Night Diving in New England - Light Selection

[mer]

Hey all,

I've read the posts on night diving lights in the equipment forums - now my question is: What is the best kind of (primary) light for night diving in the New England area? Considering our (low) vis, types of sea life, and that we usually have thick gloves on - I figured it might be a bit different. On what criteria do you select a light for our area?


[Looking for advice in general, but I'm currently hemming and hawing between:
1) UK C8 (pistol) and that's it,
2) UK HID Light Cannon (pistol/lantern) and that's it,
OR
3) UK C8 and saving money for the Light Cannon, or a canister light several years down the road.
]

Harass away... and I'll see you on the water soon!

 

[MSilvia]

I use a UK C8 for a primary, and carry a AA8 as a backup.

 

[MASS-Diver]

I have a "cheap" canister light (Dive Rite WrecK Model w/ 6deg bublb) and I love it. I wish I had not wasted $200 on a Princton tech recharable first though.

With the goodman handle, there's nothing to hold in your hand and I love the color of the light.

Great for hunting bugs too.

 

[reefseal]

I have a UK C8 as primary. Works great with gloves. On one trip, discovered light was not locked all way and light turned in bag which drained batteries. Also, have to be careful to not OVER TIGHTEN before packing for flight. I did this once and could never unscrew light to replace batteries. The Dive shop at resort tried every tool including "Ramon", their biggest Dive Master. I ended up buying a light there.

Luis

 

[AllenG]

The UK HID Light Cannon is an outstanding tribute to the inadequate engineering of said company. Short burn time, crappy bulbs, expensive to replace fragile bulbs. Everyone is impressed by it when it first comes on, but it's so easy to break and sucks down batteries so fast, you will come to regret it.

 

[jonnythan]

AllenG once bubbled...
The UK HID Light Cannon is an outstanding tribute to the inadequate engineering of said company. Short burn time, crappy bulbs, expensive to replace fragile bulbs. Everyone is impressed by it when it first comes on, but it's so easy to break and sucks down batteries so fast, you will come to regret it.

It's only a 10W bulb. How can it use batteries faster than my 13.2 watt C8?

 

[large_diver]

Mer,

I have a UK C8 -- for the money, I think it is a decent light. I don't particularly love pistol grip lights, since they require your entire hand to keep the beam directed....but for $60+, although not the brightest light in the world, it's not a bad deal and pretty durable. I have dropped it at least a few times and it keeps on ticking....

-Chris

 

[bobbob]

I use the C8 with some modifications. The biggie is I changed one of the 13W bulbs with a 30W bulb. Non-rechargeable batteries will not drive this bulb. (They have too much internal resistance and cannot provide the necessary current). So I use NiMh. These batteries are wimpy at 2.2 Amp Hour but you can get up to 4.5 Amp Hour on the net (www.nimhbattery.com/). The NiMh batteries have a lower voltage so they drive the 30W bulb at about 23 Watts, which under drives the bulbs for longer life, and the 23 Watts is similar to the 10W HID for output. The HID is a different color of light and more focused so the lights are not identical.

My light does not have the turn on problem of HID so I can turn it on and off whenever I want and better yet I have a low and high beam. I do not get the burn time of the HID but I do a lot of my diving with the low beam and use the 30W (23W) beam only when required. I do not do dives of much over an hour so the battery life is not a problem and I can change batteries between dives. There is more cost with more batteries but still a cheap way to go.

 

[Jimbiana]

I've recently gotten certified for my open water and after looking around for a good light I went with the Princeton Tec Ultimate Dive Light Set which included the Shockwave 2, The Surge and the Sea Star. I got a great deal on that package for $90 at inland divers in leicester, ma. The guys there are great, and they definately have some of the lowest prices on all of there items. Plus there willing to stand behind everything they sell. I know its a senseless plug but they definately get my vote for a number one dive shop.

 

[Damselfish]

Just before leaving for a trip I realized we were short on lights - had a assortment that either died or I couldn't find bulbs for. So I picked up a Surge at the last minute. This makes a really nice backup or something to peek in holes during the day - bright but very easy to stuff in a pocket, and should be easy to operate with gloves. I liked it so much I bought the 3 light package. The Shockwave replaces a 4D UK light which was too bulky for what it was. I like the hi-low settings on the Shockwave (most of the time I use low), and it's easier to pack.