Cutting the Cord?

[eelnoraa]

I think the dropping a light argument is pretty lame. Do you drop your reels? Spools? Arrows?

With say the Dive Rite QRM soft handle a can light on a cord or a cordless light aren't going anywhere.

If im diving for an hour to 3 hours with a surface interval before a second dive there is nothing prohibitive about swapping a battery in a cordless light.

Now- you won't get an 8 hour dive (and how many people do these dives regularly?) or 50,000 lum brightness but if you aren't shooting video does that even matter? 20,000 is plenty bright. For the cost of most 25watt systems you could have 3 Dive Rite LX20s any two of which could be swapped mid dive for the same Burn time on high output - and redundancy to boot.

They weigh less- are less overall drag- and easily rechargeable by swapping the battery at the surface.

I'm by no means saying they are better- but they have advantages and are certainly great gear....

I don't see anyone making a 50,000lum light. Most are 10x less. The DiveRite LX20 is being quoted for 20,000 lux, which is a different measurement. Using XML-L2 LED, this light producce about 500 actual lumen on the optimistic side. Most XML-L2 lights produce 300-400 luman only. So from brighness point of view, it is less than half of traditional LED canister by LM

 

[Omisson]

I'm doing more diving in a day than would be allowed on an LX20. Charging between dives is a hassle not even NEARLY worth it. On my surface interval, I want fills and food and don't want to have to mess with anything else.

As for the light output: the light is a rated 20,000LUX. NOT lumens. The light has about 600 lumens. My backup light has 70% more light output. My primary has 6x that light output on high and double that on low..... and I get 30+hours on low. In a cave, I want as much light as I can get. For plain old recreational or light tech ow dives, I don't need something as huge and bulky as the lx20. I'll take a few of my backup lights and have almost double the light.

And as for dropping stuff: yes, I have dropped lights, arrows, cookies, reels, and spools. I've also dropped regs, knives, slates, wet notes, and other stuff, I'm sure. Heck, I dropped a TANK once. I caught it before I lost it, but I did drop it.

---------- Post added February 26th, 2015 at 01:37 PM ----------



Swapping batteries becomes a very poor idea when you consider the extra hassle of having to buy, charge, maintain, and carry an extra pack. Worse yet, what happens when it's raining at the surface? My stuff stays buttoned up and sealed.

Spell check corrects everything, lux is lum is lou depending on the day... At any rate....


Charging isn't necessary if you carry back up batteries- or as mentioned earlier-more than one LX20... Cost wise it's still a 2/3 savings over a can.

My sole point is that as led Tec improves and battery systems, the benefit to cost ratios will flatten out and cutting the cord won't be such a traumatic event ... Except of course for those who's driving protocols won't permit it for another 20 years....

 

[victorzamora]

20 years is like 80% of my life away from me, I'm certainly not opposed to changes on a much shorter time scale. However, for quantity of light and burn time there's still nothing that beats a canister. The Dive Rite Lx20 is gigantic, puts out no light, and has a super short burn time. It's the same with all cordless "primaries" so far. The Lx20 puts out an optimistic 600lm, which simply isn't a candle compared to the current "big boys." I've got no problem cutting the cord, and would seriously love to. I've yet to see a product that can get there, realistically.

Also, the curves eventually have to flatten out. There's an absolute, HARD minimum energy required to output a certain quantity of light....it's simple physics. Each photon has a certain energy value. With 100% efficient everything, there's a floor on what can be achieved in terms of power draw per "output" (lumen, lux, etc). In that regard, we're getting fairly close with our "better" LED emitters. In that regard, we'll never again see the gains we've seen transferring away from Halogen, HID, CCFL, etc.

 

[garethingham]

6hrs burn for 2 cave dives a day or one long one with spare capacity. Needs to be atleast as bright as 21 watt hid. Lighter than a can light would be a mandate and not to bulky as the battery is now being held


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Patoux01]

How about a VTL5000 put on 1000 lumen output? Gives a pretty nice burn time...
TL4000 has 6 hours at 2000 lumen, 12 hours at 1000...
All at Big Blue.

