NEED A LIGHT FOR NIGHT DIVE AOW- UK SL4 L1 ELED??? Advise please!!!

[Slater]

Doing my advanced open water dives at Catalina next weekend on the 19th & need a light for the night dive...
Saw one post on the new UK SL4 L1 ELED Underwater Kinetics SL4 eLED L1 Dive Light
They claim 400LM, has anyone dove the light & thoughts?
I know idealy this should be a back-up light but at this point not sure how much night diving we will be doing & still need to pull the trigger on some Bc's, really dont want to dump $200 on a primary but then again dont want to purchase twice due to inferior gear...
How do these smaller lights compare to a pistol type? A student had a uk sl4 l1 in class tonight & I thought it was very bright but then again seen reports that it drops down to 200lm after a short peroid..

Or should I forget about the thought that a small less bulky light will enough for night diving & pull the trigger now on a bigger light:
Princeton Tec, NEW 400 Lumens Shockwave LED

Which larger light would be best bang for the buck $$$

 

[WreckDiver1321]

I use the Pelican Nemo 2010 LED. I bought it for the night portion of my AOW and love it. Small, only about $65ish, and a plain old great light. I have it with me nearly every dive. It's bright enough and big enough to cover the area you're looking at for AOW, usually. And on future dives. Works wonders for me. I put it in an OxyCheq Raider II light sock so I don't lose the use of my hand. Bear in mind I am looking to upgrade, so it'll probably become a backup, but it's a great start. You can find the Nemo and some other great small lights, and the Raider light sock at uswaterrescue.com. That's actually the website of my LDS, they're a joy to work with.

 

[Paleface]

Diving Backup Lights - Dive Gear Express
If you dont want to spend the money now IMHO,buy a good backup light that can easily be used as a primary now. Later when you have the money and decide if you are going to a can light or others you can simply move this light to a backup. I have a Intova Ultra,nice compact bright light that has a narrow beam to cut through murky water. Good luck! Keith
PS. You can also get the Raider Light sock 1-2 and use this light hands free.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

You should carry two dive lights on a night dive. If you need a light for one dive and you don't have your other gear, buy a smaller LED light... I like the Dorcey 220 lumen aluminum light....

Eventually, if you want to night dive a lot, you will probably want to buy a big pistol grip LED like the Princeton tech, but you don't need it right now, especially for one dive. The Dorcey is great for use in the day looking in holes and makes a great back up for night dives. Buy your other gear before you spend a bunch on a light you will hardly ever use.

 

[Slater]

Well maybe I should have mentioned that we actually have a couple of Intova Ultras...
I was just really intrigued that the new UK SL4 L1 ELED is claiming 400lm's & was curious if that was legit & more sufficient for a night dive.
Think im just going to try & borrow a primary & bring the Intova till I decide on a real primary if & when I decide I really need one.
Instructor stated that we needed a primary & a back-up wouldnt be acceptable but he also stated that the UK SL4 L1 was just fine, well I guess ill find-out first hand if she drops to half its claimed brightness halfway through our dive...

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

The SL4 is an odd shaped light (i don't care for how it feels in my hand, doesn't mount nicely to harness down the road) and I believe the Lumen Output is off.

Here is a different type of option: A small compact light that has been popular with us (for rec diver w/part Tec, hands free) is the Big Blue Al250.

bigbluedivelights.com

What our divers have liked is that it's bright (250 lm), Hands free (goodman glove) and price ($99) adjustable beam CF250 ($135). Down the road when you get a bc, especially BP&W, light mounts great to the harness and turn into a good B/U if you go to a Can light. Hard to picture direction of diving but it is good to not have to re-buy down the road.

Now that we have seen these lights performing well in the field, We are putting them on our site, give a call or PM me if you want help with this.

 

[Lobzilla]

Another option in the same price range and also available through diveseekers is the Halcyon Scout
The Scout is marketed as a serious backup light for cave diving but it makes a nifty open water light if you stick it in one of these inexpensive Goodman gloves.

On the left is my nephew with one of my Scouts next to a diver with an $1800 21W HID light. The picture was clipped from a video taken in broad daylight at about 20 feet. At night, the light output from the Scout is more than you will ever need and the burntime is a solid 4 hours from three C batteries. You can see on the ground (even in daylight) that in addition to the tightly focussed "light saber" it has a nice spill to illuminate a wider area.

 

[diveprof]

More light for a night dive is not always desirable. You ultras should do fine. I actually use a Princeton Tec40 sometimes. The mega lights often scare off marine life before you have the opportunmity to see them.

 

[1thumper]

I have a couple of Dorcy 6-AAA K2 Super Flux LED Dive Lights, and love them. Rated 180 lumen but the tight beam truly has a light saber effect. Every night dive that I've been on the other divers say they always know where I am because this seems to stand out over everything else. Very durable case. You can buy them for about $45-50 US.

 

[Dashrynn]

The sl3 isn't a bad light, the beam looks great! But i can't comment on the quality or how long it will last down the road. Buy a nice backup light, you won't regret it.