Non canister lights for cave diving?

[Jim Lapenta]

I just got the 12watt rebel led from salvo and it friggin rocks! Much brighter and better beam than a 10w HID that others had this past weekend. And 5 hours burn time. Did 4 dives in Erie. All in excess of 100 feet 18-25 minutes on the bottom and 44 degrees. No issues whatsoever and the elastic hand mount I like.

 

[Flightlead]

Well, I think it might depend in part on whether you think you will go on to do any cave diving. If so, buy the Salvo. If you do any diving in low viz/low light conditions, buy the Salvo. If you do any diving where you run line or need a hand free (eg. scootering) buy the Salvo.

Heck, just buy the Salvo. You won't regret it. My Salvo is hands-down my favorite piece of gear.

I'm not knocking salvo, I like my salvo 10W. But I will point out that the light head is significantly larger than the dive rite and oms lights my teammates use. it is definitely noticeable in terms of drag and inertia when moving the hand, and in interference such as reaching behind a clipped off stage or when doing valve drills.

also be aware that different vendors have different focus. my salvo does not "penetrate" murky water as well as the oms or dive rite, but it does illuminate a larger spot.

I would advise trying some different vendors products and seeing if any of these differences is critical for your use.

 

[InkDiver]

I'm not knocking salvo, I like my salvo 10W. But I will point out that the light head is significantly larger than the dive rite and oms lights my teammates use. it is definitely noticeable in terms of drag and inertia when moving the hand, and in interference such as reaching behind a clipped off stage or when doing valve drills.

also be aware that different vendors have different focus. my salvo does not "penetrate" murky water as well as the oms or dive rite, but it does illuminate a larger spot.

I would advise trying some different vendors products and seeing if any of these differences is critical for your use.

I wasn't aware that DR or OMS made 21w LED's.

 

[Flightlead]

I wasn't aware that DR or OMS made 21w LED's.

I don't know if they do or not. If you re-read my post you'll see I said my light was a 10W.

The point being there are other considerations that the user may find of importance in addition to wattage and burn time.

 

[mrpat]

Thats why I love this board. There are always a series of well considered answers to a legitimite serious question.
I must admit for years I've always rented my primaries, being too cheap to spring for the big ticket canister.
For the occasional failure: these days my secondaries are all LED's which work great but do require you to stay pretty close to the guideline or if working backwards on your reel make it a little slower process.
Just get in there and dive.
Mr. Pat

 

[ucfdiver]

Thats why I love this board. There are always a series of well considered answers to a legitimite serious question.
I must admit for years I've always rented my primaries, being too cheap to spring for the big ticket canister.
For the occasional failure: these days my secondaries are all LED's which work great but do require you to stay pretty close to the guideline or if working backwards on your reel make it a little slower process.
Just get in there and dive.
Mr. Pat

I had 2 Halcyon Scout xenons during my training, and 1 sl4 LED that stays in my drysuit pocket. The LED was VERY bright for the lights out exit in Ginnie, much more so than the scouts. HOWEVER, when we went to peacock and viz was 30ft at best, the xenon scout outperformed the LED because the LED couldn't penetrate as well with the particles in peacock at that time. If I had the choice right now, I'd have 1 backup LED, and 1 xenon/halogen, since both of them have their benefits. I like the durability and burn time of the LED, and the penetration of the xenon.

In a silt-out, I'm grabbing my scouts....in a clear system where my primary just happens to die, I'm grabbing the LED.

LED technology is growing fast, it seems every month or two a new LED backup or primary comes out that has us all drooling these days. I have a feeling I won't be carrying anything but LED's before long.

 

[LiteHedded]

I had 2 Halcyon Scout xenons during my training, and 1 sl4 LED that stays in my drysuit pocket. The LED was VERY bright for the lights out exit in Ginnie, much more so than the scouts. HOWEVER, when we went to peacock and viz was 30ft at best, the xenon scout outperformed the LED because the LED couldn't penetrate as well with the particles in peacock at that time. If I had the choice right now, I'd have 1 backup LED, and 1 xenon/halogen, since both of them have their benefits. I like the durability and burn time of the LED, and the penetration of the xenon.

In a silt-out, I'm grabbing my scouts....in a clear system where my primary just happens to die, I'm grabbing the LED.

LED technology is growing fast, it seems every month or two a new LED backup or primary comes out that has us all drooling these days. I have a feeling I won't be carrying anything but LED's before long.

the xenon scouts are light sabers!!!
love those little things