LED Canister Light

[Gombessa]

Where can you find one at that price?

The base unit (without the canister "extender") is even less than that right now at Scubatoys (and don't forget they have an SB discount on top of it):

Dive Rite LED 500 Flashlight reviews and discounts, Dive Rite

 

[DA Aquamaster]

You just have to shop around....I paid $280 for the light in one shop in VA and $120 for the cord in another shop in FL, although I coul have gotten both in the FL shop for the same $400 total.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

this is an overall GREAT description ... GREAT!
very accurate ...
one thing to add, what kind of person are you, when you dive with those buddies that have the HIDs, will you be satisfied?

at one time i was diving with a 50watt HID and it was simply put, stupid. yes i had the brightest light. so what. one of the beautiful parts of diving with cannisters is the ease of communication. when you have a light that is either weaker or stronger than your buddy's light, it is not unusual to have your beam over power or get lost in theirs, making that ease of communication worthless. I sold the 50watt and smartened up.

that handheld is suitable and easily converted to a cannister ... but why bother for the price? when the MR11s are still around (even though discontinued) for the same price?

The lack of an intense spot and the improved signalling potential that allows in a cave environment is the reason I'd still use the 10 watt HID as my primary in a cave.

The LED makes a great back up clipped to the harness (as a hand held) and the cord adds very little weight in the dive bag and potentially gives you an option of using it as your primary if your primary HID fails, gets dropped, etc. preventing you from screwing up an otherwise decent dive trip. And as indicated above it is ideal for traveling pretty fish dives where an HID is overkill and where the intense spot is a bit much and the narrower beam a bit lacking on a night dive.

I am also not thrilled at all with the apparent intent of DR to replace the MR11 with a 700 lumen LED for all the reasons outlined above - it just lacks pentration and is way too much $ for the light in comparison to the MR11. The MR11 was I thought a great entry level light and a great way for DR to build some brand loyalty with newly minted technical divers. I think they are making a mistake.

Larry

 

[RonzoTheGreat]

Do I detect a challenge? Northeast viz worse than Texas? Have you ever been in a Texas swamp/lake? We're not called the Swamp Divers for nothing. Them's fighting words! I do believe we need to have a dive off - we'll come up there to dive for a few days and you come down here to dive for a few days and we'll just see who has the crappiest viz! ... On second thought - who cares - let's just do the diving and call it a great day ...



Now dissing my light is a whole other story ... I dive my 12W Salvo LED regularly with buddies who have the Dive Rite 10W HID in the murky waters of Texas - and trust me - I'm not the one with light envy. The Salvo LED doesn't give up anything to the HID in a side by side.

can I say i LIKE your attitude ... great idea diving up here and down there ... im in!
like i said, your light is great, but the scatter (which i kept in my back pocket til now) does not lend to cutting low vis ... the leds have not been able to be fixed enough .....YET
just another reason to 2nd guess them ...ps ... cost on the salvo?

 

[RonzoTheGreat]

The lack of an intense spot and the improved signalling potential that allows in a cave environment is the reason I'd still use the 10 watt HID as my primary in a cave.

The LED makes a great back up clipped to the harness (as a hand held) and the cord adds very little weight in the dive bag and potentially gives you an option of using it as your primary if your primary HID fails, gets dropped, etc. preventing you from screwing up an otherwise decent dive trip. And as indicated above it is ideal for traveling pretty fish dives where an HID is overkill and where the intense spot is a bit much and the narrower beam a bit lacking on a night dive.

I am also not thrilled at all with the apparent intent of DR to replace the MR11 with a 700 lumen LED for all the reasons outlined above - it just lacks pentration and is way too much $ for the light in comparison to the MR11. The MR11 was I thought a great entry level light and a great way for DR to build some brand loyalty with newly minted technical divers. I think they are making a mistake.

Larry

nuff said ... probably wont chime back in here but there you have it from someone who not only dove both but still does

 

[rongoodman]

The 12W LED seems to have plenty of light for night diving or caves, but washes out in bright, clear tropical waters, while the 21W HIDs are still usable for signaling.

