Non-canister light that's still useful in Moneterey

[eellenoff]

I'm looking at dive lights, and any canister lights except DIY are out of my range. I'm looking for a light that would work well as primary in tropical dives (day/night) with the criteria that it should still be useful in Monterey. I'm hoping for something that could add color to Monterey day dives, and then if I wind up going down the canister route would serve as a solid backup. I was looking at Underwater Kinetics SL3 LED Light - Dive Right In Scuba - Plainfield, IL and wanted to see if anyone has experience with it.

It's been a while since I dove with an LED light (4 years actually, so things may well have changed), but my recollection is that they are super bright when shined in your eyes, but do surprisingly little to illuminate the stuff you want to see, and what they do illuminate, they really wash out, and you're left with very little color. Have bulb temperatures / something else gotten better so that this is no longer the case?

I know there are some PrincetonTec Xenon Shockwave lights around the same price point, although they seem to have quality issues...would those be more or less useful out here in lighting through murk?

 

[andrewy]

many use this: DealExtreme: $78.83 Diving Cree SSC-P7-C-SXO 3-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight Kit (2*18650/4*CR123A/4*16340)
get extra set of batteries while there, and read on these lights for usage pointers.

 

[Ben_ca]

They have that UK SL3 light at AWS and we were checking it out...it's affordable and you can build up your gear in small bites
Looks pretty promising. We haven't tested it out in the ocean yet but when someone does maybe well get some feedback

 

[fdog]

The killer in your spec is primary light during the day in the tropics. You would not believe the horsepower it takes to signal effectively in 100' of vis, at 60' over a white sandy bottom in bright sunlight.

...I would look around for a used 10 watt can light, that is the minimum I would suggest, even on a cloudy Monterey day.


All the best, James

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

I have tested several lights out recently and the one standout is the Intova Ultra. It is my new primary light for offshore stuff and a great primary for cavern. You can put it in a hand sock for hands free operation, just a great light and a great price. Check it out at www.caveadventurers.com they may have some specials on them now. Its not gonna perform like say a 21 watt but its brighter than some of the 10w leds I tested it against.

 

[deadbilly]

Just so you know, it looks like there are a number of pretty good deals on 10W HID lights in the marketplace forum right now. I lurked there for a while and found an 18W for a song.

 

[aquaregia]

I used my Intova ICOM in the Spiegel swimthroughs and was pretty happy with it, and it's what I use in Monterey as well. It not be as nice as what you're looking for, but it was $45 @ B&H, so I figure it's good bang for the buck. The push-button switch is easy to use, but fails eventually, however they're super cool about giving new ones on warranty. Wouldn't carry it without a backup though.

I was really surprised at the performance of the old Scouts recently. They look crappy in the bathroom of the LDS, but enjoyed diving with them when my Intova was in for warranty replacement.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Here in San Diego, our circle of dive buddies uses can lights (expensive), the UK Light Cannon ($180-$200), and Princeton Tec Shockwave LEDs ($90-$110). The Light Cannons are nice, but the HID bulb is costly ($60-$80) and fragile. My buddies have had a few issues over the years with their Light Cannons which necessitated dropping them off at the UK service center. On the bright side, the UK folks have provided excellent customer service. It's particularly convenient that the UK factory is located in Vista, CA, just a short drive away from us.

I've been using the Princeton Tec Shockwave LED for years. Compared to the Light Cannon, the LED light is whiter and not nearly as bright. Performance-wise, it's just not in the same league as the Light Cannon. Still, it's good enough for our local waters (green water, typical vis 10-15 ft.). We've used them successfully on trips to the Monterey area. I do appreciate being able to get about 8-9 night dives in-between charges (the light requires 8 C batteries). I purchased the Powerex brand batteries from Thomson Distributing and highly recommend them. All things considered, the Shockwave eLED has been a low-cost, robust, good-enough lighting solution. After years of use, the rubber sleeve on the bezel fell off and was lost at sea. Princeton Tec sent out a replacement free of charge. I appreciated that and view it as evidence of good customer service.

If the Shockwave eLED is bright enough for you and you plan to travel with the light, you may want to consider the Princeton Tec Miniwave. It's a 4 C version of the Shockwave eLED which is supposed to throw out a comparable amount of light. The trade-off is that you'll need to charge the batteries more frequently

As with most dive gear, selection of a dive light for CA diving comes down to your budget.
Got several hundred dollars to spend? Can light.
Got a couple hundred dollars to spend? Light Cannon.
Only have one hundred dollars to spend? Princeton Tec Shockwave or Miniwave LED.
If possible, borrow these lights from dive buddies and test-dive them before buying anything.

As others have mentioned, a used 10W can light might be an acceptable solution, depending on your budget.

Hope this info helps...

 

[merxlin]

many use this: DealExtreme: $78.83 Diving Cree SSC-P7-C-SXO 3-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight Kit (2*18650/4*CR123A/4*16340)
get extra set of batteries while there, and read on these lights for usage pointers.

I have one of these and it is bright! Tight beam, with some overspill. Works very well in SoCal waters.

 

[fisheater]

You shouldn't give up on a can light.

As the new lights get snapped up by the folks on the leading edge of technology, you can savor their "cast offs" in the used market.