Shine the Dive Light on a Newbie--which one??

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

I am finishing up my open water certification this weekend and then will be working on an advanced certification in the coming weeks. Little by little I am starting to get gear.

What lights do you guys like and what lights would you avoid. I was looking at a comparison chart from ScubaDiving.com http://www.scubadiving.com/gear/dive_light...on_dive_lights/

http://dive.scubadiving.com/PDF/200508GR_light_chart.pdf

I like the LED's that I have been using for my land gear. Are you guys using those and what do you think. I was looking at a UK C8 LED--130 lumens. However on the comparison chart, the Princeton Tec shockwave claims to have 240 lumens for about the same cost. Anyway, it is always better to get real world adive rather than buy from info off a chart. So any help you could pass along would be great about light brand, bulb type, lumens, and reliability and so forth.

I want to do some night diving, dive the Cooper, and do some offshore tooth diving.

I am going to rent gear from the shop untill I figure out more what I like and don't like in a BC. I know I don't like the rash my BC gave me last weekend. It was a little big and kept shifting back and forth. I'll be diving with the same bc this weekend, but I think the wet suit should take up the slack and make for a better fit.

I am so excited, I can hardly stand it!!! I wish I had begun this journey long ago!

Thanks,
Leah

 

[BrianV]

I'd recommend the Princeton Tec, great company, great product, great service.

 

[mfalco]

I have the one at the top of the list. The UK light cannon 100. It is a great light. Don't let the price scare you away. the list price is close to $300, but you can get it at places like scubatoys.com for under $160.

I have that as my primary and several that I swap out as my backup. Princeton Tec seems to make allot of great lights. I have their Tec40 wich is a perfect backup light. I also have their Surge light, which seems real nice, but the bulb died the second time I turned it on.

I have 1 LED that made a ton of light on land, but was useless underwater. I would avoid LED as a night dive light. There might be some nice ones out there that I haven't tried, but I wouldn't recomend.

 

[Scottri]

I have the UK C8 eLED and love it. I have had several Princeton lights over the years and I haven't had very good luck with them. They have good customer service but I shouldn't have to use it very often and it seems like lately I've sent every one of my Princeton Lights back. I have also had several UK lights and I've never had a problem with any of them.

 

[David The Gnome]

I've got the Princeton Tec Shockwave and I love it.

 

[AquaHump]

http://www.caveexcursions.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=741

http://www.caveexcursions.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=708

 

[alo100]

Besides the Scuba Diving magazine site you are having, I found this web site about flash light review useful. A lot of people here are using it. It doesn't have reviews for all the lights you may want to consider, but it sure does cover some of the very popular lights. Plus, like the Scuba Diving magazine, it shows you factors that you may want to consider before buying a light, e.g. lux and lumens
Finally, a score is given to each individual light, it is reasonably fair, but I think you can neglect the small difference in score between two lights which are closed scored, e.g. between 4.5 stars vs. 5 stars or so, it could be subjective.

Hope you'll like it: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/index1.html

 

[>--Zen-Archer-->]

I agree with mfalco... Get the UK Light Cannon. Its one of the best for the price... And like mfalco said, get it at Scubatoys.com. Its the cheapest I have seen it...

 

[cleung]

Leah,

I've made it up to Master Diver and I don't even have a light yet! Really depends on how many night dives you are planning to do. If you don't do much, it's one less piece of equipment for you to lug around. However, if you still want to go for a light, you might try renting different ones to see which ones feel more comfortable as different ones are held differently.

As for buying other equipment, the way I progressed was to buy a wet suit after certification. After 1-2 scuba vacations, I decided to get the other gear. The BC, reg and computer came as a package deal from my scuba instructor.

Have fun with your research

 

[Halthron]

Lights will vary hugely and a lot depends on the type of diving you do and what your budget is. That chart only includes low-end primary lights, the best (IMO) which isn't on the list being the Pelican Nemo (276 lumenes and about $40 online).

Also IMO, the Light Canon is passe and has been overtaken by the Darkbuster, up to 1750 lumens (three times that of the Light Canon) for under $300.

Then you have higher end LED systems (400-700 typically but compact) like the Niterider and you can go as far as canister lights (500-1500 but very flexible )or even further if you're into protography.