Canister light comparisons

[doctormike]

Hi,

I'm considering one of the following canister lights (although I'm open to other suggestions). This is primarily to be used for signaling during technical/wreck diving. No interest in cave diving, so very long burn times are not as important as light output and beam angle (preferably a nice bright, tight spot for signaling with some spill for illuminating dark spaces). Want to keep the price under $1000.

DiveRite RX17

Hollis LED15

Light Monkey 12W

BigBlue TLP6


Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[lucca brassi]

some from mbsub or northernlightscuba ? depends from style , beam , power...

IMO none from suggested (they are in range of backups and big blue more close to video - to big )

 

[rddvet]

I personally think the build quality of the DR and Hollis are subpar in comparison to the LM. I know nothing of big blue.

One other thing to consider is an underwater light dude. The 26 will put you over $1000 but you can possibly find the 15 for a similar price.

 

[Dsix36]

I have had several DR lights and I don't think they are the best built. Their LED versions do not produce huge amounts of light or a tight beam.

big blue - no experience

Light Monkey have great build quality and their customer service is awesome too. They were the only real game in town for serious tech diving lights until UWLD came into the market. Their LED's have a narrow beam and work well for signaling

UWLD also have great quality and customer service. their lights put out an unholy amount of light and light up a cave better than most anything else out there, but there is a sacrifice of not having a hot spot to signal with.

Hollis is my personal choice at the moment for $$ vs. product. Hollis lights were once made by Light Monkey BTW. My girlfriend has the LED15 and it works well to signal with and supplies ample light for her murky St. Lawrence river diving or cave diving. I have the LED25 and have similar need but get a longer burn time.

It is really difficult to sort out a light by numbers and specs. The best thing is to see what they look like during an actual dive if possible.

 

[JohnN]

Hi,

I'm considering one of the following canister lights (although I'm open to other suggestions). This is primarily to be used for signaling during technical/wreck diving. No interest in cave diving, so very long burn times are not as important as light output and beam angle (preferably a nice bright, tight spot for signaling with some spill for illuminating dark spaces). Want to keep the price under $1000. . . .


Mike

Have you considered one of Andrewy's canister lights? For Sale Travel DIR Scuba Canister LED Light 15 WT, 1000+ lumen DIR , LIIO, tight beam [Archive] - ScubaBoard - Scuba Diving Forum - Diving Social Network

Nice tight spot, 3+ hours burn and you can't beat the price

 

[andrewy]

Most of my dive buddies @ Monterey use 21wt HID lights by Salvo/Light monkey or Halcyon. It makes sense to have matched power in a team.

 

[PfcAJ]

Extreme exposure has a used Halcyon 21w HID with a 9ah battery for 775 bucks right now. Quite a bit below budget and a kick ass light.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

For your desired application, I think a 21W HID with a tight reflector is the ticket; IMO, the budget LEDs you listed won't do it very well (if you've dove something like them and think they're punchy enough, do whatever you like).

If a new LM 21W isn't in the budget, and that would be my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd suggestion otherwise…the used Halcyon light is a decent deal. Better yet, see if you can find a used Salvo or LM light in the power range you need…unlike Halcyon, LM will give you excellent service/support whether your light is used or not.

 

[PfcAJ]

Yeah, if you have a used Halcyon light and something breaks they won't give you excellent service/support. Right...

 

[doctormike]

Wow, thanks so much for all the suggestions... Will check out UWLD, are they really just wide angle with no spot for signaling?

Also, I had just assumed that LED was the way to go today, but HID lights are still considered reasonable alternatives?

Will take a look at that used Halcyon... The LM 21 is a bit more than I can swing right now.

I really appreciate the feedback, always happy to hear more...