The New SLX 800t Technical Dive Lights - 800 lumens - 8 hour burn time!

[Nocturnal Lights]

Hi Guys,

We are excited to announce the new SLX 800t Technical Dive Light. We've had a ton of success with the original SLX (now the SLX 300t) and we're proud to bring you it's predecessor. The new light is more powerful and now comes with an internally adjustable beam. Here are some of the specs which are available on our website. See our website for more information and more pictures:

Nocturnal Lights SLX 800t LED high output technical dive light.

* Bulb Triple High-Powered LED (9W) with approximately 800 lumen output
* Beam Angle Each of the three light bulb can be adjusted from 12 degrees to 60 degrees.
* Burn Time 8+ hours (2+ hours on max output) when using 6 AA batteries
* Dimensions 5 1/2" x 2 4/5" w/o handle
* Depth Rating 100 meters / 328 feet
* Weight 1.4 lb above water (with batteries) and 0.5lb underwater (with batteries)
* Battery 6 AA Rechargeable or Alkaline Batteries (Operates on 3 AA batteries at a lower output)

Please visit our website for more information on the prices and the packages. You may order the light through our website or through one of our dealers. If you would like to recommend a dealer please send us an email with your favorite dealers' information and we will get in touch with them. Feel free to ask us if you have any questions.

 

[jtivat]

Looks like a nice light but why only 12 degrees??? Seems like you are missing a large market of tech divers who want a tighter beam.

 

[buddhasummer]

Looks like a nice light but why only 12 degrees??? Seems like you are missing a large market of tech divers who want a tighter beam.

Agreed, but it is a little more useful perhaps than the seemingly standard 6 or 7 degree that a lot of the non can light LEDs seem to have. I would have thought they could have got more than 2 hours at full power, given that Dive Rites LED500 runs for 12 hours at full power. I wonder if using the lithium batteries make any difference to the output or run time?

 

[Nocturnal Lights]

Hi Guys,

The center beam is about 12 degrees along with the spread on the side. 12 degrees is rated above water and will be less when you actually dive with it. The current beam pattern is really good and we have yet to receive any complaints from tech divers that have tried it out. The reflectors are designed specifically for our bulbs for maximum efficiency so all of the light is directed into that narrow spot. On paper the 6 degree beam sounds appealing but when you're actually diving you'll probably realize that the small spread can be quite useful.

If you need 12 hours of burn time then you may go for the LED 500s. Our SLX 300i is good for about 16 hours. The 2 hour max output is based on a test using generic AA batteries. When you use NiMH batteries you will get a longer max output time then it'll drop off rather quickly. The reason why we put a cap on the 8 hours is because we figured most divers will swap out their batteries between 2-8 hours depending on their dives. We are very conservative with our battery ratings and we have put our ratings based on generic AA batteries. AA Lithium batteries should yield a higher burn time. High capacity batteries should yield a higher burn time. When people shop for dive lights they look at a couple of things. They focus a lot of attention on burn time and brightness. After they buy the light they start thinking about issues like reliability, convenience, and maintenance.

We make lights and lights only. Aside form the tech divers, we do cater to commercial divers and underwater photographers as well videographers. Our prices are affordable for enthusiasts while the guys that do this for a living choose our products over others because they have a better idea of what they need. One of the reasons why some professionals come to us is the reliability issues that reoccurs with their lights. Some of the guys that make film for a living cannot allow any products to fail when they're out in the middle of the ocean for three days only and they only have 6-7 dives to compete their work so when we develop the products we make sure that we make it as reliable as possible. Other features such as the size and durability makes it very appealing for people that travel a lot.

A lot of our tech dealers that we cater to did mention that most tech divers just accept the fact that their equipment is bound to fail at some point and they just need to get it serviced. This is usually not a big issue until you're half way across the world.

Anyhow, I'm not going to argue who has the better light. We made our lights the way they are for a reason and we are very conservative with our specs and numbers. We've had a lot of great customer feedback from Scuba Board members and we are confident in our products.

If you guys have any additional questions feel free to contact me. I'll be happy to answer any questions.

 

[linger]

Are those eneloop batteries I catch a glimpse of in the picture? nice

Price could be listed with the details of the light.
Looks like great build quality

 

[linger]

buddhasummer - Burn time isn't short per say, but you've got to realise that the AA cell only holds so much energy. It's not a great cell for lights, especially a light saying it comsumes 9w, but the AA it is an extremely common entry level battery. Nocturn could be using a lithium-poly pack or some 18650 cells and get a huge increase in mah (capacity) and thus better time, but that'd scare a lot of people away. They call it a tech light but it's actually really accessable.

Edit - It's really commendable of Nocturn to report it tests with generic batteries. Less dedicated company would post unattainably high run-time figures as marketing and it'd be diver beware when those don't pan out.
Nocturn could post the run-time tests they did and you'd see a significant difference in performance figures.

 

[Nocturnal Lights]

The generic 18650 cells are good in the sense that they hold more power and they're smaller. There are known issues of connecting multiple 18650 cells together and the stability issues that have to do with how the batteries operate when mixing different batteries at different levels of charges. When we start using those we have to depend on the reliability of the battery and charger manufacturer and it really takes away a lot of the selling points as far as why people love our lights so much. We haven't ruled out the usage of lithium batteries but for the time being, in terms of effectiveness, cost, and reliability we're sticking with the AAs.

 

[DiveMaven]

We have two of the original SLX lights (have had them for about 3 years) and absolutely think the quality and construction is top notch. A couple of years ago we were able to compare our lights side by side with a Hartenberger, and everyone on the boat agreed that they are comparable in (exterior) quality and ruggedness, though the Hartenberger was far brighter as it was a HID and the SLX is LED.

To be honest, I'm not even sure what the burn time is for our lights. We've taken it on many 2 week vacations, using it both for daily daytime and 2-5 night dives and never have changed the alkaline (Duracell) batteries for 20+ hours of use. Not having to open our lights mid-trip is huge for flood prevention, and much cheaper for buying batteries.

Our Nocturnal Lights ALWAYS attract a lot of attention on dive boats, and we have nothing but great things to say about them, recommending them highly whereever we go.