What to look for in a flash light

[Doby45]

In the meantime, my absolute favorite light is the Xtar D26 and they are on eBay for around USD$63.

I could not possibly agree more with @stuartv about the Xtar D26. Exceptional light for the price and I use two of them as my cave backups. A single one would work perfectly for a recreational primary and with the 26650 battery you have plenty of burn time..

 

[tbone1004]

@tbone1004 good answer. You know far more than me about lights. My comment was simply based on my personal experiences which is far less than yours. For me the focus 2.0 would be a great light - but I'm a wreck ferret rather than a cave diver. It's nice to read such an educational post though.

As a cave diver we tend to be rather passionate about our lights, and as an engineer, it's quite nifty. For poking around wrecks I still believe in what I posted in the other thread for a costerformance balance. The Halcyon Flare was an especially nice backup light and if I can find one used for like $300 or so I'll probably buy it, but at the new prices, there is just a lot of other options with either better value, better performance, or in the case of the UWLD products, both.


my only objection to @stuartv s recommendation is that I don't like 26650 batteries. I may grab one of the Xtar 820's though which seems to be similar but with 18650 batteries

 

[DivealotZA]

All my lights are fixed focus. Most adjustable focus lights are really expensive, but I did learn recently that the Tovatec Fusion 1000 is out there and available for around USD$130 and it has adjustable focus. I am thinking about getting one to try it. In the meantime, my absolute favorite light is the Xtar D26 and they are on eBay for around USD$63.

We bought 10 Tovatec Fusion 260 for our dive club and they're pretty decent to be honest...what I really like is that they're small and lightweight but have a decent output, and that you can use the rechargeable battery, or use two normal batteries with the extender. They're also pretty cheap...so I assume the Fusion 1000 would be decent aswell

Sadly I have the D26 and I found the on/off button just completely sucks - so I won't get one of those again...my solution right now is taking the spring out and hold the torch upside down...or switch it on and remove the button until after my dive

I also have one of those cheap yellow lights from china, and it works like a beast!...just make sure you get one with the switch

 

[DivealotZA]

I could not possibly agree more with @stuartv about the Xtar D26. Exceptional light for the price and I use two of them as my cave backups. A single one would work perfectly for a recreational primary and with the 26650 battery you have plenty of burn time..

Maybe I got a dud D26

 

[Doby45]

Maybe I got a dud D26

You must have. As I stated I have two and they have already lived a rather used life and the buttons work fine. I do believe they had an issue with the first batch of buttons sticking and such but I have experienced no issues what so ever..

 

[DivealotZA]

You must have. As I stated I have two and they have already lived a rather used life and the buttons work fine. I do believe they had an issue with the first batch of buttons sticking and such but I have experienced no issues what so ever..

Glad to know, a family member also has one and swears by it, so I guess it's just my luck

 

[stuartv]

I have heard that early D26 buttons had an issue where, at depth, if you pushed it (maybe more than once), it could squeeze all the air out from under it and then vacuum would cause it to stick in the "depressed" position. There is a post online about how to fix one of those older lights to not do that. But, my 2 D26 lights have never done that.

As for batteries, I have a number of Soshine 26650 batteries. They claim 5500mAh and they test at around 5300mAh. I've had some of them since I got my first D26 (somewhere near a year ago?). I think I have 8 of them, at this point. They have been great for me! And, they were less expensive, purchased from eBay, than good 18650s!

 

[Birddog1911]

A buddy of mine just ordered this; can't wait to see it in action. 6,000 freaking lumens! Of course, then it's no longer a night dive!

Max Planck 6000 – World’s most powerful dive light | Nemo Power Tools

 

[stuartv]

Looks just like this one, which is less than half the price.

12000LM 10x XM-L2 Photography LED Scuba Diving Flashlight Torch 4*R+4*B 18650 | eBay

6000 lumens in a 120 degree beam is a lot of light, but it probably won't be any brigther-looking than a regular "1000" lumen light that has a tight spot beam. I'm just guessing.

I'm very tempted to get a couple of the eBay lights to use for shooting video.

 

[Birddog1911]

Will have to look at that at home; Ebay is blocked at work.