Review Mares Eos 20rz

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Telvar

Registered
Messages
66
Reaction score
58
Location
Netherlands
# of dives
100 - 199
As promised in another thread, I am posting my findings on diving with the 20rz.

Context
I am a novice diver and can generally hold my own just fine in the water. Having said that, most of what I do, I could (and will) improve upon vastly. I usually dive in Holland, which means generally cold and murky water. I bought the torch at my LDS last week and took it along for an extended weekend of diving, both day and night dives. My dives lasted about 1 hour each and were all shore dives.

Package
The light looks solid and very durable and comes in a nice semi rigid case with a large rechargable battery, a usb cable and a loop to attach it on you wrist or wherever.

Diving with it
I attached a boltsnap to it so I could hang it from my bcd. That worked fine, It was never in the way. First dive was a night dive with decent (3-6metres) visibility. The light was absolutely awesome. It was miles and miles better than my previous 500-700 lumen light. It gives off a very large amount of light underwater without getting in the way or scaring off critters. Naturally I used it in spot-mode as flood doesn't work in this kind of water (tried it and yes, you get quite a bit of light back and visibility doesnt really improve) and tried it in full mode (2300lm) and 'half strength' mode (700lm). Both were just fine. My buddy used the 15rz and the 20rz is really better (more powerful in a pleasant way).

Subsequent day dives were performed in varying visibility (between 1m and 6m) and the light performed well in all cases. Of course, the light cannot work miracles so 1m visibility wont magically dissipate but the light did cut though it very decently).

With two dives a day for 1 hour each, I was expecting that the battery may not last so I didnt use it while diving in water < 3 m depth as the daylight was more than adequate. So I think I used the light for about 90 minutes a day and that was no problem whatsoever for the battery. Ihavent done a test how long it actually lasts but this is sufficient for me. Up to this point I think the light just absolutely amazing.

A couple of things to consider though. First of alle, this is not a small light. Compared to the Sealife Dragon 1300 spot torch I was considering, this thing is very large and somewhat bulky. Second, it's pretty heavy. It didnt really matter out of the water (hanging from my bcd with a boltsnap), but under water it was noticable too. I do al lot of looking into nooks and crannies and I did start to notice the weight at some point. Not a reason to not buy it again.

What did spoil my mood was when I was exiting the water after dive 5, my light just separated from the boltsnap and landed on the stones with a resounding thud. No harm done to the light except a scratch. I have examined the fastening (cave line) expecting the knot to have come undone or something, but the knot was just fine. It appeared the line was frayed in a few places and just broke. And that within a week! At first I doubted the quality of the line, but that seems just fine. Upon closer inspection I saw that the 2 'eyes' at the back of the torch that you can use to fasten the line to, are not rounded but have angular metal edges. I think that was the reason the line frayed and broke. I will refasten it, but then with two separate lines. This is something to keep in mind.

Positive points
- really powerful light that easily cuts though murky water
- able to change focal point (between flood and spot and in between)
- very decent battery life
- seems quite durable

Negative points
- big, bulky
- pretty heavy (appr 600 grams)
- be careful when using a line to attach it to something. It may fray.

Overall
I still somewhat miffed about the line fraying but overall I'm very pleased with it and would buy it without any hesitation again.This thing is a (big) rockstar under water.
 
Hello Telvar - thank you for your post. I am between the eos 15 & 20RZ. Curious as to the difference you saw in real life. Your buddy used the 15rz vs the 20rz - what did you note as significant towards the 20RZ?

thx,
~jjj
 
Hi Jay,
Naturally we compared the 2 lights extensively while diving. Both work just fine, but we both found that the 20rz was significantly brighter. On paper it should (1500 vs 2300 lumen I believe), but in pratice it was clearly visible, as it was brighter and was able to cut through the murkiness just a tad better. At my LDS, the price difference between the 15 and the 20 was EUR10 ($11-12)or so at the time, so to me that was a no-brainer. The weight difference was not detectable.

Small update a few months later: Still really happy with the light as it still performs wonderfully. I have attached the light to a boltsnap with 2 pieces of cave line with a little more room (the first time it was really tight) and that works just fine. No fraying whatsoever.
 

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