What price a torch?

[stuartv]

First, for wreck penetrations, you very likely have NO need for a can light. Wreck pen dives just generally do not last long enough to need more burn time than what you get from a decent cordless light.

Second, if you get a light that takes more than one battery and they go in end-to-end then the light will be so long that it will be inconvenient to have it mounted on a soft or hard Goodman handle with the light on the back of your hand. I would highly recommend getting a light that is only 1 battery cell in length.

Third, a light that has multiple brightness settings is very handy. As someone already said, 1000 lumens is sometimes simply TOO bright. Not to mention how much longer a light will burn if you are running it on a medium or low setting.

Fourth, I have twist-on lights and don't use them anymore. Requiring use of 2 hands to turn a light on or off is too inconvenient for me. Plus, every twist-on light that I know of is also only one brightness, so combined with my preceding point, I don't use twist-on lights anymore.

Fifth, good 18650 cells are good. Good 26650 cells are even better. The only thing that might be better than that (in my opinion) would be a light that takes 3 or 4 18650 cells all arranged so they are side by side (thus, making the light fat but not long). But, the only lights I know of that have that arrangement are really TOO fat, in my opinion. And, a single 26650 will last long enough for just about any wreck pen diving - at least until you're talking about serious deco time - that there is just no need for multiple 18650 cells versus one 26650.

Sixth, lights with slide switches suck (in my opinion). It's just too easy to have one turn on by accident and not even realize it. A push button (that has some way to lock it) is the way to go, in my book.

As a result of all this, my current favorite light is the Xtar D26 Whale. They were running around USD$65 on eBay, but they may be less now that the Xtar D26 1600 is out. I have 2 of the D26 and 1 of the D26 1600. The 1600 is a better light in most regards, but the electronics controlling the 1600 are not solid yet. I and others are having issues with it reporting that the battery is low or dead even when the battery is over 90% full. Until Xtar gets that sorted out I cannot recommend the 1600. Once they do, the 1600 will be The Light to have (for a cordless dive light) in my book. It uses the latest LED tech (the Cree XHP35 emitter) which is substantially brighter than what is used in almost every other light that is mentioned in this thread. All those other lights are a nominal 1000 lumens. The D26-1600 is a nominal 1600 lumens. It is BRIGHT. With a very nice, tight spot beam.

Pair the D26 (either one) with an Oxycheq Raider light sock to mount the light on the back of your hand and you have a near-perfect setup (in my opinion).

 

[UFOrb]

Third, a light that has multiple brightness settings is very handy. As someone already said, 1000 lumens is sometimes simply TOO bright. Not to mention how much longer a light will burn if you are running it on a medium or low setting.

Agreed. 1000Lm can be too much for night dives. At times I’ve had my torch on the lowest setting at night. Adjustable brightness is a good idea as you can also use the brightest setting for looking in nooks and crannies and under ledges etc during the day.

 

[almostDIR]

if you really need a torch you also need some kind of backup light to not be screwed WHEN the primary light dies during the dive.
the backup does not need to be very powerful but it needs to be absolutely reliable and normal battery powered (2 or 3 alkaline C batteries for example, no rechargeable stuff).

I personally have the Sola Dive 800 as a primary light and Dir Zone 10w light as a backup (not doing any penetration diving so chose a backup which is powerful enough to be used as a primary WHEN my dive buddies don't have any own lights with them and need to borrow one like EVERY dive so far )
I also have one of those Chinese knockoffs of a Frogman light (I believe it is actually a knockoff of the Chinese knockoff of a Frogman light) which is mainly to keep the D-ring in place but can be used for something if it happens to work
I will puchase a Heser backup or similar Light Monkey stuff later and throw the Chinese light away so that I will have at least one very reliable backup with me at all times and will at the same time change the Sola to a canister light or that ise 3-light


did others already mention the backscatter problem if you are diving in murky waters?
basically the lower the visibility the more spotty torch you may need to see reasonably well. the local tech guys recommended something like 8 degrees or narrower spot to be good for Finnish waters in general but depends where you are planning to dive of course

 

[almostDIR]

I can second that the slide switches are not very usable on a dive light... my sola800 switch for example does not work smoothly underwater, the springs being not able to return the slide to the center position all the time. and it does not love sand that much. The slide switches of course work correctly IN AIR when you test them in dive shop but it is a whole lot of different case to use one underwater

 

[stuartv]

t needs to be absolutely reliable and normal battery powered (2 or 3 alkaline C batteries for example, no rechargeable stuff).

