Night Diving Accessories

[smw]

I never had trouble seeing my husband, he got a light cannon - that thing puts out so much light. All my gear is black and I had a crummy little light, so I agree with you all - tank light with own color and a backup light. I also agree about the strobe. Some other people had them and they were distracting.

We were on the Sun Dancer II. They lit that boat up like a xmas tree - so no problem there, but having a surface light in any other case is an excellent idea.

Thanks, everyone! I've still got so much to learn.

BTW the night dives there were way fun. I swear tarpon are evil fish though! They'd bump you to get you to shine the light on fish so they had an easier time hunting. Freaky, but fun.

 

[Damselfish]

BTW the night dives there were way fun. I swear tarpon are evil fish though! They'd bump you to get you to shine the light on fish so they had an easier time hunting. Freaky, but fun.

We were on SDII in May. The tarpon action is just nuts out there!

 

[crpntr133]

have you used one? are they any good?

I haven't used one but they seem to be the talk of the internet.

Here is a reply to the email that I sent to Glo-toob, not much help.

The intensity of a glo-toob is all dependant on its usage. What we mean by this is that it is a personal marker/recognition marker/item marker, and can be seen from a long distance away - appox. 2 miles and more. If one's intended use is as a "flashlight" - it is not ideal for this purpose. Although it supplies more than enough light to read a map/book, or find your way through the dark, its intended use is as a marker, and therefore one should keep this in mind when purchasing a Glo-toob, so as not to be mistaken that its use is similar to that of a flashlight. It can illuminate a tent or a small room quite adequately in terms of intensity.
If you have any other questions or requests, please do not hesitate to send us another email.

Thanks

Regards


The Glo-toob Guys

I had been communicating with this guy for most of the day trying to pry something out of him. This part really fried my mind. I guess the info is top secret...sshhh

Obviously, its original intended use was a replacement for the typical night dive cylume or chemical stick, although it has now diversified into many other markets, particularly the military. For this reason, we prefer not to mention all the specs - exact wavelengths and intensities, firstly as the military would prefer us not to, but also because not all the specs are the same - they vary from toob to toob, depending on its intended use - for example, the military prefer different specs to the civilian units, and the emergency services yet another spec, etc. If you had in your possession a backing card for a unit, you will see that inside the backing card are the instructions, AND MOST OF THE SPECS! We are busy updating our website slowly, and it will have more specs at some point anyways, as well.




So this morning I sent him off another email that was a little bit smart. It will be interesting to see what he has to say.

 

[The Natural]

Primary light, backup light, use chem sticks attatched to your tank for identification. I also attach a strobe to the anchor line to help find my way back as well.

 

[crpntr133]

Did some searching tonight and found a link to a review on the Glo-toob, sounds like a winner. It gives the light meter readings and burn time and compares it to another type of light. click

 

[Diver0001]

Primary light, backup light, and tank light are all you should need. Strobes can be distracting, and can mess with your dive buddy's night vision.

If he had difficulty finding you, that would seem to indicate that you and he were not close enough to each other to maintain good visual contact. I would work on that aspect of your buddy skills, rather than add another light ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

It depends to some extent where you attach it. If you attach it to the middle of the tank(s) via the cam band, for example, and your buddy contact is any good then he'll only see it (it will even grab his attention) if you have your back to him, which is when you want your buddy to see it.....

I will use it like this for night diving when I have students or inexperienced divers with me. I've noticed by doing so that the incidents of separation have dropped to almost zero. With experienced buddies I don't have problems with getting separated so I don't use the strobe.

I also use it on the OW check out dives to make myself noticeable from behind. We train in poor visibility and it helps students recognise you. One of the instructors I work with has a small stuffed parrot on his cam band for the same reason but I like the strobe because it's active and somehow (at least for some people) gives them some peace of mind. I think if they see it doing something that some people get the impression that you're actively thinking about them.... maybe psychological mumbo-jumbo but it seems to work.

I've tried other electronic glow-sticks but they're not up to the abuse an active diver will give them. Chem stick are a good alternative but they'll lead you into the discussion about pollution by chemical vs. pollution by dead battery.....

R..

 

[crpntr133]

work.

I've tried other electronic glow-sticks but they're not up to the abuse an active diver will give them. Chem stick are a good alternative but they'll lead you into the discussion about pollution by chemical vs. pollution by dead battery.....

R..

Reading the review that I posted the link to, I think it would be hard to break a Glo-toob. I do agree that most of the others are pretty crappy but most weren't made for diving either.

I also found out with the FX version you have to turn the light on and wait 4 seconds and turn it off quickly and back on to change modes. Another site suggested to turn the "switch" till the light just does come on and then hit the other end into the palm of your hand. It breaks the curcuit just enough to cause it to change.

 

[Diver0001]

Reading the review that I posted the link to, I think you would be hard to break a Glo-toob. I do agree that most of the others are pretty crappy but most weren't made for diving either.

I've never seen a glo-toob. It usually takes new things like this about 36 years before they show up on the shelves in Holland (if ever). Next time I'm on vacation in Canada I'll check them out.

R..

 

[dukeh20]

I got my Go-Toob on Ebay also and dove with it in Bonaire a few weeks ago. It worked great. I bought the red one and used it on the flash mode on several night dives. The batteries are easy to replace. I forgot to silicone the o-ring the first time and got a little water in it the first time. I dried it out, replaced the battery and it worked fine. I can see where the battery would last quite a while at an hour a dive and figuring what little "juice" the thing probably uses. I really like how small it was for the amount of light it gives off. The last thing I need is some other clumbsy thing ahbging off my BC.

 

[cinder4320]

So regarding the Glo-toob which model would you recommend? There is the normal one the FX and IR.

Miranda