First time "canister" light

[emstuv]

I, like many others, am in the market for a new (first) dive light. (I do have some UK SL3 as backups) Living in Norway, alot of the good diving (I am told) is in the winter. Norway + winter = dark.

As I am traveling state-side for Christmas I was planning to pick up a light without breaking the bank, as the airline tickets alone can pay for a light.

I am an open water diver, I do not dive caves or penetrate wrecks......yet. Perhaps later, but not until 2015/16 (new diver).

- Budget 800-1200 (+-100)
- Goodman handle (2015 GUE-F course)
- Min 4h burn time
- Preferably narrow beam
- Servicable/warranty in Europe

After trying to go through the various threads and blogs on lights it can quickly become confusing. People have ofcourse their preferences.

What have I looked at so far:

- Halcyon Focus/Flare : Looks very nice and shiny, pricey. Sold in Europe.
- Halcyon EOS Mini : (Not canister, optional) Very travel friendly. Battery compatible if I should later pick up a Flare/Focus. Sold in Europe.
- UTD Viz 35 : (Not canister, optional). Very travel friendly. Compatible with other UTD items???
- LD-15 107wH : People like LD. I know nothing of this brand. How would warranty/repairs be in Europe? Pricey.
- LM 12W LED : A bit small? Output? Not the best review on Diverightinscuba.

This is where I am, I could probably add a lot more lights to the list.

Any thoughts, tips?

 

[eelnoraa]

I could be wrong, and please correct me if I am. viz 35, single LED, draw 0.7A, it is impossible to produce 3500 lumen with today LED technology. With 0.7A number, it will be lucky to get even 1000 real out the front lumen. It could still be great light, but spec is wrong.

Out of your choice and budget, I will go with either halcyon focus or UWLD.

 

[emstuv]

OK, well that raises some questions with the Viz 35.

 

[lucca brassi]

On north you have very nice lights like 40w LED Super Spot LH, E/O | Northern Light Scuba with true penetration power , possible upgrades (modes) and not so expensive

SCUBAMAFIA -verkkokauppa -

for good light you need very deep reflector or big lense on front and very small emiter leds ( cluster of them like northernlight made also nice hot spot and corona ) other i would look on MB SUB zoom led

head ( like more traditional canisters). mb-sub.com: VB - CAVE

(avoid multiple lenses construction - lenses must be separated! )

IMO Halcyon have for me too weak led (10W ) probably work nice in clear water but..t in bad conditions .... I would put that led in my backup for fun , to see what i would get out

 

[MikeRD03]

The first three demands from your list are done by all lights on your list. But if you want narrow beam and a easy service in Europe the Focus can be your choice.

@lucca: The VB-50 and Focus head share the same LED. I have both heads and in term of penetration the Focus is better/hotter cause of its tighter max focus.

 

[C P]

I have the LM 12W LED and love it. Great light that, by my experience fits all of your criteria except I don't know about the European Service part, easily. The guys at LM are top notch and have serviced other makers lights for me, so I know their customer service it top notch. Don't know about the other lights though but you won't go wrong with the LM

 

[Randy g]

UWLD is the only primary lights I have and I use them because the company has stellar customer service, the lights are "The Best" I have ever used and they come in a variety of flavors from 13w spots to 60w floods and everything inbetween. I own 4 of his lights, a rebuilt MR11, LD26, LD35 and LD60.

Underwater Light Dude | Light technology, for serious divers!

 

[MikeRD03]

It could still be great light, but spec is wrong.

And that it not the only problem I am seeing with their lights. Obviously - and all UTD owners will hate me for that - I think, they are simply selling cheap Chinese lights as "made in USA" for tenfold of its price. For example their VIZ15 can be ordered here for 18$: New Arrival Aluminum Professional CREE LED Dive Torch - China Led Dive Torch, Mini Led Flashlights
And that's only one example..

Mike

 

[Kevrumbo]

I saw the Focus Wednesday first week of November at Hollywood Divers (Los Angeles near Universal Studios); next day I cruised down to UTD HQ San Diego and bought the V35 instead.

Been using the cordless configuration since then for two weeks now in Truk Lagoon, on the all the WWII 70 year old wrecks ranging around 12m to 60m deep; nice tight hot spot with good peripheral/concentric halo-corona. Like not having to futz with a cord (i.e. no need to worry about routing a cord under the long-hose and easy to switch hands); easy to hold and point to illuminate at all angles (oblique & acute) & wrist rotations. Good to have for Z-system sidemount -no mounting external battery canister on waist belt in back and having to route a cord around to front & under the long hose. . .

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wDob7yYkZN0

The only downside is the piezo on/off switch is too sensitive and can turn on inadvertently when being contained loosely & knocking around inside a dive bag (more safer to transport in ready to dive configuration inside its own included custom foam case).

Here in the heat & humidity of Truk Lagoon. cordless battery lasted 150 minutes in 30deg C water over two separate dives on two consecutive days (80 minutes on the Kiyosumi Maru Freighter and the next day on the Shinkoku Maru Tanker where it shut-off at around 70 minutes). Advertised burn-time for cordless is 180 min (3 hrs) on high beam. Battery voltage measured 9.9 Vdc; a full charge measured 12.7 Vdc.

 

[Diver0001]

Any thoughts, tips?

I don't have any experience with the lights you mentioned so I can't advise you about that. However, I do have some advice for you.

1) don't forget that if you buy a light state-side and want to bring it back to Norway that there is a chance that it will be discovered and you will have to pay an import duty on it.

2) don't forget that if there is a problem with the light that it will need to be serviced (under warranty). This may involve having to ship it to the manufacturer in the USA. I have had this situation in the past with a computer (I am an expat living in the Netherlands). Getting the computer serviced involved (a) 6 weeks of shipping, repairs and correspondence via email and (b) customs intercepted the "replacement" computer and insisted that I needed to pay import duty on it. It took me another 6 weeks of exchanging emails and documentation with customs to prove that I was the legitimate owner of the computer that had been replaced and that all of appropriate taxes had been paid over THAT computer.

What I really need as a customer is to drop off the item at the dive shop and pick it up fixed a couple of weeks later. Having to do all of this myself and having to deal with customs as a party in the warranty chain is a MAJOR pain in butt. As a direct result of this I ebay'd all of my kit that I couldn't get serviced within the Netherlands and replaced it. I'm much happier now.

3) I would recommend at least considering European made gear. Your list gives me the impression that you've read too much internet and too little about "locally" made products. Greenforce (Belgian), Metalsub (Dutch), Lola (Czech). Hartenberger (German), Diveright (English) and several others like OMS (German) make outstanding products. I wouldn't reject them out of hand because you read something on the internet. That's just my personal opinion.

R..