Why no rechargeable stuff?

Do you put an alkaline battery in your backup light and then just leave it in there for 6 months or a year at a time? How do you KNOW it's going to work and have the full required burn time when you eventually need it? Have you ever seen what CAN happen with an alkaline battery that is left sitting in a device for a prolonged period? (i.e. when the battery leaks)

If you check your backup light's battery before every dive day (or even every dive trip) and you confirm its charge level and condition, why would a non-rechargeable be any better than a freshly charged rechargeable that is known to be good quality and have a low self-discharge rate?

 

[almostDIR]

Why no rechargeable stuff?

Do you put an alkaline battery in your backup light and then just leave it in there for 6 months or a year at a time? How do you KNOW it's going to work and have the full required burn time when you eventually need it? Have you ever seen what CAN happen with an alkaline battery that is left sitting in a device for a prolonged period? (i.e. when the battery leaks)

If you check your backup light's battery before every dive day (or even every dive trip) and you confirm its charge level and condition, why would a non-rechargeable be any better than a freshly charged rechargeable that is known to be good quality and have a low self-discharge rate?

visually check before every dive (or after if leaking is a possibility) and confirm the level periodically or just changing new ones if the light was used and/or reliability and long burn time needed on the next dive.
I am aware that leaking batteries will corrode internal parts of the light and can even build up gases. and I have cleaned the lye stains from battery powered devices like everybody else...
I don't leave any batteries in any device for months, will take them off if not using it again in couple of days.

of course a rechargeable could be used as a backup as well. but I don't see the whole point of it being rechargeable in the first place if it is not intended to be used unless in an emergency when the primary dies. in that case the whole point of the backup would be to be absolutely reliable and that is all that is needed, anything else would be more expenses without added benefit. the less electronics would mean better reliability as well (twist switch, normal battery powered, no overdrive on LED, etc) . I you can't trust your backup 100% then you need a third light to backup the backup and so on depending on what type of diving you do

 

[stuartv]

visually check before every dive (or after if leaking is a possibility) and confirm the level periodically or just changing new ones if the light was used and/or reliability and long burn time needed on the next dive.
I am aware that leaking batteries will corrode internal parts of the light and can even build up gases. and I have cleaned the lye stains from battery powered devices like everybody else...
I don't leave any batteries in any device for months, will take them off if not using it again in couple of days.

of course a rechargeable could be used as a backup as well. but I don't see the whole point of it being rechargeable in the first place if it is not intended to be used unless in an emergency when the primary dies. in that case the whole point of the backup would be to be absolutely reliable and that is all that is needed, anything else would be more expenses without added benefit. the less electronics would mean better reliability as well (twist switch, normal battery powered, no overdrive on LED, etc) . I you can't trust your backup 100% then you need a third light to backup the backup and so on depending on what type of diving you do

I don't see the point of having a backup that is any less capable than my primary. Same reason all my reg sets have identical 2nd stages. Nor any reason to have 2 different kinds of batteries to deal with.

My primary and backup lights are the same and use the same rechargeable batteries. They all get removed at the end of the day, if the light was used, and charged. If the backup is never used, the battery might stay in for the duration of a whole dive trip.

If the primary light were expensive, then having an identical one for backup might be an issue. But, when very good lights are available for less than $100 each, having 2 identical makes sense (to me).

As for "less electronics would mean better reliability", well...

A twist switch offers some possibility of a leak. A magnetic on/off button does not.

