UK SL4 LED or Princeton TEC Torrent Xenon?

[jwobkk]

New to the board and I'm in the market for a new light for my trip to Bonaire. Should I go with the UK SL4 e-LED or the Princeton TEC Torrent Xenon? Both received good reviews in ScubaDiving Magazine. The UK light has a longer burn time while the Princeton TEC Torrent has a more intense beam. I use my light mostly during the day to look under ledges and in holes.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[PhilEllis]

New to the board and I'm in the market for a new light for my trip to Bonaire. Should I go with the UK SL4 e-LED or the Princeton TEC Torrent Xenon? Both received good reviews in ScubaDiving Magazine. The UK light has a longer burn time while the Princeton TEC Torrent has a more intense beam. I use my light mostly during the day to look under ledges and in holes.

Thanks for the advice!

Personally, I think the Princeton TEC Torrent is a better choice. It does have very intense beam with almost the same burn time as the SL4. We have terrific sale on them right now, but I can't list the price here. Give me a call at (800) 601-DIVE and I may be able to answer any questions you have about the two lights.

Phil Ellis

 

[Nismo]

You are kinda comparing apple to oranges. I believe both manufacturers have a standard bulb and a LED version of the lights you mentioned. I used a SL4 LED in Bonaire recently. It was very nice and bright. I prefer LED's over xenon or halogen. Others will feel differently. However I used the light every day of my trip and the light has not dimmed at all. I find it hard to believe that the xenon light has an equal burn time to the LED. If it does, it can't be as bright. Either way you are getting a good light. I like the SL4 LED. I think there's a Torrent LED too which may make the decision even tougher.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Go with Princeton Tech! I have had very poor warranty service with UK and EXCELLENT with Princeton Tech. UK will NOT honor their lifetime warranty!

 

[jwobkk]

You are kinda comparing apple to oranges. I believe both manufacturers have a standard bulb and a LED version of the lights you mentioned. I used a SL4 LED in Bonaire recently. It was very nice and bright. I prefer LED's over xenon or halogen. Others will feel differently. However I used the light every day of my trip and the light has not dimmed at all. I find it hard to believe that the xenon light has an equal burn time to the LED. If it does, it can't be as bright. Either way you are getting a good light. I like the SL4 LED. I think there's a Torrent LED too which may make the decision even tougher.

The UK SL4 LED is rated 10-12 hours of burn time while the Princeton TEC Torrent Xenon is rated 3-5 hours of burn time. Did you use the UK SL4 during the day in Bonaire? How does it do under ledges?

 

[PhilEllis]

Personally, I think the Princeton TEC Torrent is a better choice. It does have very intense beam with almost the same burn time as the SL4. We have terrific sale on them right now, but I can't list the price here. Give me a call at (800) 601-DIVE and I may be able to answer any questions you have about the two lights.

Phil Ellis

Sorry if I caused any confusion. I was talking about the LED version in both. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would purchase a Xenon in todays environment.

Phil Ellis

 

[jwobkk]

Sorry if I caused any confusion. I was talking about the LED version in both. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would purchase a Xenon in todays environment.

Phil Ellis

Can you explain what you mean about that? What is the issue with Xenon?

 

[nwbrewer]

Because xenon bulbs burn out, are fragile and don't give you anywhere near the battery life that an LED will. LED's have been coming down in price a lot recently, making the old cost difference kind of irrelevant. Plus when you look at any cost savings between xenon and LED lights it's quickly negated by the addditional batteries you'll have to buy for the xenon.

For the xenon, you'll get a 5 hour battery life, with an expected bulb life of ~30 hours for $45
For the LED, you'll get 30 hours of BATTERY life, and an expected bulb life of 10000 hours, for $59

That $15 is eatten up really quickly in the cost of batteries and bulbs over the time you'll own the light, especially for the uses you described.

Princeton Tec Torrent LED

Additionally, the blue color of the LED will travel farther and cut through the crud better underwater than the xenon. Hope that helps.

Jake

 

[jwobkk]

Because xenon bulbs burn out, are fragile and don't give you anywhere near the battery life that an LED will. LED's have been coming down in price a lot recently, making the old cost difference kind of irrelevant. Plus when you look at any cost savings between xenon and LED lights it's quickly negated by the addditional batteries you'll have to buy for the xenon.

For the xenon, you'll get a 5 hour battery life, with an expected bulb life of ~30 hours for $45
For the LED, you'll get 30 hours of BATTERY life, and an expected bulb life of 10000 hours, for $59

That $15 is eatten up really quickly in the cost of batteries and bulbs over the time you'll own the light, especially for the uses you described.

Princeton Tec Torrent LED

Additionally, the blue color of the LED will travel farther and cut through the crud better underwater than the xenon. Hope that helps.

Jake

Very informative. Thanks!

 

[Nismo]

I thought that it worked very well on ledges during the day. You do not have to be right on top of where you are trying to look to actually illuminate the spot. If you see something of interest, then you can get closer to illuminate better and get the proper coloring.

Since the bulb is a bluish white, if you are not right on top of an object, everything will be lit up blue. I know everything will turn blue anyway but it may do that at a shorter distance than a xenon. I'm not sure. How ever the LED's are so bright, energy efficient, and durable that it is completely worth the minor point that the white beam may turn blue sooner.

In the dark the SL4 was competitive with the C8 eLED Plus that I used.

As for warranty I heard UK is a pain to deal with. I bought my lights from LeisurePro. I contacted them and they sent me a RMA(Return Merchandise Authorization) number for one of my lights. All I have to do is send it to them and they will repair or return my damaged light.

One of my SL4's won't turn off. Something is wrong with the switch that it allows some power to get to the bulb. It's really weird and I have never seen this happen with anything electronic I've used before.