I need a small light, for daytime reef dives, any suggestions?

[Skinsfan1311]

I've only used a light, on night dives. I've read that many divers use lights, especially on deeper dives, look under cracks and crevices, and to illuminate the coral to better see the colors.

We're headed to Cayman, at the end of the month, and I'd like to pick one up before then. I'd like one the I can either stash in my BC pocket, or maybe clip off on a D-ring. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[mike_s]

I've got a couple of these lights that I use often.

The Princeton Tec TEC-40
http://www.divesports.com/mall/princetec_lts_tec40h.asp


I like it because it's small, compact, fits in my hand good, and provides good light for a 4-AA light.

 

[*Floater*]

Take a look at the Ikelite PCa as well. Cheap, small, uses 6 AA cells, powerful with a small spot that makes it good for looking into crevices.

 

[hunter991]

I am a big fan of pelican lights. They have a wide variety of lights but what I like about them most is the warranty. If it breaks they fix it or give you a new one, no questions asked. I have flooded several of their lights by accident and they have no problem sending a brand new one out.

Brent

 

[fdog]

Princeton, UK, Pelican, Ike, Salvo, Gulftex...they all make great lights. You won't go wrong no matter which brand.

As a generalization, my experience for small lights:

The number of batteries determines brightness.

and

The size of the batteries (AAA, AA, C, D) determines runtime.

A good, cheap look-in-cracks light would be a 4-battery C-cell light.

All the best, James

 

[scubamickey]

My Princeton Tec is good for swim throughs and as a back up for night dives, but for looking into little caves or under ledges in the gin clear waters of the Bahamas, it was not useful. Especially when compared to my husband's Halcyon Scout.

I'd go with fdog's recommendation and get a 4 battery C-cell.

 

[Charlie99]

Take a look at the Ikelite PCa as well. Cheap, small, uses 6 AA cells, powerful with a small spot that makes it good for looking into crevices.

I second that recommendation. Bright 7.5 Watt bulb in an amazingly small package considering the brightness. What suffers is battery life -- only 2 hours or so. For me, that's the right tradeoff.

As a generalization, my experience for small lights:

The number of batteries determines brightness.

and

The size of the batteries (AAA, AA, C, D) determines runtime.

A more accurate generalization would be that the wattage of the bulb determines the brightness. That wattage, combined with the battery capacity determines the runtime. An additional factor is whether or not the bulb is overdriven. Overdriving a bulb increases the brightness for a given wattage, but at the expense of shorter bulb life. Overdriving also moves the color temperature / light color from yellow on up towards blue-white.

The Ikelite PCa light appears to be relatively overdriven --- lots of light output for the wattage. At 7.5 watts, it comes closer in light output to the much larger 13 watt lights C and D cell lights than the 4 watt 4AA lights such as the UK Q40.

 

[Peter Guy]

I picked up the Ike my last trip to Maui and love it. I was absolutely amazed at how well it worked here in Puget Sound on a daylight dive! It is small and VERY bright.

 

[micbu]

You need a strong light for daytime dives, not a small week one. The small ones are good for night dives, but you will not see much during the day.


Greetings, Michael

 

[Trinigordo]

I am a fan of the UK Q40
http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=Q40minieLed