Scuba Newbie Looking For FLashlight

[DiverClive]

Hi
I am not a particularly experienced diver. I am just branching out and getting my own gear. Bit by bit. Not a cheap passtime this, is it?



Next on my list is a good dive torch. I think that LEDs are better, but would welcome your thoughts as to brands etc.

Thanks
Clive

 

[buddhasummer]

Welcome to SB. There are countless threads comparing and assessing lights. Most people will recommend what they use. Yes, LED.

The light you buy depends on its intended usage and conditions used. Tight narrow beam for low viz or daytime use, lower power with wider beam for warm water tropical reef diving etc. if you gave some info about your type of diving and general conditions and budget it might be easier to give recommendations.

For the record I dive mb-sub lights, not cheap but great lights. There are several brands that make cheaper lights that are also quality. Take a look at BigBlue, Dorcy and Intova. The DRIS light gets good reviews. Some other brands to look at are TillyTec, L4M, Light Monkey and Hollis. With lights the sky's almost the limit with prices greatly varying from less than a $100 to over $1500.

Batteries are also something to consider I like lights that run on AAs as they are widely available and reasonably cheap, I travel dive a lot. Run time is also something to consider although most LED lights will run for the entirety of the average rec OW night dive. I like lights made from aluminum as they are a little more robust that the average plastic light.

With lights less is sometimes more don't get caught up with the Lumen race.

Good luck with your search.

 

[greenliger]

Best bang for your buck is the Dive Right in Scuba 1000 (1K) lumens for around $100.

 

[phoenix31tt]

i have a couple of cheap Chinese torches (Trustfire) that work well (20$ per), a couple of Intova/Tovatec that were a little more expensive (60$ per) however I got a deal on a DRIS shorty 1k and that light is amazing, and uses standard batteries...
If i had to do it all over again knowing what i know now... between me and my wife i would get two DRIS shorty 1k and two of the Cheap Chinese as backups


p.s. my recommendations are based on diving tropical waters with ok vis 75% of the time and the other 25% diving water with vis under 15ft.

 

[DiverClive]

Wow!
That's a great response if ever there was one



Lot's of info to take in, which is great.
I was thinking of this dive torch after looking around online a bit.

Any thoughts on Underwater Kinetics?

 

[phoenix31tt]

i personally wouldn't go with the UK SL4 for the following reasons:

1. It uses C sized batteries (4 of them which can be a pain, and no rechargeable option)
2. It's bigger and heavier than the DRIS Shorty (according to specs)
3. For $30 more the DRIS seems like a better buy overall

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have had a couple UK lights. Decent enough with good warranty service. Which in my experience you will need when you forget to check that little screw that holds the switch on and it falls out and the light floods. I do not like mechanical switches like that. I have dorcy's, HOG morphs, pelican, c cell lights, HOG piglets, and a couple cannisters. For mid price range the dorcy. Low price the HOG piglet, and higher end the morph.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Damselfish]

Definitely LED, unless you get something else really cheap or free - even then, if you use the light often and don't use rechargeable batteries, it will eventually be a false economy.

UK and Princeton Tech are sort of in the same category - decent mass market dive lights that do the job for many people. Good warrenty coverage, which I've had to use a few times. I've had a number of them over the years and still do, but my sense is they're not innovating like other companies.

If you do wind up buying a light that uses Cs, you can buy plastic adapters that allow you to use AAs in their place, rechargeable or otherwise. Obviously they're not going to burn as long, but with LEDs I don't find this to be a problem for the lights I use.

 

[SlvrDragon50]

If you want cheap, just pick up a Dorcy 220. For 30 bucks, they're pretty damn good.

 

[lucca brassi]

dorcy is not 30$ but 65$

right one Dorcy Dive II 220 Lumen Submersible LED Dive Light

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for starter DRIS 1000 ( low cost )