Need advise for both primary and back up lights

[Corleone]

its salt water here, visibility range from 5 - 10 m, it get to 15 but thats rarely. i have looked at DRIS, dorcy, intova, seac r1 plus some others and still confused.

for some reason, night diving is not that popular here, we get about 1 or 2 dives a month, if it comes down to me i would do it daily. so spending $1000 - $2000 is not reasonable in this case.

-i need a primary light for night diving, would DRIS shorty or dorcy or any of the example listed above perform good enough or should i get one of those big lights like the uk? they are classified as back up in most websites which makes me feel as if im driving in the wrong side.

- i would use the back up for day diving ( wrecks, reefs )

would like to be able to switch between wide to narrow beam if possiable.

any recommendations or advise? by the way, since i will be buying online, customer service is out of question but light should be well built.

 

[fisheater]

Where's "here"?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[buddhasummer]

This light is very well made and very versatile, I highly recommend it. It's my local back up and travel primary.

mb-sub.com: X1 - VB LED-flashlight

 

[TSandM]

In similar visibility here in Puget Sound, I can tell you that the Dorcy lights, although decent backups, won't give you enough light to see very much at night. The beam is simply too small. The Sola lights are a very good alternative, but almost everybody hates the soft Goodman handle.

 

[Dive-aholic]

SEAC just introduced the R10, R6, and R2. All are very impressive lights. The R10 is a great light that would be sufficient in a cave IMO. And the price is great.

 

[Candiru]

I've got a Hollis led 15 canister in the classified section that would be a great light for you.

 

[The Chairman]

I like the Sola too as well as the soft handle. It rocks.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Everyone has there favorite lights. Most people have also gone through several learning experiences and replaced lights or found better ones. Personally, although I recognize the superior attributes of the nice can lights, I can't afford them. So I will share the downsides of what I have learned.

1) Anything plastic can and will break, simply every plastic light I have had is dead or re-purposed to household use.

2) Slide switches tend to get turned on by accident and discharge the light before my dive :-(

3) Dynamic O-rings fail due to grit, if your light is twist on you need at lead double o-rings. The outer one essentially protects the inner one from grit as they are twisted on/off.

4) Single use batteries are acceptable for me, but I need to use common sizes (AA or C) because the odd-sizes are way to expensive on-site.

5) I have a DRIS shorty with the glove to hold it for night night dives. It gives off plenty of light and is priced right. The twist on/off switch is however near impossible to use when in the glove. The batteries are AA, cheap and easy to get, but good for for a single one hour dive. This kills it for a day dive where I want hours of light, on/off all the time.

6) I used the 3C cell DRIS for day dives. It also gives off plenty of light (1000 Lumen) and the batteries last many hours, so it becomes my day dive light of choice. It it however big and heavy.

7) I have yet to experience too much light. I have a 200Lumen Intova which used to seem bright enough, but I seem to always grab to 1000 Lumen DRIS lights.

 

[Dive-aholic]

You should check out the SEAC lights. They meet all of your requirements - metal housing, magnetic switch (except the R1 which is push button), double o-rings, AA or AAA batteries, Minimum 2 hour burn time on max setting, small and light, and super bright!

 

[tracydr]

This light is very well made and very versatile, I highly recommend it. It's my local back up and travel primary.

mb-sub.com: X1 - VB LED-flashlight

I have an MB-sub 50 can light which is awesome.