I advise that you seriously consider going Salvo. For one, the lights are cheaper. For two, I have never heard of Salvo backing out of warranty claims or making customers wait long periods of time for repair. Better and cheaper... better and cheaper... better and cheaper... As if this wasn't enough, the Salvo staff are great.
cannister light question
- Thread starter snorkl
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globaldiver
Contributor
I have talked to some divers with Salvo lights, who bought them quite recently, and they told me they have problems with the latches on the cannister. They rust, and do so fairly quickly.
split0101
Contributor
I have a DiveRite 10W HID, and it comes with both an elastic/Goodman handle, and a storm case. I agree definitely get the most wattage that you can afford. Since these things are already so expensive you might as well get one that you are going to like.
Also it depends on the type of diving that you are going to do. I prefer the elastic handle since I can lay a wreck reel with the hand I have my light on, and search for goodies with the other.
Also it depends on the type of diving that you are going to do. I prefer the elastic handle since I can lay a wreck reel with the hand I have my light on, and search for goodies with the other.
split0101
Contributor
I have a DiveRite 10W HID, and it comes with both an elastic/Goodman handle, and a storm case. I agree definitely get the most wattage that you can afford. Since these things are already so expensive you might as well get one that you are going to like.
Also it depends on the type of diving that you are going to do. I prefer the elastic handle since I can lay a wreck reel with the hand I have my light on, and search for goodies with the other.
Also it depends on the type of diving that you are going to do. I prefer the elastic handle since I can lay a wreck reel with the hand I have my light on, and search for goodies with the other.
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I prefer Salvo to Halcyon.
I use an older model, 18W Salvo. Prior to that light, I owned a Halcyon Helios 18W light. There's no comparison. Salvo performs better (brighter, more focusable), has a more durable bulb (replacement bulbs are very expensive), provides superior customer service (one-day turnaround on repairs is common, vs Halcyon's typically two to three weeks), and costs less.
That's just my experience, having owned both products ... yours may vary.
My usual dive partner uses the Salvo 10W fixed focus light. In typical Puget Sound conditions, it provides a very bright, focused beam that I don't have any problem seeing for signalling in daytime ambient light. The only real difference between her beam and mine is that the 18W provides a much larger spot. But for someone who's not going to be getting into tech diving, and is budget conscious, this is without question the brightest, most focused 10W light I've seen yet ... a LOT of light for the money. I believe that you can get the light with a goodman handle if you want it that way.
A lot of people put emphasis on a focusable light ... nice theory, but in practice most of the people I know who purchase focusable lights put them on the tightest spot they can get and leave it that way. So what's the point in paying extra for a feature that you're not likely to ever use? Now, I can see the point if you're also using the light for photography or video, where you'll want a flood from time to time ... but DIR folks use their lights for communication and that means a tight spot. So once again, for the budget-minded, nothing wrong with purchasing a light that comes with a nice, tight spot and not paying extra money for a focusable feature you'll never use anyway.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
I use an older model, 18W Salvo. Prior to that light, I owned a Halcyon Helios 18W light. There's no comparison. Salvo performs better (brighter, more focusable), has a more durable bulb (replacement bulbs are very expensive), provides superior customer service (one-day turnaround on repairs is common, vs Halcyon's typically two to three weeks), and costs less.
That's just my experience, having owned both products ... yours may vary.
My usual dive partner uses the Salvo 10W fixed focus light. In typical Puget Sound conditions, it provides a very bright, focused beam that I don't have any problem seeing for signalling in daytime ambient light. The only real difference between her beam and mine is that the 18W provides a much larger spot. But for someone who's not going to be getting into tech diving, and is budget conscious, this is without question the brightest, most focused 10W light I've seen yet ... a LOT of light for the money. I believe that you can get the light with a goodman handle if you want it that way.
A lot of people put emphasis on a focusable light ... nice theory, but in practice most of the people I know who purchase focusable lights put them on the tightest spot they can get and leave it that way. So what's the point in paying extra for a feature that you're not likely to ever use? Now, I can see the point if you're also using the light for photography or video, where you'll want a flood from time to time ... but DIR folks use their lights for communication and that means a tight spot. So once again, for the budget-minded, nothing wrong with purchasing a light that comes with a nice, tight spot and not paying extra money for a focusable feature you'll never use anyway.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
snorkl:
Depends.
I am a dealer for Salvo, Dive Rite, and Greenforce. If I can help you with any of them please let me know. The Salvo is a very nice light. They did get a bad batch of latches from the manufacturer but they will replace them no questions asked.
Brent
Brent
I've been very happy with my Salvo light.
My understanding of what happened with the latches that rusted is that there were a set of latches that were mistakenly shipped to Salvo made out of the wrong material. You can't tell them apart from just looking at them.
I knew some people that had some of those latches from a group buy that we made and Salvo replaced them and they have not had a problem with them since. That was well over a year ago, so I don't think you'll have any trouble with that now.
We've found that the 10-watt light works just fine in a dark environment, but that if you want to use the light for communication during the day that you really need the 21-watt.
I find that if the water is VERY clear, I like to put the light on "flood" from time to time to look at all of the colors that we normally miss over a larger area. Since that's rare where we are, I mostly use it focused as tightly as possible for communication. It looks like a laser cutting though the murky water. If you put the light on "flood" when it's not very clear out, all of the light bounces back at you and blinds youl. It's like using your car's high beams in the fog.
Hope this helps!
Christian
My understanding of what happened with the latches that rusted is that there were a set of latches that were mistakenly shipped to Salvo made out of the wrong material. You can't tell them apart from just looking at them.
I knew some people that had some of those latches from a group buy that we made and Salvo replaced them and they have not had a problem with them since. That was well over a year ago, so I don't think you'll have any trouble with that now.
We've found that the 10-watt light works just fine in a dark environment, but that if you want to use the light for communication during the day that you really need the 21-watt.
I find that if the water is VERY clear, I like to put the light on "flood" from time to time to look at all of the colors that we normally miss over a larger area. Since that's rare where we are, I mostly use it focused as tightly as possible for communication. It looks like a laser cutting though the murky water. If you put the light on "flood" when it's not very clear out, all of the light bounces back at you and blinds youl. It's like using your car's high beams in the fog.
Hope this helps!
Christian
I used a Salvo 10W focusable for my cavern class and have to say that thing was great. It was more than brite enough. Another thing you have to take into account is your dive buddies. If you have a 18 or 21 and they only have a 10watt than signaling can be hard. Your's will over power there's. You have to think of the safety aspec of it as well.
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