They dont meet the usual "tec" specs because they have a fancy push button and stuff, and if you're a total idiot you can end up with bright red light on the VTLs and/or video setting instead of beam, but they seem alright. Haven't tried in long term though.

But people seem to be asking stupid things like "Yeah i want more power, less weight and smaller than a canister"...

 

[kr2y5]

Just installed the cord... the convenience of having more good buddies to dive with beats the inconvenience of carrying a cord any time of the day

 

[victorzamora]

How about a VTL5000 put on 1000 lumen output? Gives a pretty nice burn time...
TL4000 has 6 hours at 2000 lumen, 12 hours at 1000...

1000 lumens out of a light that big and expensive is seriously crazy. That light is gigantic and unwieldy and I couldn't stand it when I dove it. Plus, 1000 lumens was very optimistic. Makes me think all of their ratings are massaged towards optimism.

But people seem to be asking stupid things like "Yeah i want more power, less weight and smaller than a canister"...

I don't think anybody is saying that. I think people are hating on the cordless ones because it transfers the bulk from where you can ignore it to where it's as in the way as possible. The cord is a MUCH smaller inconvenience for me than such a gigantic light head.

 

[paulw]

I dive every week in a lake that is fairly dark and really murky and I have a box full of hand held lights from many of the companies named in this discussion and dive with people using others and I have to say none of them have matched the light output (ability to cut through the muck) and run time as the canister lights I have dove with. I currently have a ULD-26 led, it does a great job for my needs and everyone that dives with me wants one, I am not sure of the run time but I have made 5 1hr long dives without charging it. I would go to a small uncorded light in a second if it could do the job I want but at least for me and the local dive sites I dive week after week I have not seen a light that fits that description. For me there are many factors in a light choice, I may not need or want a powerful light in clear water but in murky water or where a silt-out could be a real issue I want a light with enough power to cut through it. This is just my O2 and I understand what works well for me may not work for someone else.

 

[Buoy_A]

We have been looking at this...STRYKR C1800 Combo Kit, 8-Cell, 150M - 1800 Lumen
View attachment 203750
View attachment 203751

Because it has a goodman similar on top of wrist way of being held so you are hands free....AND, the light head is a fraction the size of the light heads on the Can lights we are used to, so Sandra is looking forward to trying one to see if it is less intrusive...the Light power, from what we see on paper, would seem to be along the same order as the Halcyon lights.....with multiple power settings, and burn times that will last even through one of Sandra's 6 hour long dives at the BHB.

Does anyone have any experience with this light by watershot, or any other light suggestions?

Absolutely love my Watershot. You can buy directly from them, which is what I'd recommend. I purchased mine there (of course, living in San Diego helps). Jonathan at Watershot has been extremely helpful, and he is very proud of his product (he's one of the designers) and will back it up. If you can, get on the horn w. him. He'll listen to your needs and will recommend based on what you tell him.

 

[buddhasummer]

With cordless primary lights becoming increasingly commonplace in diving and seem to be advancing in technology rather quickly(like light and battery technology in general). So with that in mind, if you still use a corded primary light at what point in their advancement would you consider switching to a cordless one? Burn time? Brightness? Proven track record of dependability?

I know I personally made the switch to the Dive Rite RX-20 because the burn times and brightness were comparable to my 10W LED corded primary.

When diving dry with heated suit I find it a little awkward to wear both batteries. Of late I've been leaving the can at home and using a back up. My local conditions are murky more often than not and my dive buddy sometimes wanders, my can out was great for getting his attention, and yes discussions around this issue have been had. The idea of being able to use heated suit and a primary light is appealing. I'm thinking about the purchase. However I'm finding it more difficult than usual to justify the expense, a new baby will do that.

---------- Post added April 18th, 2015 at 11:51 PM ----------

Just read whole thread, don't think the DR, my consideration, is bright enough or had a long enough burn time for me. Might look into a frighteningly expensive dual cord battery. Or not.