely different, however I did check the draw of the LD-40 on the first batch, I just didn't have time to do burn tests.

 

[tbone1004]

@broncobowsher as @Bobby said above, don't expect the burn time matrix to change much, but do understand that when he quotes specs, you can truly count on them. I don't know of anyone with a UWLD that doesn't get at least the rated burn times because he makes sure that they are called out conservatively. I only know of one other light manufacturer who is not appropriate for this kind of light, who's lumen numbers I would actually trust, and you won't get better support if you need it.
I regularly dive with someone who has the 32W from Light Monkey, and I have also been in the water for probably 6 hours in the caves with an EX35. Get the new LD40...

 

[Caveeagle]

Are you stuck on a can light? I own a couple can lights including an EX35. For dives 3hrs and below, I have been very happy with my LX20 cordless light. Ability to carry spare batteries is also a huge plus as it runs off 4x 26650. I recently did 6 straight days of cave deriving in Mexico where our shortest dive was 2hrs. Several in my group used LX20 and HP50 cordless lights and they worked great, only light failure amongst 10 divers that week was a can light. I forget which brand....

 

[tbone1004]

Are you stuck on a can light? I own a couple can lights including an EX35. For dives 3hrs and below, I have been very happy with my LX20 cordless light. Ability to carry spare batteries is also a huge plus as it runs off 4x 26650. I recently did 6 straight days of cave deriving in Mexico where our shortest dive was 2hrs. Several in my group used LX20 and HP50 cordless lights and they worked great, only light failure amongst 10 divers that week was a can light. I forget which brand....

2.5hrs at 4k lumen? Not possible without one

 

[_Ralph]

I’ve been a big fan of the Halcyon Focus 2 ... I’m running the regular 5.5aH canister and it lasts quite a long time (sorry, I don’t have a high/low spec), but have run it overnight on low and it was still glowing in the morning....

Cuts a bit better than the LM 32w adjustable in the waters I typically dive, but then, the LM cuts a bit better in other places too.

Both have great service and repair (if needed).... I haven’t had to spend a penny on anything with Halcyon beyond the initial purchase (including brands under Halcyon) and shipping 1 way...

_R