New main dive light under €100

[mikeynl]

Hello, I'm looking to buy a new dive light. Just a little profile of me, I'm an instructor, and would mainly use the light during the day, to point at things under ridges and the like. Of course there I tend to dive in tropical water with good visibility, and little particles that could scatter the light.

So far I've had an Xtar D06, and I was pretty happy with it (until it leaked), though the button got stuck when I dived near volcanic ash (something magnetic?) and the light was a bit bright for muck diving. So I'd like to get a new light that:

- costs less than €100
- possibly has a wider beam, or at least the option
- has a simple torch model
- is pretty light so I can always carry it on me
- works on rechargeable batteries (like the 18650)
- made of metal, not plastic

Any ideas? There's just so many options. I still have the battery of the Xtar D06 and saw a good offer for the Xtar D26 without battery so I'm tempted to buy that one (the button seems better on that too). Any other ideas?

By the way, is there any lights that you can recharge without having to open it up, like you charge phones wirelessly? Or are they just ridiculously expensive?

Thanks!

 

[tbone1004]

1-R105T Handheld Light – ANO Online Shop

very happy with these as primaries in OW and backups in caves. If you are pointing at stuff during the day, you want a fairly tight beam otherwise it will wash out very quickly.

Unlikely to find something with external charging in that budget/size range. Many have them, but they are typically only found on the premium canister lights ~$1k+ since external charging is a bit large to work with. QI charging is way too slow for a battery the size of an 18650.

 

[stuartv]

I have 2 of the D26 and they are great! They come with a sleeve adapter that will let you use your 18650 batteries in them. Or, of course, you can use a 26650.

I know the older D26 lights had an issue with the button. Basically, it would have air under it when you got in. After a few presses, you could squeeze all the air out and then the O-ring around the button would prevent water from getting in, so it would have sort of a reverse hydraulic lock holding the button down.

On those older lights, you can fix it by taking the button off, removing the O-ring, and putting it back together. The newer D26 lights have, apparently, got a redesigned button so they don't have that problem any more.

I have never tried a D06, but the D26 definitely can be too bright for some things - if you have it on High or Turbo mode. Medium or Low are very nice for times when you don't want it to be so bright.

 

[Doby45]

I will second the D26 as an excellent light. I also have two and use them a backups in cave and primary in open water. As Stuart mentioned you can use either the 18650 battery or the 26650 battery and I am getting over an hour and a half on high with my 26650 battery..