Cave/tech dive regularly [almost every week]...Used to use HID lights, stopped using them when hand held led's have burn times of 30 hrs or 10+ hrs or 5-6 hrs....I now and have been carrying 3 led's [UK eLED's]..... Two on Goodman handles [10hr. burn time each] one on each hand and the third clipped to my harness [30hr burn time]......The lumen have been MORE than adequate......Getting rid of the 'can', the light head, the cord etc..has been great [Less weight, more streamlined].....Even w/can led's, I see no advantage to canisters any more.....Think of it this way; streamlining, weight, failure points [a biggie w/the DIR people] and cost......I have never had mine fail or even come close to burn time.......The lumen ???.....Unless I were diving Eagle's Nest, The Russian gypsum mines or Toad Hall in Australia and needed lumen to light up a huge cavern, today's handheld led's are MORE than adequate and getting better.......It's a technology that will probably fade away as led's become more powerful, lighter and smaller.......I'm happy to have gotten rid of the 'can'....Led's can/will only get better......And I haven't heard one SOLID reason why not........The reasons I have heard are pretty THIN............
Primary Light Question
- Thread starter antattack
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Feel free to post lumen and burn time when discussing the merit of lights. Some folks shoot video. I don't need much light to run a reel to the gold line but I like being able to light up the cave or wreck to actually enjoy it without the shadows. Everyone has different needs but a light that gives you 30 hours or even 10 hours of burn time either has a buttload of cells or has relatively low light output.
eelnoraa
Contributor
If you are into tech training, buy a decent canister light. Don't skim, or you will end up upgrading. The cost may sound high at this point, but think about it, compare to the cost of tech training, helium,, boat trip, or even other equipments, the cost of can light isn't that high. To me, it was the 2nd best money I have spent after a drysuit.
In NorCal, I will suggest 21W+ HID. LED came a long way, but in Monterey water, the punch of HID still wins.
---------- Post Merged at 04:18 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 04:16 PM ----------
For comparison, I also have DRIS 1000. In day time, there is no comparison, 21W canister is noticeable brighter, more effective. At night tho, DRIS is more than good enough.
In NorCal, I will suggest 21W+ HID. LED came a long way, but in Monterey water, the punch of HID still wins.
---------- Post Merged at 04:18 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 04:16 PM ----------
For comparison, I also have DRIS 1000. In day time, there is no comparison, 21W canister is noticeable brighter, more effective. At night tho, DRIS is more than good enough.
RonFrank
Contributor
I have a 10W Sartek can light. It burns for 8 hours, so long enough to dive all weekend including 2 night dives and using it a bit during the day. However my Intova 5W is generally enough for my rec diving needs. I have a number of friends who carry one Intova and its enough assuming your buddy will cover if your light floods.
Lights have come way down in price and tech divers no longer need to spend $600+ on a can light.
These are all primary lights with narrow beams and plenty of power. Burn times vary 120min and up.
Tektite Excursion LS5 750 Lumens LED Light
Big Blue CF600 LED Lumens Light
Sporasub 900 Lumens Flash LED light
Oceanic OP 3X3 Divers LED Flashlight
http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/Cate...Sort_Relevance/DescSort_0/Page_1/HLSLED5.html
Lights have come way down in price and tech divers no longer need to spend $600+ on a can light.
These are all primary lights with narrow beams and plenty of power. Burn times vary 120min and up.
Tektite Excursion LS5 750 Lumens LED Light
Big Blue CF600 LED Lumens Light
Sporasub 900 Lumens Flash LED light
Oceanic OP 3X3 Divers LED Flashlight
http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/Cate...Sort_Relevance/DescSort_0/Page_1/HLSLED5.html
xiaoshatongxue
New
I do agree agree that the White LED Modules can make things look a bit pale, but all in all i prefer the look of the white square led lights over fluro.Then again i do not own any yellow shrimp....yet! Plus with led you can ussually get away with not having a big and bulky hood on the top of your tank which i also like!
Meanwhile, an Aquarium Forum is missing a post 
Enjoyed everything said, but as a tech diver 120minute burn time wouldn't even get me through my first dive. And when I'm driving 2+ hours for fun, I'm doing 3 or 4 dives per day. And with any luck, today I pick up my rebreather.
I have two can lights. I have a 12w Light Monkey LED with 5 hour burn time, and a 35w HID Light Monkey with 5 hour burn time. I can't imagine a better lineup. Both are friggin awesome dependent upon the cave I take them in.
I have two can lights. I have a 12w Light Monkey LED with 5 hour burn time, and a 35w HID Light Monkey with 5 hour burn time. I can't imagine a better lineup. Both are friggin awesome dependent upon the cave I take them in.
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Another thing to keep in mind is who you're diving with. You don't want a light that's way brighter than what your buddy's using ... it'll drown out any signal your buddy's trying to send your way. In some cases, bigger isn't necessarily better ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
w ripley
Contributor
If you stay in diving for any period of time you will find that you will own several primaries. When I upgrade I tend to sell the light(s) I was using. Just too much equipment - and battery maintenance - after a while with multiple primaries.
My rebreather has a scrubber life of 12 hours, so I've matched my primary LED's burn time with the RB. I figure that if I get into trouble, I might as well have a primary that will work as long as my scrubber. Who knows, that may make the difference between a rescue and a recovery. Also, having a 12-hour burn time on my primary makes it nice when doing multiple dives between chargings. My backups have min burn times of 5 hours, and are LED, as well.
I shift the light from my right to my left when scootering, so being able to move the light from hand to hand easily is an important feature.
When running a reel, having the light head on a cord allows me to drape the cord around my neck, so that the light's head is hanging downward, illuminating my hands and reel. Having the light in that position makes tie offs and reel recoveries much easier, getting the light off my hand and illuminating my working area. It's easy enough to lift the light head slightly when I need to see in front of me, as I swim to my target.
I've dropped my light head more than once, and agree that being able to retrieve the light head is a big feature, especially when swimming low in a cave with a deep, silty bottom.
It's like any other piece of diving gear: It's just what works best for you.
One other thing: As your dives become longer, you will go to a heated vest. A 4 hour cave dive (before deco) in 72 degrees water, for example, will make for a very long and COLD 2+ hour deco without a heated vest. So, don't be afraid of large battery canisters, and they are hard to get away from.
My rebreather has a scrubber life of 12 hours, so I've matched my primary LED's burn time with the RB. I figure that if I get into trouble, I might as well have a primary that will work as long as my scrubber. Who knows, that may make the difference between a rescue and a recovery. Also, having a 12-hour burn time on my primary makes it nice when doing multiple dives between chargings. My backups have min burn times of 5 hours, and are LED, as well.
I shift the light from my right to my left when scootering, so being able to move the light from hand to hand easily is an important feature.
When running a reel, having the light head on a cord allows me to drape the cord around my neck, so that the light's head is hanging downward, illuminating my hands and reel. Having the light in that position makes tie offs and reel recoveries much easier, getting the light off my hand and illuminating my working area. It's easy enough to lift the light head slightly when I need to see in front of me, as I swim to my target.
I've dropped my light head more than once, and agree that being able to retrieve the light head is a big feature, especially when swimming low in a cave with a deep, silty bottom.
It's like any other piece of diving gear: It's just what works best for you.
One other thing: As your dives become longer, you will go to a heated vest. A 4 hour cave dive (before deco) in 72 degrees water, for example, will make for a very long and COLD 2+ hour deco without a heated vest. So, don't be afraid of large battery canisters, and they are hard to get away from.
Please let us know how this works out. The DRIS light is looking very interesting. I am not into cave/tech diving but am in a lot of low vis situations.
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