Perceived value and can lights

[MXGratefulDiver]

Visual confirmation that I've remembered to connect the battery connectors?

Before this gets too far out of control, I'm not trying to suggest that there is anything wrong with Terkels. If the people who use them find them reliable, and they are pleased with the performance, then I'm not going to criticize their decision.

However, I'm curious. There was a statement earlier in the thread that you can't adjust the beam below 20 feet or you risk damaging the threads.

I've needed to adjust my light beam much deeper than 20 feet. So I'm curious whether this is actually an issue and, if it is, how you handle the problem. In other words, is this really an issue or not?

For me ... no. As a matter of practice, I set my beam to the tightest possible spot and leave it there (regardless of which light I'm diving). The water here is typically rather turbid, and the tightest beam is the one that is almost always most desirable as it minimizes the amount of backscatter you'll have to deal with ... and produces the beam with the farthest possible range.

In point of fact, I find the Halcyon (and Salvo) solution to be less useful simply because the way the light is built, you want to loosen the screw for storage (or risk loosening the o-ring that seals your ballast to the light head), and so you have to remember to adjust the light beam on every dive. That's a minor thing, but something I don't have to do with my Terkel.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[JeffG]

My question is: Have these areas of percieved problems proven to be genuine problems in use? If not why hasn't the perception changed?

In the case of the Terkel Solly, the perceived problems are just that, but the light, as a whole, has some other flaws which may distract from any innovations it brought in.

But those innovations didn't solve any existing major problems except perhaps for maybe some manufacturing issues (which could lead to a cost reduction, but it couldn't lower it enough to overcome its other flaws)

 

[PerroneFord]

My question is: Have these areas of percieved problems proven to be genuine problems in use? If not why hasn't the perception changed?


Tobin

Trust is hard won, and easily lost.

Tobin, I didn't buy my BP/W from you, but your reputation precedes you and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from you, and I recommend your products to people I know. In fact, I recommended your setup to my dive buddy.

Other small manufacturers have also earned trust from me based on word of mouth or viewing their products. There are some things I MUCH prefer to source from a large company. Particularly those things were legal implications or high R&D costs to produce a quality product might play a role. A regulator for instance.

I have never been one to simply follow the crowd on what to buy. I buy what makes me feel good. I think technical divers seem to follow that (save for a small group).

The idea of plastic in life support gear is a pretty tough concept. In a similar vein, I remember Glock's woes in trying to convince people that it's polymer system would hold up. They set about proving it and have earned an enviable reputation for a quality product. I think overcoming initial perception is a hard thing, and once won, must be nurtured.

The Solly light may well be the best light in the world. And yet, I'd buy a different one because I have built up some trust in lights made by someone else. I guess that's what it comes down to for me.