Does diving in overcast conditions require divers to have a light?
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I always dive with a light.
1) You never know when you will want to peek under the shadow of something
2) Overall visibility / light intensity can drop with water/sky conditions
3) Especially in poor visibility the sweeping beam of a light can help reunite you with a misplaced buddy.
It need not be a big light. I keep a TEC400 bolt snapped to my left shoulder where I can use it in place.
Pete
1) You never know when you will want to peek under the shadow of something
2) Overall visibility / light intensity can drop with water/sky conditions
3) Especially in poor visibility the sweeping beam of a light can help reunite you with a misplaced buddy.
It need not be a big light. I keep a TEC400 bolt snapped to my left shoulder where I can use it in place.
Pete
Kharon
Contributor
+1 - particulates in the water make using a light sometimes worse from the backscatter. Think high beams in fog.
I keep a light in my hip pouch. Even in bright shallow dives in KL. Like others have said, sometimes you want to peer into a hole or bring out some more color.
Just get a small light with replaceable batteries and strap it to your bcd somewhere if you have no pouch. That way you've always got one just in case. The disposable batteries are nice because a rechargeable that you forgot to charge is useless. Unused alkaline batteries will keep for a good long time.
Just get a small light with replaceable batteries and strap it to your bcd somewhere if you have no pouch. That way you've always got one just in case. The disposable batteries are nice because a rechargeable that you forgot to charge is useless. Unused alkaline batteries will keep for a good long time.
bradells
Contributor
In the fact they don't have one ...
When I walk into the basement on a bright sunny day, there is enough light coming through the little windows to walk around without tripping over stuff, but when it's darker outside I can hardly see at all. Should I bring a light with me when it's dark because sometimes when I'm down there it's not dark but then sometimes it is dark. It's so hard to know what is right. I have the same problem when I drive into a tunnel. It's day when I enter the tunnel but then, then it starts to get dark and it have trouble seeing, should I turn on my headlights even if I can see the little bright spot that I think is the end of the tunnel?
AfterDark
Contributor
Maybe you should use your lobster tickle stick to probe ahead of you when the conditions in your basement are dim? Then you can stop agonizing over whether to bring a light or not.
Adam Grose
Contributor
I usually keep a light on me (in my BC Pocket) all the time. That way, if I need it, I have it. This saves me having to think about whether or not I should grab it for any particular dive. Just a thought.
Adam
Adam
Bob DBF
Contributor
I don't have a basement, but my brother does, and he has a light switch at the top and bottom of the basement stairs for just such occasions. As for the tunnel, I put on the lights for others to see me.
But I digress, for most ocean dives around here, I don't bother with a light because I haven't needed one as my eyes seem to adapt well. On the local lake dives I need a light as it is pitch black below 70', and I like to keep track of my air pressure, as well as see what is on the bottom. If I didn't want to take the time for my eyes to adapt to see in a hole (say lobster diving), or wanted to see more "natural" colors, or did not know the lighting conditions ahead of time, I would carry a light as I have at least two in the gear bag.
It's like any piece of gear or tool, I just bring what I think I will need.
Bob
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Always use the right tool for the job. A hammer is the right tool for any job. Anything can be used as a hammer.
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