UK SL6 Light; can it be used as a primary?

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ddavid

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Hi, i searched the historical posts for a similar topic but could not find any closely related.. just wanted to get feedback from experienced divers; do you reckon the UK SL6 light is sufficient enough to be used as a primary light for tropical diving conditions?

I live in Singapore & most of my nite dives will be around Malaysia, Indonesia (Manado) etc.. as we have to travel to every dive location, i'm aiming for a small & light enough primary light to cut down on luggage bulk.. was eyeing the C4 as well, but size-wise, the SL6 is obviously smaller.. not sure if its brighter though..

What do you folks think..? do note however; sadly in singapore, the variety of dive light brands are very limited; just UK mostly, maybe a Pelican here or there.. & i think i spotted 1 piece of a Princeton somewhere.. that's about it.. thanks.. - ddavid
 
I went out and bought a Underwater Kinetics SL4 based on having used one (rented one from a local dive shop) for a night dive. My primary light had flooded during a daytime dive, and I wanted to go one a night dive. All they had for rent were PrincetonTec Surge and UK SL4. I was very satisfied with the SL4 (after all, I did go buy one) for tropical night dives. It throws a lot less light than my PrincetonTec Shockwave LED, but plenty enough to suit me. The beam is tight enough, that it makes a pretty good light for daytime diving and you want to point something out to your dive buddy.

All my bigger lights put out more light than the SL4, but only my Light Canon has a brighter "hot spot". I think the SL6 should put out about 50% more lumens than the SL4... which means that (side by side) you should see a difference between it and the SL4. I got the SL4, because it fits better in my BC pocket. It makes a great backup, when I bring a bigger light as my primary ...but yes, my opinion is that a SL6 is completely adequate for use as a primary on tropical dives.
 
hi rev blade, thanks for the feedback.. yeah if the SL4 does the job for you, the SL6 shld be just fine in the abovementioned conditions.. i was unsure at first cos reading around all the other posts, it seems like only the big, heavy lights shld be used as primarys, nothing less.. thanks for sharing your experience with the SL4. - ddavid
p.s. wouldnt it be even better if UK came out with an LED SL6 :)
 
At night in clear water any light will throw a long beam but I like one that is wider then a laser beam. Width takes a lot of power and I'm using a UK D8 now. I'd buy a canister powered HID light if I had $750. You have to ask why you are diving. Isn't to SEE stuff?

Technically to be safe all you need is the ability to read gauges so any small light will do
 
When I first started diving, I bought the SL-6 as a primary light. I found the beam was too narrow (although bright) and it was also rather heavy to lug around (after including the 6C batteries). Now the torch is lying at the bottom of my cupboard, collecting dust.
 
hi ChrisA, yeah thats a logical point; we are diving to see stuff, day or nite.. i'll research further to see if there's any other option that throws a wider/brighter light but still light/compact enough (& available in dive gear-limited singapore) to carry on trips as a primary..
hi Cat keeper, you find the SL 6 too heavy to carry around as a primary? just curious; what do you use as your primary dive light now..? Keen to know if u found a lighter but brighter light to replace the SL 6; i'll be very interested in that brand/model :)
 
Used SL6 As primary until I broke down and got 10w HID. However, for travel I still use the SL6 or the SL4. (got SL4 when my SL6 flooded in Bonaire). Side light (no pun intended) After I got home from that trip sent the SL6 to UK and they had me a new one within two weeks, no questions asked.
Narrow beam I did not and do not find to be a problem. Its nice and bright and easy to carry.
 
I used the SL6 as my primary in cavern. I now have a can light and the SL6 is my pocket backup.
 
thanks for all the usage feedback on the SL6 folks, appreciate it.. will get the light & give it a shot as a primary & see how it goes..
 
What you buy for a dive light has a lot to do with how you dive, and what kind of person you are. An SL4 is a bright, tight flashlight... but many are brighter. A 6 cell light tends to be brighter. If you don't care about battery life, and do care about brightness, Ikelite makes a 6 cell AA light. It was a bunch brighter than my SL4, but it ate batteries like they were out of style. My Shockwave LED throws a lot more light than my SL4, but it throws it all over. It's awesome for tight caves or night dives, but not so great for daytime dives. An HID light is good for divers who leave it on through the whole dive, but they start slow, and need to stay on for minutes (at least) at a time. I'm guessing the MetalSub light that is a variable power HID up to 50 watts is purely awesome, but it's expensive. It's certainly more light than I need. There have been a few occasions when I had my 10 watt HID along, and felt it was too bright, but others times I wished I had a bigger light. I've done night dives with less than 1 watt lights, and it was enough.

If no one else has better, you can be happy just reading your gauges. If someone else has a monster light, you may surface thinking, "Man! I need me one of THOSE!"
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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