Which lights for Michigan/Ohio diving?

[ScubaRook]

Hello all. My wife and I are still very new to diving, and even newer to cold water (if that is possible.) We are in need of gear, including lights and I could use some recommendatios.

We plan to dive mostly in the Great Lakes and Ohio quarries with some practice diving in local inland lakes. We mostly will be diving during the day, although from what I've been told diving around here at any depth is just like diving at night. I believe vis will generally be between fair and poor, i.e. 50 feet on good GL dives and few feet on bad days. We will also be diving around 100 feet (likely 60 feet) or shallower and ship recks. We may do some night dives, but not as much and some carribean dives.

So, which lights would be best? LED versus halogen? HID would be great, but I am not sure I want to spend over $100+ per light each for my wife and I. Do we each need Primary and backup lights? Would it be best for us to mix what we carry, i.e. one carry a LED primary and a halogen backup and the other vice versa?

Any opinions or specific suggestions would be great.

Thanks.

 

[david.tolan]

1) Leds make good backup lights, remember if you primary dies, the main purpose of your backup is to get you to the surface safely. Leds will take a lot more abuse and will last a lot longer on batteries.

2) NEVER use rechargables in backups.
a) they loose charge just sitting there, so if you dive this week and then in three months go diving again, unles you have recharged your batteries you could find them lacking.
b) Rechargables die suddenly, alkalines get slowly dimmer over a period of time.

3) I'm currently undecided about a primary. If you have approx a $100 budget it seems that
a) Princeton tec shockwave ii,
8 cells two filaments 7.5 / 15 watt, you can switch from one to the other underwater. (redendancy, and choice of brightness vs burn time)
b) Princeton tec shockwave Led
again 2 brightness levels. Whiter light a little broader beam, but not as bright in the middle. Should penetrate water as well due to bluer colour. again leds are a lot harder to break than bulbs.

http://www.divesports.com/mall/princetec_lts_shockwaveLED.asp

I'd love to take both a on a dive & see them side by side.

Hope that helps a little.
Dave

 

[ScubaRook]

Thanks. Good point for the backup light being an LED.

For a primary I was mixed between the Princeton Shockwave II. The PS LED looks nice too, but twice as much $$. Would an LED be advisable for Michigan/Ohio diving? The UK D8 with lantern handle looks like a good light and is on sale at various places. The Ikelite super-8 RCD and Pelican aqua king also appear to be nice. But, do I need to have such a powerful light as any of these for a primary?

My original thoughts were the Princeton Tec 400 or the UK SL6/SL4. But none of these come as LED lights. The UK mini 40 does though, but is that strong enough?

Also, do my wife and I both need a primary and backup? And what about those safety lights?

 

[david.tolan]

Don't know about Michigan/Ohio ? what's it like ? Silty ? Clear ?

If you are diving at night, or where it's dark enough that you can't see your gauges, then YES.

You can get a small backup led that will let you see your gauges for a few euros/dollars. It's not there to save the dive, it's there to save YOU.

Do you really want to be the one who didn't have the backup if you get separated and your light goes ? Surfacing slowly when you can't see your depth gauge would be interesting.

PS Anybody any ideas for how to safely surface in mucky water without being able to see your gauges ?

Dave.

Thanks. Good point for the backup light being an LED.

For a primary I was mixed between the Princeton Shockwave II. The PS LED looks nice too, but twice as much $$. Would an LED be advisable for Michigan/Ohio diving? The UK D8 with lantern handle looks like a good light and is on sale at various places. The Ikelite super-8 RCD and Pelican aqua king also appear to be nice. But, do I need to have such a powerful light as any of these for a primary?

My original thoughts were the Princeton Tec 400 or the UK SL6/SL4. But none of these come as LED lights. The UK mini 40 does though, but is that strong enough?

Also, do my wife and I both need a primary and backup? And what about those safety lights?

 

[SDAnderson]

You'll want a lot of light and, eventually, more than one of them. The criteria for a good light are fairly simple - here's a list in no particular order...

• Inexpensive. Right now, HID is the 800lb gorilla of lights but too pricy for all but the insane. Personally, I love my little Sartek 10wt HID for Great Lakes diving but it's $$$ and it increasingly looks like LED is the future. Remember - count lumens, not watts, for an apples/apples brightness comparison between different types of bulbs.
• Long burn times. Big batteries for primaries - there is nothing worse than losing a dive because your light was fading. Rechargeable is fine for primaries, so long as you have a back-up with disposable batteries. Or two.
• Focusable beam. It seems silly, but being able to crank that wide beam down to peer inside a hold is important.
• Easy to carry. You need to be able to comfortably carry the light during the dive and you need to be able to secure the light well during entry/exits. More than one diver has lost a light because the lanyard snagged or the fastex clip gave way.
• Redundancy Depending upon what diving you're doing, you may want some redundancy. On the other hand, if you're new and planning on sticking close to your buddy and not going inside wrecks, you may not need lots of back-ups right away. It might be better to invest in a good light for each of you and rely upon each other if you experience a failure - just stay out of the pitch black and definitely don't penetrate anything without at least a couple of back-ups each.

Your $100 price point is difficult - most of the primary lights that you'll be looking at are overdriven and prone to sudden failure. I'd recommend saving your lunch money for a real light, even if it isn't an HID monster.

 

[ScubaRook]

# Focusable beam. It seems silly, but being able to crank that wide beam down to peer inside a hold is important.

I've not seen a light with a focusable beem, other than the $$$ can lights. Do you know of others?

Your $100 price point is difficult - most of the primary lights that you'll be looking at are overdriven and prone to sudden failure. I'd recommend saving your lunch money for a real light, even if it isn't an HID monster.

Any specific recommendations then?

Thanks

 

[jesstotheocean]

I've not seen a light with a focusable beem, other than the $$$ can lights. Do you know of others?



Any specific recommendations then?

Thanks

ScubaRook, let me know what you do end up getting. I'm also in search of a light.

 

[pants!]

If I were in your position right now, I'd probably buy a Princeton Tec Shockwave LED (~$100) as a regular light and a Princeton Tec 40 (~$15) as a backup/daytime light.

For a cheaper halogen 8 C-cell light, I've used the Shockwave II and the UK C8 and much prefer the C8. I like the controls and the handle, as well as the fact that the backup bulb in the C8 is the same brightness as the other bulb.

 

[pants!]

Oh, you should definitely each carry backup lights. You can get a decent backup for under $20 so it shouldn't be a very big deal.

 

[david.tolan]

I just ordered

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=ShockwaveLED

I'll let you know what I think once it arrives, and then I'll post a comment about what it's like in Irish waters. (that may be some time later)

Dave

Oh, you should definitely each carry backup lights. You can get a decent backup for under $20 so it shouldn't be a very big deal.