Brinyte DIV10 "3000 Lumen" Canister light Review

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scubastingray

Contributor
Messages
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Location
Cleveland/Jacksonville
# of dives
100 - 199
Hey Guys, I took the plunge and got the DIV10 from brinyte as a primary for cave diving. Prior to this, I had been using very cheap (~$20 and under)handheld lights, but wanted to try this out.

Model: Brinyte DIV10, also sold under the archon label. The archon version is slightly different as the switch is on the light head (which is preferable for canister mounting imo).
Price: $165. I paid $165 through ebay, but you can actually get it cheaper now here for $156. This is far cheaper than brinyte would offer me, and I liked that i got the paypal protection. If you find it cheaper feel free to let me know where you found it.


The attraction for this light was the price, and for the money it has delivered. I previously had bought very cheap chinese lights, and they have kept up with their $100+ name brand alternatives, in my opinion this one has as well.


Packaging

Honestly, not much can be said here. The box it came in was cardboard, and had foam padding. The handle had to be assembled, and once assembled it no longer fits in the box. For that reason, I actually pitched the box before I took pictures. Everything came in good condition, and I wasn't worried about damage occurring en route based on how it arrived. It's my understanding the archon version often comes with a hard metal case. For the $150 premium, I think i'll pass on that.

It included a manual with silly instructions that should be self-explanatory, the hard goodman handle, the canister, extra o-rings, and silicon lubricant.

Build quality/Physical Description

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The unit seems very well built. I've had two other brinyte lights (the DIV01), and as always I am impressed. One thing I've noticed is that their build quality seems pretty decent, and this is no exception. The o-rings seem very high quality and properly sized (very often the o-rings are too soft or the wrong size and need to be replaced). The light head is very nice, although large. The handle itself is probably a bit oversized also, although it's no problem. The cable and glands seem to be pretty nice, and seem like they could take a bit of abuse.

The canister of the unit holds the switch, and comes with a webbing loop to mount on a belt. It takes 3x 26650 batteries, and is quite long. I wish it were a 2x3 setup, with a thicker shorter canister. My initial impression was it would be too long, but underwater it wasn't that big of a deal. My preference for the 2x3 setup (as opposed to the 3x1) is it would have a longer battery life while being more out of the way. I've thought of mounting on the side of my backplate, but it seems that might impact the ability to toggle the switch. The canister itself is also sort of thin. Unfortunately, the 26650 batteries don't have very well defined specs. In fact, protected cells are taller than non-protected cells. I have 4 ultra fire 26650s, and 2 of them seem to be wrapped an additional time, and barely fit into the canister. The other ones fit perfectly however, so I'm blaming it on the ultra fire cells. I'll be replacing them with kingkong 4000mah cells once they arrive though.

The handle is adjustable from a height perspective, and screws directly into the base of the unit. One pet peeve they could improve on are the screws. The ones that mount the handle to the bottom of the light stick out a bit, and without a glove on your hand they can irritate the top of your hand. I'll be getting new screws and counter sinking the holes. Here's a photo.
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Impressions Upon Use

I've had the light for a few weeks now, but wanted to get a few hours of use before I gave any impressions. So far I've taken it on a shore night dive in LBTS, and also to the peacock springs cave system. All I can say is that this sucker is bright! It performed incredibly well, no leaks of course, and no problem lasting the dives. The cave dives were two at about 40-45min a piece. At full power it didn't show any signs of slowing, but I didn't bother with a burn test given I was using trash ultra fire cells. I can update with a better burn time once I have decent cells, but I would estimate the burn time to be close to 2+ hours at full power and much longer at lower settings.

2 hours may not be much for many, but for shorter cave dives it seems it will do quite nicely for me. Additionally, if you plan on doing more diving in a day than that, you can always easily switch out the batteries and run at a lower brightness.

During the night dive, it performed very well, and was quite bright. In the cave we put the canister in the back, and it was damned bright even back there. If you were in front you'd have to run at 50% to be able to see my other "1000 lumen" lights. More on that next.

Light Output Compared

My baseline was a very common LED, which is used in damn near every competitor's light. The light is "1000 lumens" and is nearly identical in output to the DRIS 1Ks, the 1000 lumen dive rite canister, and countless other dive lights.

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This canister blows it out of the water. The hotspot is brighter by far, and much larger. It seems an equivalent brightness output would be between the 25-50% setting, which makes sense given it has 3 of the same LED. I took some photos, however keep in mind the exposure isn't locked between them. The light on the left is the single 18650 "1000 lumen" light, and the DIV10 is on the right.

100%
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75%
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50%
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25%
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Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the greatest risk is the risk of flooding. While I would hesitate to give an opinion on reliability, it seems every manufacturer has leaks. The build quality and my experience with brinyte thus far inspire me, and at 1/3 the price of the cheapest "name" brand can light I was happy to make the gamble. The brightness and burn time are fantastic. At lower settings you can get a couple days of diving without an issue. My brother will probably be getting one and we will use them both in the florida caves.

With my incredibly limited sample size it is hard for me to make a sound recommendation, but I'd purchase the light again. eBay's buyer protection makes me feel more comfortable, as any DoA or early failure would be covered.

Feel free to ask any questions.
 
First of all I'm happy you decided to do this review. Lots of useful info there.

I think a lot of us are moving toward or considering the 3 x LED lights. If done right they should put out a lot of lumens.

You may want to consider mtnelectronics for your batteries. He's a flashlight builder, also on BLF.

Yes, time will tell if this is a solid light or not. My pet peeve is to periodically grease the o-rings w/silicone grease. That way your doing your best to preserve your light from flooding.
 
