Wreck Diving Main Light

[packrat12]

Stuart's point about needing two for two dives (as opposed to one light and a backup battery) is the obvious con to sealed lights.

Not sure how the OP will be diving, he is Tech level. Most of the time, I am getting 1 tech dive per day anyway. It is an issue that must be thought through. I know I have never used up the time on a 2 dive semi technical dive. The only time I have done it is going twice in 1 day for a longer duration technical dive. In South Florida, most ops limit you to 2 hrs per boat ride so to do that, I took 2 rides.

 

[Jack Hammer]

but @stuartv had bad luck with one due to a sharp edge cutting the bolt snap line.

Pssstt.... it only takes a few seconds to round sharp edges off. Then the line won't cut through.

 

[stuartv]

R105T HANDHELD DIVE LIGHT-Technical-A Lighter Ocean with Ano Dive Lights
That is currently the backup light that I'd recommend since Securitying removed the one that I liked from Amazon for some reason. Unsure on why, but @stuartv had bad luck with one due to a sharp edge cutting the bolt snap line.

Yep. It was a decent light, but I didn't like how you had to push the button to cycle through all the modes to turn it off. And, as you say, now it's gone - and took one of my good 18650s with it.

Anyway, the R105T is shown at $80. Why do you like that better than the Xtar D26 for less than $60?

Not sure how the OP will be diving, he is Tech level. Most of the time, I am getting 1 tech dive per day anyway. It is an issue that must be thought through. I know I have never used up the time on a 2 dive semi technical dive. The only time I have done it is going twice in 1 day for a longer duration technical dive. In South Florida, most ops limit you to 2 hrs per boat ride so to do that, I took 2 rides.

The boats I've gone out on in NC had no problem with a longer tech dive and then a shorter NDL dive (which is usually shallower and still ends up being a decent length). Neither company I've been out with has ever mentioned any liimit on Rec dive times - whether the first dive was tech or not.

The circle of tech divers I have gone with from here mostly seem to be content to do one tech dive and call it a day. Not me! I don't keep everyone out on the water just for me to do another dive. But, if the boat also has Rec divers aboard that are doing a second dive anyway, then I'm splashing, too!

 

[stuartv]

Pssstt.... it only takes a few seconds to round sharp edges off. Then the line won't cut through.

Yeah.... I didn't feel any sharp edges when I was attaching the bolt snap. And it was the first time that ever happened to me. Live and learn. Now I use 2 small zip ties instead of cave line - one a little looser than the other.

 

[victorzamora]

Anyway, the R105T is shown at $80. Why do you like that better than the Xtar D26 for less than $60?

The reasons I like it better pretty much come down to size. I don't much like the size of 26650 handhelds. The 'head' of that light is also pretty big while the R105T is narrorower all around. My favorite lights are the Cave Adventurers Explorer or Hog backup lights...they're tiny, bright, have a battery indicator, and come in video or primary config. Granted, I haven't dove an Xtar D26, but I know what the XM-L U3 puts out and have dove lights of similar size with no love.

 

[tbone1004]

I don't like 26650 lights because they are annoying to charge and the barrel diameter is bigger than it really needs to be. The Ano also has a button on the back which I much prefer to side buttons.

My actual favorite light is the Cave Adventurers Explorer lights, but they're rather expensive. I have a pair of them in video spread for my helmet lights and are also super nice because they have the LED indicators for rough burn percentage. Not worth spending $120 on compared to other spot backups on the market, but the wide spread list is fairly small.

 

[stuartv]

Fair enough.

This is a DGX 600 and D26 together. The heads are close enough in size to not matter to me. Really, so are the bodies. I wish the D26 had a shorter body length, but I guess that's down to the nature of the control mechanism.

Also, note that the D26 has a battery indicator, similar to the CA Explorer light. That is the white circle just forward of the push button.

 

[Patoux01]

Still not sure on what dive my VTL2800p is not going to be enough...
It punches through a few meters of fairly silty water, and has a few hours burntime, more than enough for most wrecks imo.

It may not output whatever thousands lumens they claim it does, but it has enough for me, unless I'm diving very very silty water and need to signal something meters away (but that's a training problem if that happens) or very very bright water and have to signal, but in that situation, most would not even use a torch.

 

[stuartv]

Still not sure on what dive my VTL2800p is not going to be enough...

Sounds to me like it should be enough. Or, at least, enough to get you started until you find out from your own experience if you need something brighter, something that lasts longer, or whatever. Heck, maybe you'll figure out that small handheld, not as bright, and not as much burn time is all you need and you'll be able to buy a couple of inexpensive lights that do all you need. The price on that VTL2800p makes me shiver at the thought of losing it like I lost that SecurityIng light (not that that should be a real risk, if you're smarter than me!).

If I ever decide I need as much light as that, I think I would get one of the Ano or Brinyte can lights. They're only a couple or three hundred bucks or so. And with the can on a belt, not much chance of losing any part of it.

 

[victorzamora]

Still not sure on what dive my VTL2800p is not going to be enough...
It punches through a few meters of fairly silty water, and has a few hours burntime, more than enough for most wrecks imo.

If it works for you, then great! That's all that matters. Seriously. If you want to know why I'll never buy one, that's below. If you're happy, then ignore the below.

Checking the specs on it, they're claiming 2800lm. I doubt it, but we'll use those numbers as a starting point. Assuming a very high quality 32650 is used, it should get ~20Wh in the pack. Using some real-world discharge curves of a 7A draw on a high-end 32650 lithium cell, I'm showing right at 45 minutes of burn time. If your light lasts "a few hours" then it's doing so by reducing brightness as the voltage drops. For the price (~$450@B&H Photo), I can buy literally 30 backup lights with a realistic 750(ish) lumens and over hour burn (on high, longer if they step it down like the Big Blues). To me, the choice is pretty easy to make.