Beginner Primary light and backup light recommendations

[rjmig88]

I'm a newly certified diver and after a few dives I've decided to take the plunge into buying my own gear. I'm trying to decide on a good primary light and a couple of backup lights. For Christmas I was given a DRIS 1000 but was surprised at how large it is and I'm not sure if I want to dive with it. After doing a lot of research I'm wanting a hand mounted primary light. I'm trying to decide between a Sola 800 for $300, Sola 1200 for $450, a Sola Tech 600 for $500 (maybe $530 as it sounds like the goodman mount may have to be purchased separate.) or a DRIS 1k shorty or impact with their goodman handle ($95/$130). Twisting the DRIS to turn on/off all the time may get tiring so if you have any short magnetic switch light recommendations with a ergonomic goodman handle I'd love to hear that.

My backup lights would probably be either the DRIS 1000 light that was given to me or the shorty/impact version. I've looked into canister lights but they seem to start out at $1,000 and I'd rather not deal with the cord. I'm not ready to commit $1000 just for a light either.

I live in San Francisco and will be diving Monterey regularly. I'm interested in night diving as well. Sometimes I go down to the Channel Islands. I'm also going to the Caribbean in a month diving at Grand Cayman, Roatan, and Cozumel. I'm also interested in a light there to brighten up corals and looking for hidden creatures under corals. I have a lot of future interest in underwater photography and spearfishing once I gain more dives under my belt. I heard that the 1000 lumen lights may be too bright in the day or may scare off some things. How useful is the wide beam setting on the Sola 800/1200? Is the 1200 worth the price difference? Or would I most likely be using the narrow beam setting for everything and the tech 600's burn time a much better bargain? Would it be possible to charge the light while on a dive boat or would either light last long enough for a 2 tank dive?

If you had a second Sola light as a backup how would you go about switching them out? Take the light off the glove or take your entire hand out of the glove? Does any of the sola lights have a spot on the housing to clip in a lanyard?

Thanks!

 

[tomfcrist]

Sola lights are solid. I would go with the 1200. The wide beam is nice when in clear water, the spot is the go to setting for muck.
I wouldn't carry 2 solas, one is fine...with a good twist on backup clipped off.

 

[Hatul]

My favorite is the XTAR D06, which costs about $70 and uses a rechargeable battery. That's all you need, and it's small enough that another can be a backup.

 

[kaerius]

At those prices I'd have a long hard look at the cheap chinese ebay lights first. You can get half a dozen of them, plus batteries, charger, replacement o-rings, silicone gel, and hand mount for less than you'd pay for one of the ones you mentioned. Quantity will make sure you get at least a few good ones.

I got some of the ~$26 mentioned here on the board, very mixed quality, but out of 3 I bought, 1 has proven reliable, others have had better luck with them than that. There's some smaller lights that cost under half that, if you want a smaller backup.

Performance wise, the ones I got with the batteries I got for them, last about 90-100+ minutes on one battery, around 1500 lumen(advertised as 5000), so far the strongest on the boat for any dive I've been on, light cone wide but not full flood, throw range is only moderate though.

 

[decompression]

Check dive gear express....great lights, great prices


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[Seya]

Cheap and great backup

http://www.orcatorch.com/product/D500.html

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[Hatul]

Cheap and great backup

OrcaTorch D500+--Brighten Your Adventure Underwater

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The orcatorch looks nice too and is in the similar class to the XTAR D06. It's nice that it comes with the wrist strap. I had to buy mine separately for the XTAR from Oxycheq. The XTAR has continuous brightness adjustment which is very handy and is available on ebay or at XTARdirect.com. I'm not sure who is selling the orcatorch. Either one of these is all you need for both primary and backup general diving.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba.]

That DRIS light 1000 lumen hand-held light you are contemplating using as a backup would work as a primary easily by using a simple device that fits on your hand and holds any light on by wrapping around it with velcro. (Yes, we carry them.)

We also have some very inexpensive canister lights, including 1000 lumens for $150. The main price factor for a canister light is a battery that will hold a long charge. By going with less battery life (but still plenty for most diving purposes), you can save a lot of money.

Dive Beacon, Dive Lights and More - Dive Right In Scuba Has It All - Dive Right in Scuba

 

[DevonDiver]

I'd suggest a Tovatec Sports Tec ST2000. It's a really useful multi-purpose torch at a good price. I've used mine as a lightweight primary for technical wreck penetration and as a GoPro video light.

It has an adjustable 220 lumen beam offering a lovely tight 12-degree spot for signalling/overhead.... and a nice clear 75-degree wide cone for night dives or basic video. It's tiny (4.8 x 1.4 inch - 4.3 oz. / 122 g), so great for travel or to stick in a pocket, on a helmet or into a soft-goodman handle. The 14500 Li-ion battery is USB rechargeable (3 hours) and the torch has 3 settings; full, 50% and strobe. It gives a low battery warning when it reaches 20% charge. Depth rating is 100m. Burn time is 90 min.

Cost is just $49.95..... buy two.... problems solved. (see Leisurepro)

 

[muzikbiz22]

DGX600 , the best $50 you will have ever spent. Dive Gear Express.