On the Ebay site you listed, in the description is says: "Length can be shortened, easier to use"

What do you know about that?
 
lol... think you have to check the "silly manual" :wink: i bet you have mounted the handle-baseplate upside down, and thats why the two screws are sticking out/rubbing on your hand... im ref to the ebay pics, as the screws dont stick out like you have on your pic :wink:

---------- Post added September 10th, 2014 at 12:31 AM ----------

Offtopic. .... i really really hope you dont dive overhead caves with this ??
Atleast not without some pro backup lights! The div10 light might be solid, but....still a cheep china light! :)
 
Yeah.lol. but thats the pic im ref to.. no screws sticking out there.
 
Yeah, I'll try to dig out the manual. For whatever reason, the screws seem too deep for this, as the handle is wobbly when flipped in the "right" direction and the screws bottom out. Good call though.


Offtopic. .... i really really hope you dont dive overhead caves with this ??
Atleast not without some pro backup lights! The div10 light might be solid, but....still a cheep china light! :)
It's that type of fear that is hurting the industry, IMO. Chinese lights don't inherently mean poor quality.
The DRIS 1k is one of, if not the, most recommended light on this forum when people ask for suggestions. This is the same company. That chinese light is good, but this one is chinese and therefore bad?
I've seen no studies or failure statistics that have convinced me/compelled me to think that paying a premium for a hollis backup that is dimmer and has a shorter run time is worth it.

Now I'm not saying that there aren't some advantages to the $1000+ lights, but I feel completely safe bringing this with three backups into a cave. After I've got 20 or so dives on it I'll probably be incredibly risky and only bring 2 backups! How scary!


If you aren't a cave diver then you don't know; you carry 3 redundant lights. On the inaugural dives I carried a fourth. The others are all tested and were my primaries previously (handheld lights). Thanks for your concern though. In the event that all four of mine and all three of my buddy's died we would be in trouble.


On the Ebay site you listed, in the description is says: "Length can be shortened, easier to use"

What do you know about that?
I'm not too sure about that. The end cap comes off of the canister it looks like but it is quite tight now (loc-tited on I imagine like the DIV01s). Maybe you can get a shorter can for 2 26650s?
 
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Seems like there is room for a few washers on them/ or grind them down abit :wink: Ooor possible mixed the screws with the ones on the sides for the handle itself (?)
Anyways, Have you taken apart the lighthead to check out the seals on it, or ?
 
Seems like there is room for a few washers on them/ or grind them down abit :wink: Ooor possible mixed the screws with the ones on the sides for the handle itself (?)
Anyways, Have you taken apart the lighthead to check out the seals on it, or ?
The screws are different sizes, but I'll take a look at it later.

I haven't taken the head off yet, as again it seems loc-tite was employed and I haven't broken out the vice yet.

edit: I couldn't find the manual, but if i remember correctly it had nothing on putting the handle together, or anything else of value. Was more of manufacturer's info, and put the batteries in the right way. If I remember it was comically generic and likely gets included in most of their lights.

I put the split lock washers on the bottom screws instead of the side height adjustment screws, and it seems better. I will probably pick up some nylon locking nuts to make sure those stay secure.

---------- Post added September 9th, 2014 at 10:19 PM ----------

First of all I'm happy you decided to do this review. Lots of useful info there.

I think a lot of us are moving toward or considering the 3 x LED lights. If done right they should put out a lot of lumens.

You may want to consider mtnelectronics for your batteries. He's a flashlight builder, also on BLF.

Yes, time will tell if this is a solid light or not. My pet peeve is to periodically grease the o-rings w/silicone grease. That way your doing your best to preserve your light from flooding.
Oops I overlooked this earlier. I had originally thought I would get the DIV09 single LED version, but this one was only $40 or so more, not the doubling in price most sites show. Additionally, the ability to use 3x26650s instead of 2 could mean longer run times at 25 and 50% over the single LED version.

I have looked at that site before, and opted for dx.com because of the slightly better prices. It's three months later, and I never saw the batteries despite them shipping over 60 days ago. Luckily i got a refund, and spent that at fast tech. Unfortunately, what fast tech didn't advertise is that they only offer a single super slow shipping method for batteries, so I'm regretting that. I ordered the king kong 4000mAh cells, and some panasonic 18650s for my other lights.
How accurate are the ratings on mtnelectronics? I thought the King kongs were the standard, but some of those seem to be rated much higher.

And I hear you on the o-rings. I have a big tub of it that get used on all my lights. Luckily, brinyte o-rings are some of the best I've seen from the lights I have. Nearly all others get replaced very quickly because they tend to get caught when you screw in the cap and tear.

I know you are pretty knowledgeable, so if there are any tests I can do (perhaps besides a runtime) let me know.
 
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It's that type of fear that is hurting the industry, IMO. Chinese lights don't inherently mean poor quality.
The DRIS 1k is one of, if not the, most recommended light on this forum when people ask for suggestions. This is the same company. That chinese light is good, but this one is chinese and therefore bad?
I've seen no studies or failure statistics that have convinced me/compelled me to think that paying a premium for a hollis backup that is dimmer and has a shorter run time is worth it.

Well if yoy haven't even had the handle of it(witch allready seams mounted wrong way from the factory) how would you know ? The quality might look overall good, but the details can be poor! Q
You really need to know/check all the parts in an light to give it it's verdict.. inside to out..

Belive you me, i have bought killed and buildt many china lights..

im not the one hurting this industry, im just a realist. .. i still buy Chinese lights, and yeah i have ordered this aswell.. will be fun tearing it down to the bones and checking it out... but i have fait :)

And chinese light companies are no doubt geting better designs and quality.!

---------- Post added September 10th, 2014 at 11:13 AM ----------

Btw how far away from the wall was you when taking the comparison ? And what is the diameter of the hotspot vs the outer light, at that distance? :)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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