 

[Mattyo]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I too am looking for a canister light and have read all of the above. I am currently undergoing tech training and hoped to purchase a canister light. I have looked at thousands (it feels like) online and am no more clearer on what I want. I plan to dive open ocean wrecks here in Aus and around the Aspac region. I like the look of the MR11 and yes there are still some around for $499.
My concern was not being able to adjust the beam. Is this a real concern? or is an adjustable beam a feature you would never use anyway?
My other concern was the amount of LED technology coming in, does that mean HID days are numbered and would I be buying technology that will soon become obsolete (therefore hard to get parts, bulbs etc.)?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Why would you need anything like either in warm clear water? All it does is startle the fish. I have the rebel 12 watt led and it holds it's own with some of the 21 watts around here. Will it penetrate 100 feet? Hell no. But it does just fine at 30-40. Mine has a 6 degree beam with no dead spot in the center like some HIDs I've seen. It's small and comes with a soft goodman that I like alot since it's easy to adjust to different gloves. THe cannister is very compact and slim. And with 5 hours of burn time on a full charge along with Salvo's rep for service and standing behind their product it was a no brainer for me. And since I got mine for a smokin price it was well worth it. I've had it in the quarry a few times and on Lake Erie wrecks. It was great on the Boland and the Dean Richmond. 40 degree water and no issues. I find it very good for signaling as well.

 

[Ursus]

Thanks for the great input and advise. I will do some further research into the topic before throwing down my cash. I will be doing some freshwater diving, the Caribbean is in my backyard, and work may take me to Asia several times a year. Based on your personal experience and taking into account moderate price sensitivity, what light would you recommend.

Side Note: One of the comments mentioned that my Salvo Rat Jr. (backup) was most likely stronger than most of the other dive lights. When I was in the Caymans a couple of months ago my little backup light was 2x - 3x brighter than the everyione else's light, with the exception of the divemaster's canister light.

I would like to be able/prepared to do multiple night dives, while having more than adequate visibility to enjoy the experience as well as provide a safety buffer. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of divers doing night dives inland Texas (Houston area).

The water here can get quite murky, and the transition can be as quick as a couple of feet of depth. I lightly bounced off a submerged boat in 30' of water without ever seeing it until impact. If I had been 3 feet shallower I would have seen it at distance... Not to mention if you had any desire to go toward the coast and do any diving withing 10 miles of the coast.

Thanks,
Edward

 

[bogrady]

can I say i LIKE your attitude ... great idea diving up here and down there ... im in!

I'm probably going to be up in the Northeast (my home by the way - I'm a native Long Islander and I lived in Albany before moving to texas) sometime in the spring - we can meet for the North side of the dive then. Until then - my son - a way better diver than me - is trapped at college in Rensselear in Troy NY. He'll dive with you - or anyone that'll swing by and get him. He's fully drysuit outfitted for cold water diving. I'll pay for the gas.

Spring is the best time in Texas for good Viz.

... your light is great, but the scatter (which i kept in my back pocket til now) does not lend to cutting low vis ... the leds have not been able to be fixed enough .....YET
just another reason to 2nd guess them ...ps ... cost on the salvo?

Agree with you on that point - my major - pretty much only - concern with the LED was its ability to penetrate the murky water. I really like the way an HID pushes a blue/white pencil beam through the water.

Now - the 20+W HIDs are in a whole other class, so I'll leave them out of this evaluation - but what I'm finding is that the Salvo LED and the DR HID in the 10/12W range are about equal in "penetration". The DR HID has an edge in certain cases, and the Salvo LED has an edge in others. The DR has the thin pencil beam, but the Slavo has this very interesting "light column" - its about 2 inches wide and it penetrates much further than I would have thought possible.

Couple that with the size, reliability, form factor of the Salvo vs. the DR though and the Salvo comes out on top.

Price - I got mine for $700.00 from the LDS.