What Can light do you recommend?

[Ulfhedinn]

I have been looking over can lights and right now the one that catches my eye is the Light Monkey LED 21W Canister Light w/5-Hour Burn. Then I think to myself... I dont even know what Im really looking at to what I really need.

1. Nightdiving
2. Wreckdiving
3. Someday maybe some cave.

What do you recommend and why?


Also for those of you who have can lights what do you keep it in or carry it in when you travel or head to the drink? To protect it...

 

[TSandM]

What you want for Southern California is a reasonably strong light with the ability to punch through some murk, for the days when the viz is low. If you're going out on boats, you'd like a light that you can do several dives with before you have to recharge it. And you want something that's durable enough that you don't have to pack it in foam to transport it. The light you have your eyes on will fill all of those needs splendidly, and is also a great cave diving light. How do I know? We own four of them . . .

 

[mathauck0814]

I have a Light Monkey 21w LED, my wife has a Hollis 16w LED (which is also made by Light Monkey). We dive all over SoCal and love both lights. The 21w is a whiter light than the Hollis. The Hollis seems to burn hotter and be a little more focused. The 21w is generally "brighter". I've had them in caves in north Florida and in wrecks all over. I'd recommend either for the applications you're suggesting above.

I'll note that both lights don't have quite the "punch" of other similarly powered HID lights of friends that we dive with. If you're not going to travel with your can light and it's just for local diving, you might want to look at HID. I like LED because I don't have to worry about the bulb when it's checked in my baggage. The degree of separation between the power of the LED vs. HID makes the LED the right choice - just a little bit less light and a lot more durability.

 

[Peter_C]

I have a Salvo (Now Light Monkey) 21 watt HID. It is a great light and will serve me for years to come. Today I would get the LM 21 watt LED. It is nice to have the power to punch thru the sometimes poor vis, and otherwise be able to signal in bright daylight.

 

[leabre]

[Edit] Completely rewritten...


I have a Salvo 21w HID, Light Monkey 21w LED, UTD Vision 21w LED (really a 21w Equiv but a 10w I think and it certainly holds its own to a 21w HID in our local waters). I have owned a Hollis 16w LED in the past and liked it alot, too. I always brought my 21w HID for buddy and used the 16w myself, I just really liked the 16w LED better on night dives. For our local diving I have come to prefer the LED variants. None of my LED's are focusable but I don't personally see that as a disadvantage. I've used them on wrecks, caves, low-viz/high-viz local dives, and muck. I have yet to wish I had an HID when I didn't.

For high-wattage LED to HID on team, communication shouldn't be too much of a problem. But if you get a 12w LED in our local conditions when members of your team have brighter lights, then you're beam may get washed out. In that case, we would just put the weakest light in a different position on the team.

It is easier to add E/O connectors to LED lights than HID (HID with ballast in can can't be converted). So I have just two battery packs but different light heads to connect: Light Monkey 21w LED, UTD Vision 21w (equiv) LED (which definately holds its own), 12w Light Monkey LED, UTD Vision 50w video lights (dual 21's), or split between light and drysuit heater, or whatever else can be plugged in. If budget was a concern, you can go the E/O route and upgrade your light heads later as budget and motivation permits.

When we dive together this weekend I'll bring with me a 21w HID and the LED to give you an idea of the differences side-by-side.

 

[leabre]

Revised the previous post completely!

 

[sffrenchman]

I would highly recommend the mb-sub VB50. It is a very reliable LED light, focusable i.e. you can have a very tight powerful beam. There are 2 power settings that you can select while underwater, thereby increasing your burn time when you don't need a lot of power.

 

[Otto]

Lots of good choices on the market today. If you are on a budget don't forget the classifieds. I use a Salvo, now Light Monkey, 21W HID and like it a lot. I normally travel by car with the complete light in a gym bag, battery disconnected, and the head in a can cuzzy. One thing to consider is the power source. I only use SLA power but some companies don't even offer it anymore. Good luck and dive safe.