The best all around Dive Light

[Mark Vlahos]

I was prowling around the Sartek Website and saw their new tiny battery cannisters, holy cow these things are small. These new batteries also charge much faster than my "old" batteries.

Mark Vlahos

 

[outlaws]

You might consider this one
http://www.diverssupplyusa.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=17764
I have looked it over and it seems to be well built.

Butch

 

[tribaltim]

Hey outlaw have you used this light?

 

[steveann]

I'v got me a Sartek 10w adjustable with the LiOH battery. Wow, talk about a small battery case. It fits in my hand. Half the size of a NiMH case for four hours burn. The only downside to the Sartek I have seen is the switch on the battery (although I'll be wearing mine on my waist, so no big deal - not so fun for backplate mounted bigger batt packs) and the light head allows light back through the lens cover (you can see a corona effect if you look at the head from the back) Not a big deal, but it could cause night vision issues with the brightness of it. Other than that, it's rugged (I watched Carl from Sartek jump on a demo a few times. Still worked.) and it's weight and size are nice. Now all I have to do is get a handle for it (no goodman included, just a gear clip).

My buddy dives the OMS (new style) and just bought a Sartek himself to compare. He says he'll probably stick with the OMS, due to the switch on the light head and the overall construction. He says he likes the fact the battery cord runs through an effective LP hose. This removes those pesky exposed bulkhead penetrations on the head and battery.

Of course, he's also thinking of trading in his Sartek NiMH for a LiOH battery pack. So, all in all it probably comes down to a 10W is pretty much a 10W, and so forth. The car charger for the Sartek LiOH is nice, though.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention....the biggest downside to the OMS light I've seen....is that I haven't seen an OMS light in quite a while. Seems the things are on permanent backorder.

 

[ArcticDiver]

As I've posted before I like DiveRite because they have proven to be reliable and have great customer service. Plus, in my case I wanted to use my light for something that most dive HID's are not used for, Surface Operations. Many said it would work but only DiveRite put their money where their mouth was by extending their warranty to the surface operation.

But, to the core of your question. In my opinion there is no such thing as the best all around dive light. The kind oif light I want for a night dive in clear water to see critters is totally different than what I want inside a wreck.

Too bright a light in the clear water not only blinds other divers, it chases away many of the critters I came to see. There is a growing opinion that exposure to all the bright lights is also interfering with the critters feeding and living habits. So using a bright light there isn't being very respectful of either the critters who are trying to make a living there nor your fellow divers.

So, I suggest you think in terms of four lights. HID in whatever wattage turns your crank and a four cell light like an SL4 as your primaries. Then two backups. On any given dive carry the appropriate primary light and your backups.

 

[Hyper-limits]

Another vote for the Green Force, I dive the Flexi II canister with the HID 50 Pro (10 watt lighthead) Very tough light and easy to up grade if you want to. The canister is the same size as the DR 10w HID. The light head come in 6 or 13 degree angle.

www.green-force.com

 

[Vie]

Hey outlaw have you used this light?

The Sea Elite 10 Watt 4.5 amp HID Canister Light is actually made by Salvo. It's a great deal.

 

[Otto]

You didn't say what you want to use it for or what your typical dive configuration is, both of which would be helpful to know. I say this because of the many choices in battery technology, size weight and burn time. I note that you are on a $500 budget. I would consider looking for a used light in the battery size and type of your choice. If the light head is not exactly what you want and the price is right, you can change or upgrade the head later. One thing to consider if up grading is to get a complete second lid so that you would have a complete spare if needed. Both of my cans were purchased used and upgraded later. One of them didn't have a head at all and I saved a bundle even after upgrading. 21 watt brand new lighthead and cord 5hr burn time $675. Good luck shopping.

 

[scubafool]

Hey outlaw have you used this light?

Hey Tim, I have and dive this light.

I had an issue with the first light, you can read about it here:http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=115130&highlight=Sea+Elite+light

I have maybe 25 or 30 dives on the 2nd light, with absolutely zero problems. Mine is the only problem anyone has had with this light, at least that I know of. I can reccomend the light.

Some of the cave shops around here are getting pretty competitive on their light prices, to the point that you would have no problem getting a very servicable light in your price range. Not that that does you any good in Japan, though.

 

[tribaltim]

I think for now that I want to mainly use the light for clear water (Okinawa) night diving. Like I said before because of all your help and input I think I'm going to go with a 10w HID canister light I still don't know which brand though and I want one of those cool handles that slip on my hand. I think I'm going to be here another 4 years or at least that's what I'm shooting for anyway.