Needing a new light... Under $150

[Diver DennisP]

Im looking for a new light as a primary. I'd rather not spend over $150.

Uses:
Tropical waters 100'+ vis
Lake Michigan 20-75' vis

HID or LED?? which is "better"

I think i might like a pistol grip so thats an option

Night dives in the tropics

Something that will have good penetration in murky waters yet Will have a good adjustable range for good perif. light

I'm just now starting to research but figured i'd save some time and pick the brains of all you smart and knowledgable people first.

Thanks in advance
Dennis

 

[Hatul]

For a compact light, I'll suggest the new Dorcy. If it's an improvement over their previous, it should be a fine light. It's a 6 AAA light that can take Ni-Mh batteries and costs under $50.

http://www.dorcydirect.com/p-163-41-0467-220-lumen-submersible-led-light-dive-ii.aspx

Adam

 

[DiveGear4Less]

You have a lot of options at that price if you go with LED. LED is also much more robust than HID and has come a long way. In fact, more and more wreck and cave divers are beginning to use LED canister lights as their primary lights. Check out the lights we sell - DG4L lights. You can get a couple of lights if you want, or use the additional money for something else. Wait until Saturday and you can get an additional 10% off.

 

[adm3745]

The intova 4.7 w LEDs are awesome and only $40 from divegearexpress.com. The brightest light for the money is form DealExtreme: Cool Gadgets at the Right Price - Site-Wide Free Shipping (Page 1) . Search for Cree diving light. It is $81 for the SSC P7 LED, is rechargable and is around 500 lumens.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

Save your money and pick up an HID....you'll never regret it....

 

[TSandM]

I don't think you will find any kind of HID light within your budget, even used. Which is fine, because the small LED lights are great.

The problem is that two of your proposed uses really require different kinds of lights. The tropical night dive doesn't require a very intense light, and it's fine if it's not laser-focused. The murky water, on the other hand, needs an intense and sharply focused light to cut through the particulates.

For tropical night diving, I like my Salvo Rat, Jr.. It is a moderately bright light with a somewhat diffuse beam. For backup in Puget Sound, the Dorcy mentioned above has impressed me. It's as nice a beam as my Scouts with the LED upgrade, but is a smaller light. The issues with it have been a) the hole in the end is sharp and cuts cave line (I think they have changed that on the newest ones; b) we've had one flood, and c) it's very sensitive to turning itself on at depth, so you have to keep an eye on it when you do your initial descent to make sure it isn't running during your dive.

The one light I would recommend against is the Oxycheq Raider IV. Although this is the best backup-type light I've ever used in terms of brightness and focus, the lights have proven to be unacceptably unreliable in the hands of multiple users. It's really a shame.

 

[keithdiver]

Lynn What was your problem with the oxycheq raider? I have one , and have had no problems with it.

 

[HenrikBP]

I've been keeping an eye on this light from MB-Sub:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mb-sub/301508-much-more-than-backup-torch.html

A bit more than you mention your budget to be though ...

If it works as advertised it could be the best of multiple worlds. I have yet to see any end user, real life reviews, but I like the concept and the options.

Here's a short video of the light in use. They turn the beam to wide at the end of the video:

YouTube - MBSub X1 Light

Henrik

 

[adm3745]

Cree just released a new LED (Cree XP-G) that is said to get 330 Lumens at 3 watts. If any dive companies pick this up, there will be some serious brightness packed into a backup sized light.