It's amazingly compact and bright. I bought one out of desperation as a backup and am about to buy another to replace my other back up.
Ease of use: 9.5/10 (The dual intensity is not needed for me)
Brightness: 9/10 (Could be used as a primary for a night dive)
Visibility (off): 3/10 (It's not black, but it's close)
Workmanship: 10/10
Cost: $41.00 from
www.Dayo.com
I hadn't noticed this thread before. Here's my solution to the visibility problem I also perceived as non-optimum. I wrapped most of the barrel of the light in yellow heatshrink tube. The photo below shows the Compact Torch (3x AAA) discussed in this thread on the left, and the Intova Ultra Nova (6x AA) on the right.
It turned out that both used 1.5" diameter (pre-shrink size) tube, the Compact was just too big for 1", and the Ultra just fit in the 1.5".
For those not familiar with heatshrink tube, it's a polyolefin plastic that's very tough, highly resistant to salt water, and with a working temperature range from below freezing to above boiling water. It's very suitable for scuba or boating gear. I use a heatgun, but a hair dryer will do the job of shrinking it. It will shrink up to 50% of its starting diameter.
I used this: McMaster-Carr part # 7856K215, 4 feet for $12.46:
McMaster-Carr
While discussing mods, note the bolt snap attachment in the photo. My first Compact Torch was lost somewhere on a dive in Bonaire, leaving the boltsnap still clipped to my BC. I have no proof, but I distrust the edges of the holes on the butt of the lights, I think it was too sharp for the nylon cave line I had tied the boltsnap on with. I decided I wouldn't lose another $50 light that way, so I've used stainless steel split rings to attach the boltsnaps on both lights.
With the exception of these minor issues I think I've addressed as described, I'm pretty happy so far with both of these lights. The Ultra is almost overkill for a recreational OW night primary; I used it mostly in 30% mode in my only dive with it so far, where it was about as good as the UK 4C eLed that it replaced (My wife has inherited that, so I saw them concurrently). But the full-power punch was real nice to have readily at hand a couple of times, and for $70, I think it's a good value. The Compact is nice for warm water day dives looking under ledges, and is a serious rather than token backup at night.
