In your situation, if I was YOUR buddy and WAS task loaded, why wouldn't you make it as easy as possible for me to locate you?
@
sdiver68:If you were my buddy, we'd sit down before the dive and have a serious talk about expectations for buddy diving. I'd do everything I could to mitigate your task-loading. I'd make it
very easy for you to locate me
without a tank light. Trust me on this.
Tank lights are a poor solution to the problem of buddy identification. Most people affix the tank light to the first stage or BCD "handle," and often times the light is obscured by the tank or the BCD. Even when visible, the tank light can only be spotted for the most part when the diver faces
away from you.
$15? If were worried about $15 I'd have been dead many times over doing the sports I've done. I'm going to turn the $15 argument around, if you have any question in your mind about buying a tank light it is only $15. If nothing else, your buddy may appreciate it, the dive op may require it, or you may be someone's "hero" by lending it out.
I'd feel the same way if I had only spent $1 on that tank light. It's the principle of it, I suppose. I hate wasting money on superfluous dive gadgetry. It's the opportunity cost of not spending that same money on useful equipment, gas fills, gear maintenance, additional training, or dive vacations. My dive buddies feel the same way I do about tank lights. We don't use 'em.
If on the other hand you are so experienced you know you don't want one, then you don't need to come here and ask the question in the 1st place. This is the new diver forum, buy a tank light or wish you had.
For the record, I have not asked any questions in this thread. Perhaps you mistook me for someone else. I just shared my opinion on tank lights in the hopes that it would save a little pocket change for some novice divers. If you are adamant about purchasing a tank light, then by all means go ahead and purchase one. In fact, if you think it's such an important piece of safety equipment, you may want to consider using two tank lights...just in case one goes out during the dive, you know.
I disagree with the practice of dive ops requiring that every diver has a tank light. I don't see how using a tank light could make my diving any safer. I carry a primary light and a backup on every night dive (often times during the day as well). My buddy does the same. We test functionality of our 4 lights during our pre-dive checks and during post-dive rinsing. The odds of all 4 of our lights going out are exceedingly low. If I were on a dive boat that required tank lights, well, then I guess I'd have to play by their rules or else choose not to dive with them at all. Just my 2 psi...