Best dive light?

[eelnoraa]

For Monterey kind of water, sola 500 or even sola 1200 (which I tried), is not the right kind for primary light. They are very good video light tho. The main issue is their beams are too wide. Silty water + wide beam produces lot of backscatter. From buddy point of view, these lights don't have enough pentrating power.

For handheld, non canister, so far I have found the best for the money is Hollis LED5, DRIS500/1000. They are not too big for mounted on soft goodman handle, very long run time, tight beam, good penetraing power. But they are lousy video lights.

My current primary is HOG 21HID. I like it so far. I have always like LED light, but for Monterey, HID still wins in a low viz day. I dived with a buddy with a 35W Sartek, it kicked my 21W's bud pretty bad.

 

[Superlyte27]

I have had a Sola 1200 for the past year or so that I like a lot, it doesn't focus as tight as I would like it to, but the compactness for rec diving more than makes up for it. I did modify the mount that I got with it, using surgical tubing to mount on my hand since I found the velcro strap difficult to use with dry gloves.

I am now looking to move into technical and cave diving, so the Sola 1200 with 70 minutes of burn time at full power just won't be sufficient for longer dives, and I am now looking at a canister light. So far, I am leaning towards the Light Monkey 35W HID, but will likely keep the Sola 1200 for rec dives, or travelling when baggage weight is a concern.

I have that light Nimoh. My dive buddies usually hate when I bring it. It's really bright. So I dive my LM 12w LED a lot of the time.
But I do recommend LM

 

[Darkhog]

I am now looking to move into technical and cave diving, so the Sola 1200 with 70 minutes of burn time at full power just won't be sufficient for longer dives, and I am now looking at a canister light. So far, I am leaning towards the Light Monkey 35W HID, but will likely keep the Sola 1200 for rec dives, or travelling when baggage weight is a concern.

Did you get a canister light? I'm curious how the sola 1200 compares to your canister light?

 

[TSandM]

I'll vote for Light Monkey. I own four of their canister lights. They don't need service often, but when they do, those guys bend over backwards to get things fixed and back to the owner, often at minimal or no cost. If every company I dealt with behaved like LM, the world would be a better place.

For a hand-held light (and I agree that big HID lights are NOT ideal for tropical night diving) I've been pretty happy with the Dorcy Penetrators. They're inexpensive and have been reliable, and the beam is bright, although small. Their only downside is their habit of turning themselves on at depth, and the fact that the sharp edges on the aluminum frame cut the cave line I use to tie snaps to them.

 

[ajduplessis]

I have used Halcyon and Hollis lights for technical diving and have great respect for their equipment. I also use Aquatec light for and found them nearly bulletproof. If someone asked me if I would buy a LM the answer would be YES. LM user base is very happy and you will only hear good reviews. I have 3 Invotas, also great but one has crapped out.

 

[DCBC]

I guess it depends on the burn time you require and how much light you need. For duration, I like the The Light Monkey 20W LED. It comes with a 20 Amp Hour battery option, which will provide up to 8 hours of burn time (usually 8 hours). The light is relatively compact and is about 3 lbs negatively buoyant. The choice will depend upon your particular needs. Good luck with your search!

 

[Force-E Divers]

There are so many great lights out there, but there is a newcomer that you might not know about. For a back up light, I'd like to suggest the new Aqua Lung lights. They are very bright (the Alu Trio has 3 LEDs) and can be stowed away in a BC pocket or clipped off on a D-ring.

They are worth a look: Lights Range

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have the dorcy's as back ups. Five of them in fact. I let students use them as backups and in some cases as primaries. I have 21 watt HOG and Salvo 12 watt Rebel cannister lights. Use whatever the situation calls for or whatever I feel like taking. In addition I also have a Nocturnal 50 watt halogen that I need a new battery pack for. The HOG is normally what I use and really like it. It comparable to the LM. I've sold a couple as well.

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