Hand Held vs Cannister

[D_B]

10W HID are just not enough for many ...
I like that 25w LED and 120w battery, $1200 ... http://titandivegear.com/x-series
Its very small light head .. now about the light output? pretty bright I imagine, I bet it's getting closer to a 21HID

 

[Dive Junky]

Two hours isn't enough burn time any more.

Peter puts our LED backup lights into a Goodman-type mounting for simple OW diving, where he's only using the light to look into holes and under things. He likes it.

I haven't seen a non-canister light that can provide the sheer amount of illumination that I get from my 21W HID yet. The Oxycheq Raider IV was close, but the beam diameter was much smaller, so the total light output was less. For cave diving, you need the focused beam for communication, but you need the "spill" to enjoy the cave.

I am very fond of my Raider and use it extensively diving our wrecks in the Northeast. Burn time is great too. The inside of wrecks tend to be a bit smaller so the smaller output isnt really a hindrance and with the absence of a wire and another entanglement issue I'll take it. It also makes a great travel light for caving due to its small size.

In answer to the OP, I think each and everyone of us would do away with the cannister and wire for the same light. Who wouldnt?

 

[HenrikBP]

If the handheld had similar light output and light focus, I wouldn't mind getting rid of the canister. I would also like for light designers/manufacturers to take advantage of the possibility of varying the light output of an LED. I realize that many prefer to direct drive the LED to avoid failure of electronics between battery of LED, but it ought to be possible to build in an "emergency shortcut" in case of the electronics going south.

Henrik

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If brighter is an option in new LEDs cave divers would probably take it, so for awhile you'll still need a cannister to get the 4 hour burn time driving ever brighter LEDs.

Plus, the cord pretty much disappears if you route it right and have the right lenght.

And I prefer a small light head to a larger light with battery even with a goodman handle. The lighthead alone is always going to be smaller than the lighthead and battery combination.

 

[gcbryan]

If brighter is an option in new LEDs cave divers would probably take it, so for awhile you'll still need a cannister to get the 4 hour burn time driving ever brighter LEDs.

Plus, the cord pretty much disappears if you route it right and have the right lenght.

And I prefer a small light head to a larger light with battery even with a goodman handle. The lighthead alone is always going to be smaller than the lighthead and battery combination.

I've seen/helped people gear up in doubles, with long hose and light cord and it would seem to me to be helpful if the cord could go away.

The light head will always be smaller without the battery but if the head gets so small that it's hard to manage (think micro cell phone) then adding a small battery might not be a bad thing.

 

[Nocturnal Lights]

We just came out with the TLX 800t with 7-24 hour burn time to accommodate the needs of divers that 1) go on longer dives and 2) doesn't want to bother with switch batteries. Both the SLX 800t and the TLX 800t output about 800 lumen so there's plenty of light. You'll find that most people who are used to using canister lights will stick to canister lights.

Here's our selection of dive lights, both hand held and canister: Nocturnal Lights LED Dive Lights