Questions about buying a primary light

[TSandM]

Just for information, my C2 instructor (David Rhea) told me to get rid of my light with the ballast in the lighthead, because he said it was ridiculously too big for my hands and was impairing my dexterity.

I'm going to have to do some homework and figure out who makes remote ballast lights nowadays.

 

[Gombessa]

Lynne,

Sartek claims the "smallest lighthead in the industry" for their 35/21w switchable HID:

Also, Sandho's 24w lightheads aren't remote ballast, but certainly seem compact:

 

[kathydee]

Just for information, my C2 instructor (David Rhea) told me to get rid of my light with the ballast in the lighthead, because he said it was ridiculously too big for my hands and was impairing my dexterity.
I'm going to have to do some homework and figure out who makes remote ballast lights nowadays.

Thanks for sharing this information. The ballast looked huge for my frame which made me hesitate to purchasing anything without trying it. Perhaps you've saved me a costly mistake. I'd love to hear the outcome of your research - will check back with you later. Still planning to dive some lighs.


On another note many of you discussed 10, 12, 21 watt lights, but 18 watt was rarely mentioned - Is there a reason for that?

 

[Anti-Hero]

I really like my Dive Rite H1000, 15W HID - It's got a comparably tiny light head, with adjustable beam, and ~3.5 hr burn time. And contrary to popular belief it's never flooded, yet.

 

[masterof0]

One of hte lights that I have have been impressed with is the Sartek 6600. It is comparable to the 12W LED in terms of brightness, but the hot spot is softer since it has 3 emitters instead of one. Life and size of the unit are nice and you can get either a LiON pack or a C or D cell pack.

http://www.sarind.com/acatalog/LED6600SYSTEMsmall.jpg
http://www.sarind.com/acatalog/LED6600MICROsmall.jpg

I totally agree that in the larger lights (21W +) LED technology is way behind, but for the smaller lights, LED has exceeded HIDs when you look at perfomance and total cost of ownership.

Sartek has been around for a while and while it hasn't established itself the way that Salvo has, it makes one heck of a light. I have had a lot of success with their customer service also. They also offer unique features such as wetmates which allow you to use different heads on teh same canister. This modularity is nice because I can use a small canister if I need short burn time or a larger canister for longer burn times.

 

[Gombessa]

On another note many of you discussed 10, 12, 21 watt lights, but 18 watt was rarely mentioned - Is there a reason for that?

18w HIDs are quickly becoming relics in the can light world. They used to be one of the only options for high-lumen ouput HIDs, but the lamps were known to be fragile and very expensive to replace. Lately most manufacturers have moved to the cheaper, more efficient and physically robust 21w systems by Brightstar. Halcyon held out the longest, but they've replaced all their 18w offerings with 21w as well.

They're still great lights, and if you don't abuse them, should last a long time. A used 18w for the right price would make for a fantastic primary light.

 

[ae3753]

The focusable beam isn't that useful for me. 99% of the time, I want it on the tightest spot focus available, and whenever I change the focus, it's because the reflector has shifted and I'm trying to get it back to spot. I've tried to use the flood setting to illuminate for video (way too uneven for that, need a video reflector), and I've set it to flood on a night dive to help a buddy illuminate the ground. But that's it. I wouldn't mind if it was fixed-focus.

Everyone I know dives with their focused beam on the tightest setting as well. Only time that a buddy used the wider setting was in No Hoch in Mexico. KMD flooded Heaven's Gate and I forgot to breath.

 

[Anti-Hero]

Agreed, I want the tightest beam as well. But I'd also rather have the adjustable option, than be stuck with whatever the mfg preset.

 

[mikeguerrero]

To the OP,

It appears that the 21watt Halcyon with large ballast might be too large for a diver, when considering ratio of light head to forearm. I own the light and can say, that I felt it was huge the day I got it, however, honestly the amount of time that I have spent diving it has slowly made it second nature.

I am little, only 5'5 and it takes up a good portion of my arm, but it's not heavy at all, it feels hollow inside, the cannister is heavy comming in at 5 lbs.

Don took this picture of me at lobos and you can see how huge the light is on my arm. A lot of divers have called it the bazooka of lights.

p.s
When looking to purchase a light I fell across this light that can switch between 13/21 watts. It's cheaper than the Halcyon light and the head is only 6.25 inches.

 

[Killer&Griller]

LED technology still isn't where it needs to be for primary lights. 10W HID is too little for OW situations. That should help narrow down the options. For signalling, a 10W is useless in OW. Period. I've dove with people who have 10W lights and they suck. Can't see them. In a cave they are pretty good. In OW, crap.

Boycott 10W HIDs for OW. And boycott CDNN. They are both about as useful.

How do you really feel? Wow!

Kathydee, clearly budget will be as big a factor as anything else. We don't know where you stand there. You are also asking for advice while having only done what appears to be internet homework......

Find a shop or two that stocks the lights. Go look at the different features, sizes, weights and then narrow it down from there. Look at what manufactures reps are close to you for future warranty work. Most will have good CS for repairs, expediting down time would be a key to purchase local......

Don't rule out starting with something a bit smaller and working your way up. It is hard to justify spending $ 1,500 - 3k on a light out of the gate when you could pick up something like a new DR 6250 eLed for $600 and go from there........

Then again, if you can swing the "one time purchase, never outgrow it" and feel that you have enough research and facts to support the decision, I commend you for doing so....

Either way, good luck with your en devour...