bright lights

[23angler]

i went on my first night dive last night and i loved it. i have a older uk light that takes 8 d cell batterys and it is fairly bright. but i knowticed on the first dive that another diver hade a supper bright light. it looked like the police helo lights that they use at night. supper bright and very white almost blue light. i was sondering what light he might have been using and where can i get one.
thanks
brian

 

[ABQdiver]

i went on my first night dive last night and i loved it. i have a older uk light that takes 8 d cell battery's and it is fairly bright. but i knowticed on the first dive that another diver hade a supper bright light. it looked like the police helo lights that they use at night. supper bright and very white almost blue light. i was sondering what light he might have been using and where can i get one.
thanks
brian

Sounds like a HID (high intensity discharge) light. Very nice light! They come in 10w and 18w typically configured with canister for the battery pack and a hand mounted light head.

Halcyon, Dive-Rite, Sartek, Terkel just to name a few. But check your credit card limit, they will set you back a few dollars.
I've got a 10w Sartek and am very happy with it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Careful ... dive light addiction is expensive business.

I started out with a UK D4, and thought it quite adequate. It cost me $79. Then I noticed my friend's UK C8 rechargeable was much brighter, so I had to have one of those ... it cost me $200. A year later I decided to upgrade to an HID light, and got a Nite Rider 10W HID for $575. Then the Terkel lights came out and they were much better. Got one of those and sold my NiteRider ... net cost, about $200. Most recently I decided that I really needed an 18W HID, so I bought one of those ... they run about the same as the price of a really nice drysuit, but now I can wear sunglasses on a night dive.

Can't wait for the next new breakthrough in dive light technology ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

You can get a UK Light Cannon in the 8 cell form factor (similar size to what you were using) that's a 10W HID. They usually run around $150 - much lower than a cannister light and a better value if you aren't going to be using it on a regular basis.

Bob's right though. It is addictive. I'm just a step behind him as I just got my Nite Rider.

Marc

 

[mech]

It's really a sickness...or at least my wife thinks so.
Ya should have seen her face when I told her how much the new big 18 watt'er I just bought cost.
She also wasn't real thrilled either about the surefire A2 aviator I bought untill she took it camping.Now she loves it.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

And OMS has a 21W coming out this Fall. On a much smaller and cheaper note, I use an Ikelite PCa during the day and as a night backup, and I've found that it's unbelievably bright for it's size. And definitley a cheap buy, check on LP.

 

[scubablue67]

That's funny I seem to be going the opposite direction. When diving in great viz I really prefer a small less intense light. I like to cover it with my hand till I see something move and then light it up. I hate when a buddy comes along and lights up the whole reef sending the critters scurrying to hide. I can imagine some of the more challenging dives you'd want as much reliable light as possible for the task at hand.

 

[scubatoys]

The white light of the UK Light Cannon is very impressive, but if you want it to have that very white look, but don't want it to be that bright - check out the new Underwater Kinetics eLed C8 .

Because they are LED's they are very sturdy, and you get longer burn times out of a set of batteries... and they are about half the price of the UK Light Cannon.

 

[Boogie711]

That's funny I seem to be going the opposite direction. When diving in great viz I really prefer a small less intense light. I like to cover it with my hand till I see something move and then light it up. I hate when a buddy comes along and lights up the whole reef sending the critters scurrying to hide. I can imagine some of the more challenging dives you'd want as much reliable light as possible for the task at hand.

Cannister lights aren't designed to 'light up the reef,' although they do have that ability. They're at their finest as a thin beam of light used for signalling. Having passive communication with your buddy through the use of light beam communication really increases the safety and ease of mind for both divers.

 

[mstudley]

And OMS has a 21W coming out this Fall. On a much smaller and cheaper note, I use an Ikelite PCa during the day and as a night backup, and I've found that it's unbelievably bright for it's size. And definitley a cheap buy, check on LP.

The 10W OMS Phantom is supposed to be a great light as well and plenty bright with a very small canister size. It's on my Christmas list this year (my wife will not buy the Halcyon for me....).