Primary lights for new divers

[Scuba Skaughtie]

My girlfriend and I are going for our AOW training at the end of the month. We're new to diving but very in love with it. We need to buy our primary lights and would appreciate any input you all can give us.

[Dashrynn]

My girlfriend and I are going for our AOW training at the end of the month. We're new to diving but very in love with it. We need to buy our primary lights and would appreciate any input you all can give us.

What is your diving configuration? My sl4 modified with an led light is great either as a primary (on a good day) or just as a backup.

Can lights are all the rave....more power,time and they look cool. But honestly a good backup has saved my butt several dives..including today.

[Scuba Skaughtie]

We don't have much of a setup at this point... Like I said we are new divers. We both have our personal gear but that's about it. We're working on "gearing up" but still trying to work out the financing of it all. Our backups are Q-40s that we picked up for OW.

[spatman]

what's your budget? lights can get very expensive, depending on your needs and what style of light you want.

[ljjames]

depending on your budget, type of diving, and future diving plans, another 'different' light to look at is the SOLA 500 'dive' from Light & Motion. good burn time, mounts on back of your hand. Kind of canister light "lite" I actually took a version of it on vacation with me this last time because i simply didn't have room/weight allowance for my canister light and it actually did a really nice job for some recreational diving. if there is any chance you'll do some video down the road you can always get the 600 version and have wide angle and narrow beam and swap out the base plate (hey! some people know right off that they want to shoot UW moving pictures)

http://www.uwimaging.com/sola500d.html


(I do not work for Light & Motion, i just like their products)

[ORDiver]

If your on a budget and not looking to spend more than $150.00 for your first light I would recommend getting the UK C4 eLED. I have had one for a long time and have a lot of dives on it. I've never had a single problem with it and it's usually only about $110.00. I use it with my buddies who have HID cannister lights and, while it's obviously not as bright, it does the job fine. It's also given me the opportunity to dive with people who have a wide variety of lights and decide which expensive cannister light (Light Monkey / Salvo) I want to get without spending $500 - $1500 on one I really don't like.

[Pez7378]

My girlfriend and I are going for our AOW training at the end of the month. We're new to diving but very in love with it. We need to buy our primary lights and would appreciate any input you all can give us.

When I bought my first primary light, I got one of the UK C8 lights because that's what they sold in the store. I found that holding onto the pistol grip was uncomfortable and It wasn't really very bright during the daytime, and not very visible at night in the murky waters we have here in the PNW. When you are separated from your dive buddy underwater, you tend to look for their light and you certainly hope to see it! After awhile, it flooded and I never used it again. I do know quite a few people that use these lights and they are very happy with them. I wasn't, So I bought a used Canister light about 4 years ago and I've never had an issue with it other than wearing out the battery. The cost difference between one of the pistol style lights, and the canister light was several hundred dollars, but it was money well spent.

Most of the Pistol grip type lights use C or D cell batteries which are quite expensive to replace. Look for something with a rechargeable battery.

For local diving, a 10W or 21W HID light is ideal, and some folks even have 35W and 50W lights! If you're buying two, expect to pay a lot of Scuba Units. I know many people here who have managed to find these quality lights used and paid a fraction of what they sell for new. Some of the guys even make their own version of a bright, rechargeable canister light and sell them for a very reasonable price!

Welcome to the club! We've all been where you're at so keep asking questions. You're sure to get more information than you can manage!

Oh yeah, I don't work for Canister lights and I'm not a competitor of UK lights. I'm just a consumer! *wink*

[Dusty2]

If you want a good powerful can light on a small budget I can make you a really nice one at a good price. If you want 2 I can cut you an even better deal. http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=14412

If your really on a tight budget pass on the sl4 eled ($99.00) and get the conventional SL4 (32.00) and let me convert it to a much more powerful led for $25.00 and pocket the extra $50 ?? Or use it to do the second light. Two SL4 LED's for the same price they will charge for one.

UK makes great lights with an iron clad warranty but they are way behind in their technology. They are selling virtually the same lights today That I bought 5 or six years ago. I have a C8 eLed I bought back then at about a third of what they cost today. It's a good solid light and it's sitting on my computer desk for emergencies. However they are heavy, bulky, outdated, and tough to carry on a retractor if you like your hands free. At $150 to $200 bucks way to costly.

