Primary Light suggestions

[WetDane]

Hey TexasMike,

Katee is talking about the AUL lights - if you want to stay cheap - stay away from HID - you'll never get a cheap one.
I have seen decent cannisters go for about $200 on Ebay - typically the 8-9 Amp w/ a 35 or 50 watt bulb. I personally have the Spectrum 14 w/ a 50 watt halogen - works great adn I dive with people with HID's - about the same output, but the HID is "blue" in the color - oh and it is also the latest greatest thing (Yehaw - lemme spend some more money).
Btw - if you get a halogen and decide you really need an HID - AUL will upgrade your lighthead for $200.

As far as your use goes:
If you only have $150 to blow right now - I would consider not getting a primary - since rechargeable IS the only way to go for the primary and they are about $175 and up...
You stated that you want to be able to get a better look in crevices and such and maybe use it for night diving - these are potentially two different lights.

For the day time thing - I would get a SL6 from UK (6 C cells) - it'll let you see what you want and it is inexpensive ($40 - I think) - hmm, Niterider has a small handheld that has one heck of a light output - don't know the price - but I see them as daytime lights, bright enough that you could use if for night as well though.

Anyway - get a daytime light - it sounds like you go on trips to dive and don't do it in your backyard - typically on a trip you'll get 1 maybe 2 night dives - I would rent a light for that!

Kate - more Grunt Sculpins last night!!!

Dane

 

[TexasMike]

Dane...Thanks for the tips.

A bit of research through the Online shops and discovered Liesure pro is selling a UK Daylight 8 cell, non-rechargeable. for $39.95 ($46 after shipping), which when compared to the list price shown in the recent Rodales is a good deal.

I'll probably get that until my needs grow to a canister light.

 

[WetDane]

Don't forget that you may be replacing 8 D cell every couple of dives... that's going to add up pretty fast...
Other than that - I have mainly heard good things about the UK lights...

Cheers,
Dane

 

[large_diver]

I have the basic UK 8 cell non-rechargeable and it works fine here in the murky waters of New England. I'll have to go back and look at my logbook tonight, but I think I've been getting about 6-8 dives before having to change the batteries. It's always fun when you buy a new light and are using trial and error to figure out how long batteries will last in a given light.......it died rapidly on me in about 40 feet of water last summer on a night dive. I will check the logbook tonight to give you a more specific answer on how long it lasted.

 

[daylight]

I've had the same performance experience as laarge diver. I've been very pleased with the light and it doesn't eat batteries.

DSAO

 

[WetDane]

Ok - I'll accept that as good voices -

Dane

 

[large_diver]

Checked my logbook -- 7.5 dives (it died on the middle of the eighth. Each of these dives had different durations and depths. The instruction manual for the light estiamtes 4-5 hours of burn time on 1 set of batteries. This sounds about right since most of my dives were on average 40 minutes long.

 

[Corsair]

Hey mike, the UK and Princeton lights are pretty good, both offer a rechargeable option. If you're looking for a good buy that's close to home, we bought ours at 2Dive4 at Stemmons freeway and Royal ln in Dallas. You can check out their online store at http://www.scubatoys.com The prices are about the best I've seen (I got my Zeagle BC for about $100 less than a dive shop near lake Travis was giving as standard retail). The owners are knowledgeable and helpful (and a couple of smartasses to boot)

 

[TexasMike]

I've met both Larry and Joe at 2dive4 when I was pricing out my Ranger BC and Zeagle Reg. Joe came off as too much of a wise acre for me to take him seriously regarding equipment/training. Larry was better, but well....suffice it to say I found Sand & Sea Scuba to be the folks I like. As my friend Marc Thompson says, finding a dive shop is like finding a church. It takes a while to find one you like and supports the doctrine you want to dive under.

I have purchased a UK Sunlight D8 (14-16watt) from Liesure pro for $35 and will have it for our Terrell trip. Figured it would do until I needed (and saved up for) a canister light.


Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I will report back how well this worked on both my lake and blue water diving.

--Mike

 

[Corsair]

He is that, but he does know his stuff. He was the one who checked me out on the Ranger (Sold!). Larry actually took us in the classroom for a quick course on regulator anatomy. Showed the differences, pros and cons for diaphragm and piston regs. Both of 'em helped us out a lot. Made us a really good deal on 2 full rigs.