My beloved Halcyon 10w HID died in a shipwreck. I was fortunate enough to recently upgraded to the 18w. Been diving my 10w for several years now. Haven't taken the 18w on a night dive yet. Did 4 dives this weekend - all daylight in good SoCal viz. Its the new style 18W Halcyon with the over-hang designed cowel reflector thingy.
Initial thoughts:
* I was worried that it would be more difficult to adjust than the 10w... simply screwing the bezel on the 10w v. unscrewing the little knob, etc. on the 18w. It is in fact much quicker and easier to adjust the 18W.
* I was SHOCKED at how much difference the smallest movement in the reflector made to the beam. I don't adjust my light a lot - but I played with it a lot this weekend to get the feel of it. I like just lightly unscrewing the white knobby, so it offeres some resistance when I move the reflector. Easier to get it dialed in just right.
* And what a beam. The volume of light is pretty amazing. Its as laser like as the 10w, just a lot more volume - the light saber is about 3 - 4" wide as opposed to about 1 - 1.5 inches wide. Doesn't sound significant, but after diving the 10w for years, its pretty wild.
* It is a whole lot bigger on the hand than the 10w. I adjusted down the goodman handle, and its still too big for my chick-like hands. I need to make it a little smaller. As it is so big, it sort of makes the right Dring a little more crowded.
* I always used to keep my 10w on my BP/W - in the bag, on the dive, home in the dunk tank, storage, hanging, packing, etc. It was no problem cuz it was so small. This light head is pretty big. And without the E/O, I can't just take the head off like I would the 10w. I'm gonna leave it on the BC and just pack my hood or a rock boot around it for a bit, and see how it fares. My Koozy doesn't fit too well on this light. I thought they came with a Halcyon branded Koozy.... some friends that have the 18w's have them... maybe they're sold separately? Maybe the dealer pocketed mine? Who knows. Anyone use the 5th D (X-tras) HID clear lens thingy? Seems to make sense for transportation, especially. Any thoughts there?
* The swiveling ballast makes for an easier carry. The ballast acts as a sort of strain relief / cord anti-twisty thing (think after-market phone cord pivot) so even though the load is bigger, there is noticably less wrist fatigue. I can see this being a big plus if I was still shooting with my Oly 5050, as I used to carry it in my left hand along with the light.
* The switch protector on the 18w is circular, as opposed to rectangular (sort of a rounded off rectangle) switch protector on the 10w. With a defined edge on the 10w switch protector, it was easier for me to blindly reach back and turn it on and off. Its tougher to turn on and off the 18w. Also, the 18w is riding too high, and I need to drop it down a bit - maybe it will be easier then.
* Charger - the charger for the 10w featured the Halcyon 3-light box, and an AC cord with an adapter (wall wart) at the end. The charger for the 18w has the samy type of 3-light box, but uses a standard removable AC cord, which runs into a small box (approx. cigarette pack size) that then runs into the light box. So its 3 parts to carry about, not two. No biggie. The trade off is the wall wart - as they essentially moved the transformer from the wall now to the end of the standard AC cord. I like it better, actually.
I loaned my back up (Sartek) to my buddy this weekend, and it was pretty evident the difference in photon output. I've never been a fan of the Sartek, but its not even in the same league. And at 1/4th the price, I wouldn't honestly expect it to be. But still, the 18w was great.
Malibu was pretty soupy on Sat, and it performed great. Catalina on Sunday was much better, and at dusk this thing really started to rock. I can't wait to get into some night diving this week to see how it lights the place up.
I'm pretty careful not to blind fishies with my light - but this thing is pretty serious. I may zip tie a smaller light to the bottom of the handle (Pug style) so I don't use the 18w as a pointer.
I'm gonna toss it into a bucket and run it down a bit tonight, do a couple of really deep drains and see how long it takes to charge.
Anyway - I like it. I really like it. Its only been 4 dives, but anyone who's been here for awhile knows I take my light on every single dive - its essential safety equipment and I never enter the water without it.
---
Ken
Initial thoughts:
* I was worried that it would be more difficult to adjust than the 10w... simply screwing the bezel on the 10w v. unscrewing the little knob, etc. on the 18w. It is in fact much quicker and easier to adjust the 18W.
* I was SHOCKED at how much difference the smallest movement in the reflector made to the beam. I don't adjust my light a lot - but I played with it a lot this weekend to get the feel of it. I like just lightly unscrewing the white knobby, so it offeres some resistance when I move the reflector. Easier to get it dialed in just right.
* And what a beam. The volume of light is pretty amazing. Its as laser like as the 10w, just a lot more volume - the light saber is about 3 - 4" wide as opposed to about 1 - 1.5 inches wide. Doesn't sound significant, but after diving the 10w for years, its pretty wild.
* It is a whole lot bigger on the hand than the 10w. I adjusted down the goodman handle, and its still too big for my chick-like hands. I need to make it a little smaller. As it is so big, it sort of makes the right Dring a little more crowded.
* I always used to keep my 10w on my BP/W - in the bag, on the dive, home in the dunk tank, storage, hanging, packing, etc. It was no problem cuz it was so small. This light head is pretty big. And without the E/O, I can't just take the head off like I would the 10w. I'm gonna leave it on the BC and just pack my hood or a rock boot around it for a bit, and see how it fares. My Koozy doesn't fit too well on this light. I thought they came with a Halcyon branded Koozy.... some friends that have the 18w's have them... maybe they're sold separately? Maybe the dealer pocketed mine? Who knows. Anyone use the 5th D (X-tras) HID clear lens thingy? Seems to make sense for transportation, especially. Any thoughts there?
* The swiveling ballast makes for an easier carry. The ballast acts as a sort of strain relief / cord anti-twisty thing (think after-market phone cord pivot) so even though the load is bigger, there is noticably less wrist fatigue. I can see this being a big plus if I was still shooting with my Oly 5050, as I used to carry it in my left hand along with the light.
* The switch protector on the 18w is circular, as opposed to rectangular (sort of a rounded off rectangle) switch protector on the 10w. With a defined edge on the 10w switch protector, it was easier for me to blindly reach back and turn it on and off. Its tougher to turn on and off the 18w. Also, the 18w is riding too high, and I need to drop it down a bit - maybe it will be easier then.
* Charger - the charger for the 10w featured the Halcyon 3-light box, and an AC cord with an adapter (wall wart) at the end. The charger for the 18w has the samy type of 3-light box, but uses a standard removable AC cord, which runs into a small box (approx. cigarette pack size) that then runs into the light box. So its 3 parts to carry about, not two. No biggie. The trade off is the wall wart - as they essentially moved the transformer from the wall now to the end of the standard AC cord. I like it better, actually.
I loaned my back up (Sartek) to my buddy this weekend, and it was pretty evident the difference in photon output. I've never been a fan of the Sartek, but its not even in the same league. And at 1/4th the price, I wouldn't honestly expect it to be. But still, the 18w was great.
Malibu was pretty soupy on Sat, and it performed great. Catalina on Sunday was much better, and at dusk this thing really started to rock. I can't wait to get into some night diving this week to see how it lights the place up.
I'm pretty careful not to blind fishies with my light - but this thing is pretty serious. I may zip tie a smaller light to the bottom of the handle (Pug style) so I don't use the 18w as a pointer.
I'm gonna toss it into a bucket and run it down a bit tonight, do a couple of really deep drains and see how long it takes to charge.
Anyway - I like it. I really like it. Its only been 4 dives, but anyone who's been here for awhile knows I take my light on every single dive - its essential safety equipment and I never enter the water without it.
---
Ken