[Norris]

My girlfriend and I are going for our AOW training at the end of the month. We're new to diving but very in love with it. We need to buy our primary lights and would appreciate any input you all can give us.

When I bought my first primary light, I got one of the UK C8 lights because that's what they sold in the store. I found that holding onto the pistol grip was uncomfortable and It wasn't really very bright during the daytime, and not very visible at night in the murky waters we have here in the PNW. When you are separated from your dive buddy underwater, you tend to look for their light and you certainly hope to see it! After awhile, it flooded and I never used it again. I do know quite a few people that use these lights and they are very happy with them. I wasn't, So I bought a used Canister light about 4 years ago and I've never had an issue with it other than wearing out the battery. The cost difference between one of the pistol style lights, and the canister light was several hundred dollars, but it was money well spent.

Most of the Pistol grip type lights use C or D cell batteries which are quite expensive to replace. Look for something with a rechargeable battery.

For local diving, a 10W or 21W HID light is ideal, and some folks even have 35W and 50W lights! If you're buying two, expect to pay a lot of Scuba Units. I know many people here who have managed to find these quality lights used and paid a fraction of what they sell for new. Some of the guys even make their own version of a bright, rechargeable canister light and sell them for a very reasonable price!

Welcome to the club! We've all been where you're at so keep asking questions. You're sure to get more information than you can manage!

Oh yeah, I don't work for Canister lights and I'm not a competitor of UK lights. I'm just a consumer! *wink*

I have a pistol backup and it used to be my primary. I suggest, if you go this route, go online and buy some rechargable C's and a cheap charger, BLAM there you go!

[Scuba Skaughtie]

Thanks for the input!

[sitkadiver]

If you want a good powerful can light on a small budget I can make you a really nice one at a good price. If you want 2 I can cut you an even better deal. http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=14412

If your really on a tight budget pass on the sl4 eled ($99.00) and get the conventional SL4 (32.00) and let me convert it to a much more powerful led for $25.00 and pocket the extra $50 ?? Or use it to do the second light. Two SL4 LED's for the same price they will charge for one.

UK makes great lights with an iron clad warranty but they are way behind in their technology. They are selling virtually the same lights today That I bought 5 or six years ago. I have a C8 eLed I bought back then at about a third of what they cost today. It's a good solid light and it's sitting on my computer desk for emergencies. However they are heavy, bulky, outdated, and tough to carry on a retractor if you like your hands free. At $150 to $200 bucks way to costly.

Dusty2,

Are you still selling goodman handles for c-cell maglite heads? If so, could you please PM me and let me know the price. I live in Alaska, so you'll have to add in shipping cost as well.

Cheers

[LCF]

Well, I always think it's a reasonable idea to buy as a first primary light, a light that you will be able to use well as a backup, if you eventually upgrade to something more ambitious. We have been using the Dorcy Penetrator lights as backup lights for some time, and have been happy with them. They are quite bright, although the beam size isn't very large. They use standard batteries (you want to avoid anything using CR123s, which are very expensive to buy locally, and may be hard to source somewhere when you are traveling). And as much as I hate to recommend anything from Oxycheq, you can buy THESE holders for backup lights, so that you can avoid putting them on a lanyard or retractor, and still be able to use your hand.

[cardiver]

Well, I always think it's a reasonable idea to buy as a first primary light, a light that you will be able to use well as a backup, if you eventually upgrade to something more ambitious. We have been using the Dorcy Penetrator lights as backup lights for some time, and have been happy with them. They are quite bright, although the beam size isn't very large. They use standard batteries (you want to avoid anything using CR123s, which are very expensive to buy locally, and may be hard to source somewhere when you are traveling). And as much as I hate to recommend anything from Oxycheq, you can buy THESE holders for backup lights, so that you can avoid putting them on a lanyard or retractor, and still be able to use your hand.

Piranha has their own goodman style mount now.

[Dashrynn]

Well, I always think it's a reasonable idea to buy as a first primary light, a light that you will be able to use well as a backup, if you eventually upgrade to something more ambitious. We have been using the Dorcy Penetrator lights as backup lights for some time, and have been happy with them. They are quite bright, although the beam size isn't very large. They use standard batteries (you want to avoid anything using CR123s, which are very expensive to buy locally, and may be hard to source somewhere when you are traveling). And as much as I hate to recommend anything from Oxycheq, you can buy THESE holders for backup lights, so that you can avoid putting them on a lanyard or retractor, and still be able to use your hand.