A normal battery could go flat when sitting (or even leak). A freshly charged rechargeable that is tested periodically seems just as reliable, to me.

An overdriven LED, well, I don't see where that has anything to do with what kind of battery the light takes. And I dang sure would rather trust any decent LED light over any incandescent bulb light.

In the end, why would you trust a light with an alkaline battery that is not brand new any more than you would trust a light with a rechargeable battery that you have tested and freshly charged? And if you are going to put in a new alkaline battery every time, does that even make it better than a tested and fresh rechargeable? Or just, the same? Do you test each alkaline battery when it's new, before you use it, to make sure you didn't get a dud from the factory?

I don't really see any reason to trust a brand new alkaline battery fresh out of the package MORE than I would trust a rechargeable that I have tested and just charged.

 

[time2sail]

This my favorite...it's seen around 50 dives to various depths. 4 different power levels, blinking mode, battery lasts forever...the ring around the on/off button changes colors depending on level of remaining charge.

Big Blue


My Wife and I use these as a third utility light. It's seen just as many dives. Many times I'll clip it to my tank or dive flag and leave it on. Seems to be just as reliable as my primary...

Princeton

 

[almostDIR]

I don't see the point of having a backup that is any less capable than my primary. Same reason all my reg sets have identical 2nd stages. Nor any reason to have 2 different kinds of batteries to deal with.

My primary and backup lights are the same and use the same rechargeable batteries. They all get removed at the end of the day, if the light was used, and charged. If the backup is never used, the battery might stay in for the duration of a whole dive trip.

If the primary light were expensive, then having an identical one for backup might be an issue. But, when very good lights are available for less than $100 each, having 2 identical makes sense (to me).

As for "less electronics would mean better reliability", well...

A twist switch offers some possibility of a leak. A magnetic on/off button does not.

A normal battery could go flat when sitting (or even leak). A freshly charged rechargeable that is tested periodically seems just as reliable, to me.

An overdriven LED, well, I don't see where that has anything to do with what kind of battery the light takes. And I dang sure would rather trust any decent LED light over any incandescent bulb light.

In the end, why would you trust a light with an alkaline battery that is not brand new any more than you would trust a light with a rechargeable battery that you have tested and freshly charged? And if you are going to put in a new alkaline battery every time, does that even make it better than a tested and fresh rechargeable? Or just, the same? Do you test each alkaline battery when it's new, before you use it, to make sure you didn't get a dud from the factory?

I don't really see any reason to trust a brand new alkaline battery fresh out of the package MORE than I would trust a rechargeable that I have tested and just charged.

we may be in so different diving environments that it also causes different needs in equipment configuration.
Here it is very normal to use a bit more powerful lights between 2000 and 5000 lumens as a primary light if the diver only has budget for it. not only tech stuff but for normal rec diving as well. usually this means some sort of canister light as a primary and the backup may be some kind of flashlight style torch or two in something like 250-500lumen range. this has to do with the murky waters and overall lower light levels underwater, one may very well need a light even in daylight if diving deep enough (this may not be deeper than something like 10 meters in some situations).

my 800 lumen primary is considered small power here which is why I am planning updating it to a canister light later when I get the funds and will do slightly longer dives

if a normal battery goes flat or leaks it is easy to recognise and one will test the light before the dive by turning it on anyway so it would show if there would be a dead battery in it

 

[divinh]

A twist switch offers some possibility of a leak. A magnetic on/off button does not.

My experience with just two magnetic on/off button lights says the switches are prone to failure...

Evolva D02 - Tested on land and it was fine. At depth, the switch kept cycling through all the light modes. Back on land, it was fine. Replacement has behaved at depth.

DGX Push Button 600 - Tested on land and it was fine. On a night dive, it just switched off by itself, then toggling the button only flashed the light on for an instant. Back on land, the button only flashes the light on for an instant. Requested replacement of a twist on/off and it's been fine.

To reduce chances of twisting in the wrong direction, why haven't manufacturers put "on" direction arrows?