Secondary dive light - advice?

[Nikole]

I would look for 2 things:

- a narrow beam (6 - 10 degree beam angle). Narrow beams are good for signalling. Wide beams are all but useless (EDIT: for signalling!). Using your light for signalling at night is an important function.

- adjustable brightness. A lot of the time you won't want it to be super bright, as that can scare or annoy the critters.

My favorite for all my diving is the Xtar D26. They are about $63 on eBay (plus the cost of a battery or two and a charger). They have a nice, narrow beam. They have adjustable brightness. They are super bright, when in High or Turbo modes. A single charge should easily last 2 dives on High.

Update: They are even less expensive now! $55 for just the light.

Xtar D26 L2 U3 1100 Lumens Diving LED Flashlight -- Simple Kit | eBay

Or $75 for a kit with battery and charger.

Xtar D26 L2 U3 1100 Lumens Diving LED Flashlight Full Set w/Charger and Battery | eBay

That battery and charger are not great, so I would get the light by itself and buy some Soshine 5500mAh 26650 batteries and an Xtar charger.

2 batteries for $15
Soshine 2pcs 26650 3.7V 5500mAh Rechargeable Li-ion Battery PCB Protected U5R9 | eBay

Charger for $23
XTAR VC4 USB Charger Li-ion/Ni-MH 18650 26650 AA AAA + USB Wall & Car plug

Alternative: Charger/tester for $90, and worth the investment, in my book
XTAR DRAGON VP4 PLUS PREMIUM Li-ion/Ni-MH LCD Charger

I didn't tell you, but, the minute I saw your post, I went to ebay and checked out the light that came with the battery and charger. And then I just ordered it. It was 10am and same day orders that are placed early enough usually ship the same day. And then they did ship it the same day. And I got it in the mail just yesterday and it is really nice!! Perfect size, came with the battery, a charger, and a bag to store it in. Perfect!!! And it has 4 levels of luminosity (turbo, high, mid, low). Cannot wait to use it on my night dive Saturday. Thanks for recommending! And I bought the last one, so that says alot.

 

[Hou s4m]

Have fun on your night dive!
I bought those cheap lights with 800lumen online that ships all the way from China. surprisingly made of quality material, but doesn't come with a battery so I had to go get the 18650s from a Vaping shop, cheaper than the ones sold at an LDS. my friend says i'm crazy. its been to a few night dives with deepest depth of about 60ft, doesn't flood and works like a charm. then again, its a secondary unit... stays in the pocket most of the time.

 

[stuartv]

Keep in mind that the battery that comes in that kit may be fine or it could be total crap. I bought some 26650 batteries on eBay that tested out at about 2200mAh. Then I got a couple of sets of Soshines and they all test at 5200 - 5300.

So, if the battery that comes with it is crap, you might get less than half the burn time you should. At least charge it up, turn the light on, leave it sitting in a sink full of water, and time it to see how long it will go, before you do a night dive where you are relying on it. It's going to suck if it dies 20 or 30 minutes into your night dive because they battery is a cheap POS.

It might be totally fine. But, I wouldn't want to go do a night dive with a light/battery that I hadn't tested first to be sure it would last the whole dive or not.

 

[Lonely Boy]

I am using Archon V10S, much cheaper buying from Taobao:

ARCHON奥瞳V10S 强光LED远射手电筒 潜水装备 充电探照灯远射正品

 

[tphelps]

I've been VERY happy with my DGX 600 for my backup lights. 600 lumen, about an hour burn time, 600 ft depth rated, twist on/off, triple o-ring seal, comes with charger and rechargeable 18650 battery for $55... You can't beat it for the price!
DGX 600 Handheld Light Kit

 

[george_austin]

I've been VERY happy with my DGX 600 for my backup lights. 600 lumen, about an hour burn time, 600 ft depth rated, twist on/off, triple o-ring seal, comes with charger and rechargeable 18650 battery for $55... You can't beat it for the price!
DGX 600 Handheld Light Kit

I use that one as well. Nice product. It's got a wide angle but I just made a teflon washer to go over the lens and press into the housing for more of a spotlight effect

 

[stuartv]

I use that one as well. Nice product. It's got a wide angle but I just made a teflon washer to go over the lens and press into the housing for more of a spotlight effect

You consider an 8 degree beam a wide angle?

 

[ScubaSteve85]

Anybody have experience with any of the light & motion Gobe lights as a backup light? I was considering picking up a Tech 600 as my primary and a Gobe S700 as my backup.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

I have 3 dgx600's and one 800. Very happy with all of them.

Jay

 

[tphelps]

Anybody have experience with any of the light & motion Gobe lights as a backup light? I was considering picking up a Tech 600 as my primary and a Gobe S700 as my backup.

I personally wouldn't want to use a Gobe as a primary light but they would be good back ups.

Have you checked out Big Blue lights? I was pretty happy with my SOLAs but then when I saw the lights Big Blue offered for the price, I wished I had found them earlier. I just replaced my primary canister light with a VTL6000 on Goodman handle. Love it!