To HID or Not To HID... that is the ???

[wheezy]

O.K. people, let's see what we get. I'm lookin at buying my first "good" light.

I REALLY like the OMS (on paper anyway) with the focusable light... very cool.

I get a REALLY good deal on the NiteRiders and am looking at both the BlackWater3000 and the HID setup? (get them both at less than half of retail)

I think I'm going to go with one of the niteriders... would love to hear from someone who has used both the Blackwater and the HID...

only $150 price difference between them

 

[JeffAustin]

I'm not sure about Niteriders lights. they make bike lights, right??
I have an 18w HID and it is bright, I like it very much. Does the Niterider use welch-allyn(sp?) components? It seems like a lot of mfgs. use the same bulbs and ballast. If I was choosing between halogen and HID, well..., there is no choice, I'd go HID.

 

[wheezy]

Well theres more to it than that (the HID's by NiteRider were designed by the two top engineers from UK) MUCH better construction that anything else out there right now especially in regards to the battery casing.. not to mention size.. way smaller


Anyhow... the cool thing about the BW is it has Dual Lamps... a 10 and a 25 ... combined to make 35.. NOT bad.. another cool thing is to put a red lens on the 10 to add back in what the water naturally takes away.

BUT... everybody is raving about HID's... I just can't imagine paying $100 for a bulb,,, but if it's that great I guess it "might" be worth it...

eeeessshhhhh... I just confuse myself worse and worse.

I need to try both.....

 

[dsgobie]

wheezy once bubbled...
Well theres more to it than that (the HID's by NiteRider were designed by the two top engineers from UK) MUCH better construction that anything else out there right now especially in regards to the battery casing.. not to mention size.. way smaller


Anyhow... the cool thing about the BW is it has Dual Lamps... a 10 and a 25 ... combined to make 35.. NOT bad.. another cool thing is to put a red lens on the 10 to add back in what the water naturally takes away.

BUT... everybody is raving about HID's... I just can't imagine paying $100 for a bulb,,, but if it's that great I guess it "might" be worth it...

eeeessshhhhh... I just confuse myself worse and worse.

I need to try both.....

If you were to go with a 18W HID, or even a 10W HID you wouldn't need to "put a red lens on the 10 to add back in what the water naturally takes away" The HID's are the closest thing to sunlight out there.

And I don't think combining a 10 and 25 would make 35.. It's not a math problem. The 25 would over power the 10. I think the real reason for having dual lamps with different rating is for clear or murky water.

I don't own a NiteRider. I own a DJS canister with a DR MR11 head, 10W HID. Best thing I've ever bought. Well next to my regs I guess.

Don't waste your money on anything else. You need HID.

As for the HID bulbs. They last 800-1000 hours. If your take care of them. Your looking at a few years diving before you'll even need to think about getting a new one. But if you break it. (like I just did) Then your screwed. Check this thread. It dosent happen that often.

 

[wheezy]

Yes... I saw that thread... I could point you to ten more where there are numerous people talking about how FRAGILE the HID bulbs are ... some people going through 3 or 4 in less than a few months time.

Keep in mind I dive the beach just about every weekend... sometimes big surf and even with my years of ocean experience get knocked on my ass when wearing 75lbs of gear....


I'm just going to call NiteRider to hook up a demo...

thanks for the input ....

 

[dsgobie]

Be sure to let all of us know how your NiteRider works out. We'd LOVE to know.

 

[Divegurl20]

I would like to let you know that HID bulbs DO NOT last "800-1000 hours". It is about a 1000 cycles!!!!!! That means if you turn the light on, and then shut it of it's on cycle. HID is not for everyone. If you do short penetration dives, you should go with a halogen. An HID light is ment to be truned on at the begining of the dive, and truned off at the end. It's not good for looking under ledges, or in holes.

 

[detroit diver]

Divegurl20 once bubbled...
I would like to let you know that HID bulbs DO NOT last "800-1000 hours". It is about a 1000 cycles!!!!!! That means if you turn the light on, and then shut it of it's on cycle. HID is not for everyone. If you do short penetration dives, you should go with a halogen. An HID light is ment to be truned on at the begining of the dive, and truned off at the end. It's not good for looking under ledges, or in holes.

Why not? If you turn it on at the beginning of your dive, you've got the light on when you need it. The smallest batteries will give about 3 hours of light w/ a 10 watt HID, and having that extra light is perfect for daytime diving. Halogens seem to just disappear in daylight, and look yellow at nite when compared to an HID.

I would never go back to a halogen bulb.

 

[GearHead]

Divegurl20 once bubbled...
It's not good for looking under ledges, or in holes.

Care to elaborate on that?

 

[Dryglove]

Divegurl20 once bubbled...
I would like to let you know that HID bulbs DO NOT last "800-1000 hours". It is about a 1000 cycles!!!!!! That means if you turn the light on, and then shut it of it's on cycle. HID is not for everyone. If you do short penetration dives, you should go with a halogen. An HID light is ment to be truned on at the begining of the dive, and truned off at the end. It's not good for looking under ledges, or in holes.

My 10w HID gets 4 hrs of burn time so its not a problem and why cant i use it to look under ledges or in holes?