Recommendations for first light

[mwaarna]

Hello All,

I am relatively new to diving and had my first experience with a night dive in off the coast of florida(key largo).

I really enjoyed the experience of the night dive, with the exception of having a ****ty light(which i borrowed) and it started to die half way through the dive.

What I liked was people who had a really bright lights who could see more into the distance(concentrated light) vs a broad light.

My Budget is 250 max(which has to include a back up light)

I've done a little bit of research and I definitely either want a HID light or LED to for my primary and then a small LED as a secondary.

One of the questions that I have: is the price jump from an LED model to the HID model worth it?

C8 eLED® Plus states 370 Lumens C8 eLED® Plus
Light Cannon 100 States 450 Lumens Light Cannon 100

Also durability of LED VS HID lighting..

All my diving will be warm water(Florida, caribbean, possibly Thailand)

Also any recommendations for a back up light would be helpful.

thanks

-Matti

 

[LowVizWiz]

mwaarna,

I can absolutely relate to you wanting to buy the biggest baddest light you can find. I considered purchasing the Light Cannon as well when I first started to night dive. But now I actually enjoy not having much light at all. Specially if you're diving with big groups in So Florida. Their glow will be enough to light up the reef for you to see and the little critters will not run away from you and your big light saber!

I turn my lights off all the time.

You definitely want something reliable like the Intova LED Torch

I personally use The UK Mini Q40 eLED Plus a little less expensive.

Now, realize neither of these lights are considered primary lights, which I'm sure the scuba police will jump all over you about, so you may want to consider a regular primary to go along with either of these lights.

Like the Miniwave LED or UK C4 eLED

And a little tank strobe like this one!

Save your money and take me on a dive trip with you

Good luck!
Wys

 

[ScubaSteve]

I will always recommend the Ikelite PCa (6 triple A) because it is very small and extremely bright for its size (and inexpensive - I just bought 2 more because I use them on land too and paid I think $35 each). I dive with this as my primary dive light as well as at least 1 spare but usually 2 spares.

 

[potablewater]

Before you buy anything else in that price range, check out the Oxycheq Raider 1.
Brightest small backup i've seen. Spend the extra $15-$20, it will be worth it, and you have Oxycheq's great reputation for support as well.

All the best,
Geoff

 

[TheMan5000]

Princeton Tec's Torrent Xenon or LED are in your price range and will be a solid primary for certain conditions and a strong back for lower viz divers.

 

[FF-EMT Diver]

Hello, 40Fathoms, sorry hadn't been back to this thread, I personally like the 2010 it is not as bright as the shockwave but i carry the 2010 and 2420 on every dive so if I were you I would get the 2010 and carry the shockwave on night dives, hope this helps.