Primary light for cave

[PedroPec]

Hi,
I need advice on purchasing a primary light. I live in Europe and intend to acquire a sidemount primary light with a canister that has technical support in Europe, with at least 4000 lumens and a good quality/price ratio. Which brand/model do you recommend? Thank you.

 

[oya]

I love my LIght Monkeys.

In Europe you might have easier access to Nanite or Thor. Both of which are pretty amazing lights; the former is no-frills and solid function, the later is lots of optionality and ability to field-fix.

 

[SavageSeaCow]

I love my LIght Monkeys.

In Europe you might have easier access to Nanite or Thor. Both of which are pretty amazing lights; the former is no-frills and solid function, the later is lots of optionality and ability to field-fix.

I’ve been looking at a light monkey primary but the canisters I’ve seen look huge. Have they made them smaller at all?

 

[Kendall Raine]

The LM rotary switch lights have a very nice small form factor. Customer service is outstanding.

 

[rjack321]

I’ve been looking at a light monkey primary but the canisters I’ve seen look huge. Have they made them smaller at all?

The canisters aren't substantively larger than the batteries need to fit. 18650 batteries are the size they are so any "tiny" canisters are almost universally going to be less capacity.

 

[PEDiver]

I would say focus more on quality and functionality than having 4K lumens which really isn’t necessary. I would also stay away from any handheld primary lights (especially BigBlue) and get a corded light with a decent sized battery so it can grow with you. A lot of the cheaper lights like BigBlue and OrcaTorch also overestimate their brightness and burn time and don’t have constant output (instead, over time, they will gradually decrease in brightness). The nicer, more expensive lights generally are constant output and will give you the same level of brightness until the light dies.

 

[SavageSeaCow]

The canisters aren't substantively larger than the batteries need to fit. 18650 batteries are the size they are so any "tiny" canisters are almost universally going to be less capacity.

18650s are one thing. Even three or four of them in a bundle isn’t too bad. Someone had one today that looked like it would fit about 6…

I currently use the big blue 5200 and I do like it for dives under 4 hrs but I’m wanting something with more duration as I get into longer dives.

 

[oya]

I’ve been looking at a light monkey primary but the canisters I’ve seen look huge. Have they made them smaller at all?

Don't need but the 10 or 15ah can. The 10ah will probably do for 99% of cave divers in the world for runtime even with the 32w head.

I run the 15ah with the 32w myself. Which I charge twice a week. As a working instructor. So... again... the 10 is probably big enough artillery and it ain't that big.

 

[PedroPec]

I love my LIght Monkeys.

In Europe you might have easier access to Nanite or Thor. Both of which are pretty amazing lights; the former is no-frills and solid function, the later is lots of optionality and ability to field-fix.

Thanks for your answer. I think Light Monkeys doesn't have dealers in Europe. Nanite it seems good, but unfortunately the canister cord doesn't have the 90º for sidemount (if I searched well)

 

[PedroPec]

The LM rotary switch lights have a very nice small form factor. Customer service is outstanding.

But in Europe, who sells and have customer service for LM? Thanks