Dive light without breaking the bank?

[sunnydude]

Almost done compiling my gear. Figured a light is needed here. Without breaking the bank, what are good primary and backup lights to consider?

[airsix]

Sean, you'll get several opinions on this. Here's mine.

Assuming you want to dive locally and do it with some frequency...
Spend between $100-$200 on a very high-quality backup light such as a Salvo Rat Jr. ($100 or so) or an Oxycheq Raider ($70-$170 depending on model I-IV). Use your very nice backup light as a primary until you've saved enough for a very nice primary light. At that point your backup gets retired to backup status.

Going this route you won't buy anything you don't need in the long run and still get good equipment right from the start.

-Ben

[Metal man]

Here is a decent and affordable package

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.a ... tonLedPack

[Nwbrewer]

Buy mine -

http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5901

[sunnydude]

Buy mine -

http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5901

I don't think I am qualified enough to use that one.

[Joshua Smith]

Buy mine -

http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5901

I don't think I am qualified enough to use that one.

Yeah, you are! It looks a little intimidating, but cannister lights with that funny looking handle are easier to use than the pistol grip kind- nwbrewer, aka Jake, is a really nice guy, and that's a great light for the money. He'll show you how to use it.

The sad truth is that really good lights for these waters can get really expensive.

[spatman]

Buy mine -

http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5901

I don't think I am qualified enough to use that one.

don't be intimidated! it's really not that different than any other flash light. it has a switch, a battery, and a bulb. you turn it on and point at what you want to illuminate!

but all kidding aside, it really isn't difficult. and there are plenty of folks on this forum who would help you figure out how to rig it.

[sunnydude]

Do you attach the light to the tank?

[spatman]

Do you attach the light to the tank?

the light head you have on your left hand (usually). the canister attaches to your BC. those of us who use backplates thread it onto our harnesses. when i borrowed one when i had a regular BCD, i put the canister in the pocket and it worked fine.

[airsix]

Sean, just a follow-up. A canister light like they're talking about is exactly what I meant when I said "saved enough for a very nice primary". In the murky PNW a powerful canister light is a very useful piece of equipment. Some would go so far as to say essential. I wouldn't say 'essential', but I also wouldn't be without one.

-Ben

[defied]

Hey Sean,
Maybe you and nwbrewer can meet up, and you can test it, and see if you like it. Check out the Diy portion in this forum, he tells you what's in it. it's pretty cool. I'm building one as well, as these lights usually go for $500 +.

[Nwbrewer]

Sunnydude, there are a lot of advantages to canlights over pistol grip style lights. Most folks wear a BP/W with a canlight, but with that one the switch is in the lighthead, so you can easily mount the canister to the tank strap on a regular BC.

If you'd like to try it out, let me know and we'll go for a dive, you can try it out.

Jake

[Sounder]

I saw a 200w Salvo at DEMA. Barry said he'd make me a goodman handle for it, and the can is the same size as the old-school lead acid cans.

[spatman]

I saw a 200w Salvo at DEMA. Barry said he'd make me a goodman handle for it, and the can is the same size as the old-school lead acid cans.

here we go again...

[Nwbrewer]

Oh dear lord. Why don'e you just strap on an aircraft landing light? Sometimes it's nice to do a night dive, not a daylight dive at night....

[Sockmonkey]

Nice starter light (ahem... har har?)

http://thedecostop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34505

I sure wish they had posted this sooner

-Eric

[spatman]

Nice starter light:

http://thedecostop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34505

I sure wish they had posted this sooner

-Eric

same light i have, and less than i paid for it... definitely a good starter. no complaints so far.

[Sounder]

Oh dear lord. Why don'e you just strap on an aircraft landing light? Sometimes it's nice to do a night dive, not a daylight dive at night....

It can be dimmed down to 125 watts... I wouldn't want to go overboard.

[Sockmonkey]

Argh. Another one.

http://thedecostop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34483

-Eric

[Kirby]

Tacoma Scuba has an extension that attaches to the head of an SL4 or SL6 LED light that has a goodman type handle and allows it to function as a cannister light. Pretty cool for the budget minded person who already owns one of those type lights.

Kirby

[Nwbrewer]

Hey Kirby, will that work with a scout or a Photon Torpedo? I've seen those before, thought they would be cool for warm clear locations. I think I want more light than what the UK LED puts out for local diving.

[cardiver]

Underwater Kinetics has a new, 825 lumen, rechargeable for 299.

[Nwbrewer]

http://www.uwkinetics.com/product/121

Looks pretty cool actually, but I don't like pistol grip lights for a lot of reasons. I wonder why they would have used a Ni-Cd pack?

[Tom Nic]

Oh dear lord. Why don'e you just strap on an aircraft landing light? Sometimes it's nice to do a night dive, not a daylight dive at night....

It can be dimmed down to 125 watts... I wouldn't want to go overboard.

Oy...

I can see it now - Sounder's can for his can light will be bigger than his 130.

So.... why not just mount the can on your BP & Wing and sling the 130?

[Sounder]

Oh dear lord. Why don'e you just strap on an aircraft landing light? Sometimes it's nice to do a night dive, not a daylight dive at night....

It can be dimmed down to 125 watts... I wouldn't want to go overboard.

Oy...

I can see it now - Sounder's can for his can light will be bigger than his 130.

So.... why not just mount the can on your BP & Wing and sling the 130?

Not a bad idea, but the 200w canister will still fit on the belt, for now...