Night Dive Lumens

[RIHappyDiver]

@boulderjohn & @jgttrey, I like what you’re both suggesting. What would be the max lumens you would suggest for a tropical night dive light. Also, are there a couple of lights that you could recommend in that range. Might as well do some more research before pulling the trigger on a new light.

Thanks,

Erik

 

[jgttrey]

I don't know about max I recommend, per se. It depends on beam angle and the amount of spill. Raw lumens (to the extent various mfgs even measure the same way, which is a whole different topic) is only part of the equation. With that caveat, I'd say that with a narrow-ish beam, you'd want no less than a couple of hundred (which is plenty most of the time) and there's no need for anything beyond what you'd get from the plethora of 600-ish lumen lights like the DGX600.

I use the DGX light because they are cheap, bullet proof and great backups for my non-recreational dives. May be a little overkill for a clear water night dive. It'd be perfect if they had lower power modes.

My recommendation? Look at a Kraken NR-650. I have several buddies that use them and they are good stuff. About the same price as a DGX600, a little less bulky and they offer several power modes, so you can dial it down if you want. The 600 is either on or off, full blast.

Another recommendation: most of the lights that run on 18650 cells ship with 2600 mAh cells of "okay" quality. Do yourself a favor and get a couple of better Panasonic 3400 mAh cells from a REPUTABLE seller like Mountain Electronics. There are multiple threads about 18650 cells so I won't go into all of that except to tell you to avoid anything from "trustfire" and be aware that there is lots of scamming and puffery so you can't just buy off Amazon and hope for the best. But, if you take the time to do your homework and get a good 3400 mAh cell, you'll get significantly better run times.

 

[Landlocked123]

Thanks fort the input on the batteries jgttrey. I am going to look into getting some. No issue with the ones I have so far but they are relatively cheap so why not go with something more reliable. The one thing I forgot to add is the charger. The DGX 600's come with a charger. Its ok but its my understanding its not balanced etc. I purchaed a better charger that can charge all batteries in that 18..family and also shows charge status hi, med, lo etc and it seems to charge faster and more fully also.

 

[jgttrey]

At one point when I had more free time, I did rundown comparisons between the standard 2600 battery that came with my DGX lights and 3400 mAh protected panasonic cells. Lacking any actual measurement equipment, threw one DGX600 with a stock cell and another with a 3400 cell in the bathtub (to stay cool) and left them on.

Periodically I would compare with a third light, which I turned off in between (so it was always fresh and full power) so I could get a sense of when dropoff was occurring.

IIRC, I got 10-15 minutes of additional full or near full power out of the 3400 cell and, again IIIRC, at least that much more time before the output dropped below what I would consider a useful level.

The DGX "stock" cell is fine quality wise, at least insofar as I can tell. Just has a lower capacity. Since you can buy a higher capacity cell for about 10 bucks, it seems like a no-brainer.

 

[maj2]

Good points all around. in Clear water less is more. Jedi Sabers not needed

I can't like this post enough.
Last thing I want on a night dive is to have things lit up like daylight.
I have a couple of Light and Motion Gobe lights and an iTorch Mercuric II, all in the 700 to 800 lumen range on high. While night diving, I do not think that I have ever had need to use them on anything brighter than the lowest setting. The brighter settings are only for peeking in dark spots in daylight.

 

[kelemvor]

When I first got certified, I brought 1000 lumen lights for night dives. Unfortunately, it's way too much for a night dive. You scare the critters off, and ruin everyone's night vision (if in a group). I recommend getting the smallest light you can get. I've taken to using a diverite "backup" light and putting my hand over the front. I make a slit between my fingers so a little light gets through.

If you're with a group, you'll find you can often just turn your light off. Lights from the other divers are more than enough.

I don't know what's in socal, but around FL there's some bioluminescent stuff that you just can't see if there are any lights on in the area. They tend to be very faint, so it doesn't take much to overpower them so you can't see their light.

 

[yle]

I use a 300 to 600 lumen light for night dives in so cal, and it's plenty bright enough. The fact is that your eyes will adjust to the lighting.

When I do night dives in Key Largo or the Caribbean, I grudgingly bring a 100 lumen light and typically turn it off for half of the dive... especially if there's a full (or close to full) moon. As kelemvor mentioned, there's almost always enough others in these dives that bring monster lights that you can turn yours off, get a couple hundred feet away from them, and see just fine.

The point of a night dive is to enjoy the night... not to try to turn it into day.

 

[Trailboss123]

I am a big fan of this dive light for both day dives and night dives in similar/identical conditions to the OP's. Bang for the buck is incredible. Pretty much bulletprooof/ industrial made and cuts through the murkiest of conditions. A tad heavy due to the three C batteries, but you can shave some lead from your weight belt to offset. Another upside is that you are not recharging after every dive (I get a good 10-12 hours before I notice a need to change out batteries). I have 5 years of experience with this dive light- as do all of my friends. Everyone is happy. It is also made in a Shorty or stubbier version. 1000 Lumen Dive Light

 

[CT-Rich]

I had a couple of Big Blue lights 600 and 1100. They are wide angle for video. A lot of the time I keep my fingers over the lens so I create just a narrow beam. I also have a pencil light that is great because the beam is so narrow. I doubt t is much more than 200 lumen. Too much light and you paralyze the fish and maybe even hurt them. Or they bolt away before you know they are there.

 

[Efka76]

I have Mares Rz20.... it is 2300 lm. During night dive i have a feeling that i am diving in a daylight