What dive light do you use in So Cal waters?

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stussy

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Messages
31
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Location
Downey, CA
# of dives
0 - 24
I'm going to begining night diving, and was wondering what everyone uses for their dives in So Cal waters.
 
I used to use an HID canister light, but the constsnt repairs and expense made me rethink my choice. I've been using a Princeton Tec Shockwave LED for the past couple of years and couldn't be happier. It's nearly as bright as a ten watt HID and costs under $100. Halogen lights aren't bright enough to find the little critters.
ShockwaveLEDFront.jpg
 
We use HID lights on every dive.

Either the 24 watt Salvo seen here









Or on the rare occasion, the 10 watt Diver Rite back up HID seen here.





Hundreds of dives, never an issue. These Salvo lights (and the little Dive Rite) just keep going and going and going. We beat the snot out of them. I'll never dive anything but a Salvo. Best service, best performance. Love it.



---
Ken
 
Ken, only cause I love to pick nits, those pictures look suspiciously like 21w Halcyons with that 50lb brick-ballast.
 
Ken, only cause I love to pick nits, those pictures look suspiciously like 21w Halcyons with that 50lb brick-ballast.

Actually, Claudette dives the very rare 21W Salvo square ballast with NiCA batt.

It was their tweener light, the brightest light they made until their 35 and 50, and every single dive I have sellers remorse because it crushes my Salvo 24W LiOn.

I was speaking to Barry and Corey at DEMA about this light. They raved on and on about it. Its a very, very special light. There is something about the batt / ballast / bulb that they did that was the perfect storm.

I can't believe I sold it to her. :(

I love the little canister of my LiOn, but the beam and brightnessness of her light is unmatched in the 21 to 24 watt class.

Pick all the nits you like buddy - but you're nitting up the wrong tree.


;)


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Ken
 
Awesome. I love the can light trivia!

And sorry for the hijack guys. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
 
My video housing uses the Nocturnal Lights so most of the time this is more than bright enough for my night dives. However, when night diving without my camera I use one of these: C8 Xenon
11.jpg



That being said, rapid changes in LED and battery technologies are making me reconsider them. I would guess that HID, Zenon and other power hungry lights will soon be flooding eBay.
 
On every dive I use a 21 Watt Salvo with 10.4 amp lithium ion batteries. Mine has the remote ballast which is all they build anymore. Never new they built a 24 watt light :confused:

LED technology is catching up, but still not as bright, but they are more durable. I would not get a light with less than 21 watt for California waters. Salvo does build a very nice LED light, and their customer service is excellent.

One of my electrical engineer friends determined a HID is more efficient than an LED. At this point HID's still have a place in diving.
 
I'll add another vote for the Salvo 21W HID. It is an absolutely fantastic light! It is expensive, but it has really added a lot of enjoyment to my diving. If you're not looking for a super expensive can light, you can go with a "back-up" light and still have a good light.

I used to (and my husband still does) dive with a Salvo Rat as a primary light. A friend of mine has just started diving with the Intova Cree 4.7W light and he seems to like it. These would traditionally be used as back-up lights, but are powerful enough to use as a primary....and definitely a nice, tight beam that's good for communication.
 

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