what is a good compact HID or LED light?

[rigdiver]

I just upgraded my backups to Chuck Noes' "Photon Torpedo's" They are 3-c cell lights. I got just the body's without bulbs and put MAL LED's in them. They rock. Very white light, long burn time and solid as a rock. Twice the wall thickness of others. Double O-ring seals. About $65.00 for the body and $56.00 for the bulbs. Well worth it.
Bill

 

[Stivo]

Just to throw in my $.02... I recently bought the PT Shockwave LED and I absolutely love it! I took it on a recent trip to Cozumel and Florida... it worked beautifully! I used it on all of my dives as well as a couple night dives. Great penetration as I could throw light to the back of caverns & the bottom of crevices. Great primary light! A guy who was on my night dive was skeptical of the output of LED lights until we got in the water... he decided to order a few for his shop after that dive! Add to that the compact size, good price ($79 from Leisure Pro) and burn time... no brainer!

 

[thor1]

what about the uk light cannon 100 i havent heard anyone mention that light yet

 

[ScubaMike14]

For a primary the PT Shockwave LED is a great light. Very bright (did I mention it's VERY bright?). However it's a bit costly, anywhere from $150 to $200. Heck, for that price you may as well save another few hundred bucks and get a small wreck or cave light from Dive Rite.

A nice little backup light though, is the PT Impact XL. It's a 4AA LED light, about 50 hours burn time and is also nice and bright. Perfect as something to clip on your BC shoulder strap.

Just my 2 cents

Mike

 

[Stivo]

For a primary the PT Shockwave LED is a great light. Very bright (did I mention it's VERY bright?). However it's a bit costly, anywhere from $150 to $200. Heck, for that price you may as well save another few hundred bucks and get a small wreck or cave light from Dive Rite.

as stated above, i got mine for $79.99... although i think it may have gone up $10 since i bought it...

 

[Tacticaltj]

My son and I use PT Shockwave II LED and the impact XL. Love them both. Very tuff, very bright(rivals the canon and a nicer light), burns a long, long time. I paids $90 for my shockwaves.

M

 

[thmoose51]

Do most people agree that a 10w HID is too much? I will be buying one sometime soon and had intended to take it to Cozumel in July.

 

[mike_s]

I would definitely go with the Princeton Tec. I have several of their lights and am very pleased. They also come with a lifetime warranty that even covers flooding. They will usually replace a light if it fails (for free). Remember though, the LED will be no where near as bright as the HID. The LED is sort of a white/blue color that does not penetrate as far.

I've got 5-6 different Princeton Tec lights and have been very happy with them.

I've also had three of them fail/break. However, I've had no problems getting
them replaced under PrincetonTec's warranty. You just send them the old light
in the mail and a few weeks later they'll send you a new one. It's just kind
of a hassle is all, and you pay for shipping the light to them.

While it's good that I think their company stands behind their warranty and
replaces the lights, it would be even better if they didn't break.

 

[Manta]

Do most people agree that a 10w HID is too much? I will be buying one sometime soon and had intended to take it to Cozumel in July.

Themoose,

The 10 watt HID is a great light, you can never have too much. What I can tell you is that if the color temperature is very close to the suns. If you are diving in clear water with very sunny conditions, a halogen will give you better results However, if you plan to use it for night diving, it is the best.

Thanks - Greg

 

[ScubaMike14]

The only 10W HID I have experience with is a Dive Rite. Great little light, very bright, almost a blue/white color. The only drawback is that mine is a fixed beam. A head that alllows you to focus is the way to go (at least in my opinion) and I will soon be spending a few buck to remedy that issue.

I have read good things about Manta, they may be worth checking out as well.

Mike