Monterey Dive Light

[FishDiver]

I am sorting my gear into "bring to California" and "Ebay in Australia" piles. I can't decide what to do with my canister light.

The light is about 8 years old but extremely rugged. It uses standard 20-100 watt halogen bulbs that can be purchased cheaply at Walmart or Home Depot. The drawback is that it is big and heavy, about the size of a half-gallon milk container. The lens and bulb are integrated into the battery section, a huge hand-held unit.

Anything I would buy to replace this light would cost about $500. My question is, do many divers carry lights for day dives in Monterey? I am not accustomed to diving in such murky water and thought they might be common for signaling, examining beds of kelp forests, etc.

I know the DIR answer to my question, so I would like to hear from others. Are lights common for day dives and if yes how much power is recommended?

 

[cmburch]

I carry a small 4AA LED light on my speargun for looking in rocks and crevices. I do not use it in the kelp except for looking in and around rocks. A 4C LED would normally suffice during the day for looking under ledges and in rocks. I have never signaled with a light during the day underwater.

 

[Gombessa]

I can't decide what to do with my canister light.
...

The lens and bulb are integrated into the battery section, a huge hand-held unit.

Sorry, I'm a little confused here. Typically, a canister light implies that the battery compartment is separate from the light head, with the two parts connected by a flexible cord.

As for lights, there are plenty of non-DIR divers here who use lights on most/all local dives, though I wouldn't say it's any more a necessity in our waters than anywhere else (I dove for over a year with only a seldom-deployed backup light). The night diving here is great as well, and having a good light really makes a difference with those dives.

Finally, DIR or not, having a real can light with a goodman handle can make diving a lot more fun. It's essentially hands-free, you never have to dangle the light from a lanyard as you try to do anything, and it's harder to drop/lose the light.

 

[laughingman]

I always prefer having a light in Monterey. I've got a UK Light Cannon. Since I got a housing for my D200 I use it as my focus light.
I don't know that my desire for light would be worth carrying a half-gallon size cannister though.

 

[fisheater]

Most divers that I've seen have a small light with them, which is used for looking into nooks and crannies. They're not used for routine signalling.

 

[Peter_C]

I remember one dive in Monterey off a boat, where the people without lights were coming back up the line as we were on our way down. The day became night as we descended down the anchor line into 80 feet of water. Thanks to our canister lights we had another great dive.

In bad vis a bright light is mandatory for keeping track of your buddy. Our lights have kept us from getting separated for more than a few seconds, even when you can not see the other person, their light shines through.

Plus all the cool creatures are in the nooks and crannies.

At the least an Oxycheq Raider with a hand sock will illuminate the way.

 

[spoolin01]

Your surmise is right, a small light is routinely very useful for daytime diving for the 80%+ of spring/summer/fall diving where visibility is 10 ft or less. It's key for staying buddied up. I like the UK SL4 or SL6 for their more focussed beam.

 

[Peter_C]

I like the UK SL4 or SL6 for their more focussed beam.

Then take a look at the new Oxycheq Raider III It has a really hot spot and I am a light snob. Plus for under $200 with a sock it is a steal.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Your surmise is right, a small light is routinely very useful for daytime diving for the 80%+ of spring/summer/fall diving where visibility is 10 ft or less.

You must be diving in all the wrong places or times. I only see 10'
or less vis a couple of times a year.


A light is very useful in Monterey. I carry an Ikelite mini-C on my
camera so the autofocus can see. Why the mini-C? It's bright
enough to work, it's relatively cheap ($28 IIRC), it runs on
standard C-cells (I use NiMh rechargeables), and there's a nice
bracket from Ultralight.

I also carry an UK 2L light as a backup, bungied to my left
shoulder strap. Why the 2? This is my "oh **** I've been swept
away from the boat, and I need to attract the CG helo's attention"
light. The 2L runs on lithium batteries, which makes it small for
its output and run time, and has a narrow beam, which is good for
getting attention at a distance.

 

[spoolin01]

You must be diving in all the wrong places or times. I only see 10'
or less vis a couple of times a year.

They do seem wrong... a lot, I admit!! Mostly Sonoma coast in spring and summer. It's a little longer drive but the camping and proximity of dive sites to the launch are a plus over Monterey. Also the seafood buffet. Monterey and Carmel seem to have slightly better viz in my limited experience, but not by a whole lot. I'm going to try to get down there a few more times this winter - we had incredible conditions on a shore dive into Whaler's Cove last Feb.

I use the Ike Mini-C for a routine day light when viz is better and I'm not poking in holes much. It seems more prone to flooding than the SLs, but I like the clip for easy mounting. I'm a huge fan of NiMH too. Do you have an opinion about the NanoFocus modeling light? That quenching feature caught my eye... I'd like to add a modeling light to my simple P&S/slave rig, but the Mini-C seems a little bulky.