Which one?

[KiO]

Can you please assist me in deciding on which torch to buy from these two?
L4M Backup TEC (330lm, 7 degree beam, cca. 5h, 138mm, 220g, 1 x 18650)
Intova Ultra III (500lm, 14 degree beam, cca. ?h, 210mm, 505g, 6 x AA).

I'm diving only on holidays (unfortunately), so budget (<EUR80/$100) is an important criteria and even if most of my dives (recreational) will be during day time and in waters with relatively good visibility, I would like to have a torch for the times when there is less light (i.e. caverns) or for looking under rocks, in cracks and who knows, use it as a backup torch once I do the night diving as part of the AOWD course (cca. 1 month).

Initially I was looking for a light with adjustable beam (in order to be able to accommodate all of the above scenarios) and I'm still not sure if I should look away from Intova IFL WA Zoom (because is on CR123 and the burntime) and Big Blue CF250 or SoprasSub CF250.

Thank you!

 

[buddhasummer]

Personally if I were in your situation I would be looking at an adjustable beam light that runs on easy to find batteries such as AA or AAA, BigBlue CF250, Hollis LED3x for example. An adjustable beam angle light is more versatile, good for day use in narrow mode and good for night in wider mode in clear conditions. Both these lights will fit a goodman handle/light sock, in fact the BigBlue comes with a light sock.

 

[KiO]

Thanks Buddhasummer for your thoughts.

1. I agree that an adjustable one would be the best for me at the moment, however I'm wondering if 250Lm is enough? It is half of Ultra III.
2. Do you think holding the Ultra III with its 21cm/8.3in on a similar hand sock (not Goodman handle), would be too much?

With regards to BigBlue, I saw it is from Hong Kong and I have a "land" torch from China (advertised as 1000Lm, but I don't know how much it is in reality) and just the other day, when I needed it most, it played some tricks on me in a cave, so I'm much more reluctant today to made in China things. I know that also big names have factories there and can't everything be put under the same hat, but still ...
Due to the luminosity inconsistency seen not on multiple pages but on one image that looks to be provided by the manufacturer (http://images.divingdirect.co.uk/images/products/zoom/1357225911-84145900.jpg ) I wrote Intova an email to clarify which is the correct for their WA.

 

[buddhasummer]

BigBlue have a pretty good reputation on this board with numerous positive reviews. In fact a friend of mine owns one and its a nice light. Don't get caught up in the more lumens the better, unless your doing low viz dives and wish to use the light for signalling less lumens are often more. The BigBlue is 250lms from memory, I believe the Hollis is the same or similar. For looking under nooks and crannies during the day 250 in 6-8 degree mode is plenty. If you're doing clear warm water night diving 250 lumens at around 30degrees is more than enough. Reef fish don't like light. As to whether a 21cm light is too long for a hand sock, I'd say not but I guess if you have short arms it might not be as comfortable. Good luck.

 

[KiO]

I got a very good deal for Intova WA and Ultra III, so my list is now reduced to these. However, leaving specific manufacturers and models aside, could you please help me understand my needs.

1.) I have read in quite a few places that "less is more", but what exactly means less in my case (daytime dives in waters with at least 5m visibility doing the usual recreational diver stuff, peaking under rocks and in holes plus caverns and places with less light and who knows, wrecks too). For night dives and cave dives, this torch will be used only as backup.
I'm just wondering (this is my first dive torch - so it might sound silly, but I think it is the efect of the so called lumen fight) if 200-300lm will add any benefit during daytime as the natural light could be stronger and even not see the beam? Or if the natural light is stronger than the 200-300lm (I think here a figure in lux would be more appropriate), I don't need the torch? On the other end, since this might get used as a backup torch during night dives, will 200-300lm be enough? I know one might say, if the backup torch has to kick in, the dive should slowly end.
2.) Would a torch with 500lm be an overkill in my case? And would such brightness scare away fishes and end up seeing less - only rocks?

3.) That's regarding the brightness. What about the beam angle? What would be a proper beam angle for my needs? I made a calculation and with a beam angle of 14 degrees, at 1 m distance, the beam's width would be ~25cm + plus the spill. That sounds a bit small to me, isn't it?

4.) From what I see, the best torch for me would be one with adjustable angle and adjustable brightness to accommodate all possible scenarios. Is there such a torch on the market?
I'm now even considering buying the "big" Ultra III and a physically smaller torch with lower brightens, fixed wide angle and cheap enough. And while re-reading this I start thinking that I might end up using the smaller wider torch because of comfort and keep the Ultra III on the shelf and then my mind goes back to ICF WA Zoom and CR123, that can't be rechargeable (I guess becasue the rechargeable ones have higher voltage) which is kind of a deal breaker for me. I'm looking also into a CR123 to AA adapter, so if you have any ideas also on this ...

 

[KiO]

I made some further reading and this lux calculator based on the lumen and beam angle, helped me understand a bit better my needs. As such Intova's Ultra III was replaced by IFL 660 (300lm, 8 degree, 3h burntime) and Search (800lm, 8 degree, 7h burntime). At the 1st one the CR123 and at the 2nd the 28cm length are holding me back.
Additionally to the L4Me Backup Mini Tec (330lm, 7 degree, 5h burntime), there is a new torch on my list: Tecline LED US-12 (800lm, 10 degree, 2h ). It work on 3xAAA, so I'm wondering if that could be replaced with 1x18650 to increase the burntime? Any thoughts?

 

[Croomrider]

An 8-10 degree beam is about right. Your previous calculation was not correct. You should get a spread of about 14cm per meter of distance, plus the spill around the main beam. For some reason you do not see adjustable beams on LED lights, I guess there is a technical challenge with that. However, the LED lights are fantastic for the amount of light they produce from a given size, and the burn time. The higher lumen lights will have an advantage of being able to project the beam farther. The 200-300 lumen lights should be fine for backup, or up close looking into things, but I would want more for a primary night dive light. Select the battery option that gives you good availability and cost of batteries, and will fit into the shape of light you want. Some types you may be able to get rechargables for, that way you could always top them off before a dive day to know you had life in them, as compared to throwing away half used disposables.

Mike