Those actually look pretty good..and the price is nice.

[whatevah]

(you want to avoid anything using CR123s, which are very expensive to buy locally, and may be hard to source somewhere when you are traveling)

There is definitely some truth to that - good advice. I would add though, that I use two small lights on my camera rig as focus lights and they each use two CR123s. I found a source for some rechargeable cells to suit and I've been pretty happy with that arrangement.

I've owned a number of different primary lights over the years and many worked great - they all have pros and cons. It's not the brightest or most compact, and certainly doesn't have the neato-factor that my can light does, but I find myself coming back to my Ikelite C-Lite 8 for the majority of my dives. They're really resilient (mine takes a horrible beating coming in and out of private and county boats etc), bright enough with a really good penetrating spot beam for silty conditions surrounded by a nice even halo that's beneficial when visibility is good. I really love the mechanism for accessing the batteries - the o-ring is just compressed, needs no lube, and there are no threads to keep clean - it's the same as is used on the higher-priced Ikelite camera strobes. Anyway... it's a fairly affordable option and I use NiMH rechargeable cells with it - works great for me. Might be worth weighing up against the other options you're considering.

[Burntchef]

(you want to avoid anything using CR123s, which are very expensive to buy locally, and may be hard to source somewhere when you are traveling)

lowes has them in a 2 pack from surefire for like $6, i use them in some regular flashlights around the house. they are right next to the duracells for like $11.

as far as a back up that works great also as a primary in our cloudy waters the sartek ebl2200 is the best i have seen for $100. and it takes regular aa batteries.

[lamont]

For local diving, a 10W or 21W HID light is ideal, and some folks even have 35W and 50W lights!

When it comes to can lights, 10W HIDs aren't really enough around here to cut through the murk. On the other hand a 35W isn't really that much brighter than a 21W/24W. Unless you pick up one of the big ones for a deal or have a pile of cash burning a hole in your pocket, the 21W/24W lights are probably still the sweet spot. And I'd recommend the 9Ah to 10Ah sized battery canisters. You can probably get 3-4 recreational dives off of them or more (although you shouldn't let them drain completely).

The LED ones, like the Halcyon EOS are nice but they're not quite there yet. They are in the same price range as the 10W HIDs, but brighter and whiter and with better burntime, which makes them better than a 10W HID, but the beam isn't quite as tight. Its getting very close, but LEDs haven't quite displaced the HIDs yet. For a budget can light, the LEDs like the EOS are good though.

[Joshua Smith]

I don't agree about the 10w. I still take my 10w salvo out from time to time, and I'm still impressed by how great it is. I only bought my 21w because I couldn't stand being upstaged by Calvin. I agree that beyond 21w, it's just overkill. I don't see a huge difference between 21 and 35 or even 50w. I DO see a difference between 10 and 21, but it's not really much. 2 years ago, my buddy's 21w failed right before we were about to splash on the Governor, and I handed him my 10w- we did the dive, and it was just fine- no complaints from either one of us. it held its own at 240' in 10-15' viz.

For local diving, a 10W or 21W HID light is ideal, and some folks even have 35W and 50W lights!

When it comes to can lights, 10W HIDs aren't really enough around here to cut through the murk. On the other hand a 35W isn't really that much brighter than a 21W/24W. Unless you pick up one of the big ones for a deal or have a pile of cash burning a hole in your pocket, the 21W/24W lights are probably still the sweet spot. And I'd recommend the 9Ah to 10Ah sized battery canisters. You can probably get 3-4 recreational dives off of them or more (although you shouldn't let them drain completely).

The LED ones, like the Halcyon EOS are nice but they're not quite there yet. They are in the same price range as the 10W HIDs, but brighter and whiter and with better burntime, which makes them better than a 10W HID, but the beam isn't quite as tight. Its getting very close, but LEDs haven't quite displaced the HIDs yet. For a budget can light, the LEDs like the EOS are good though.

[whatevah]

I don't agree about the 10w. I still take my 10w salvo out from time to time, and I'm still impressed by how great it is. I only bought my 21w because I couldn't stand being upstaged by Calvin. I agree that beyond 21w, it's just overkill.

I think that past a certain point you're just lighting up the particulates and creating your own white-out :-/

[lamont]

I don't agree about the 10w. I still take my 10w salvo out from time to time, and I'm still impressed by how great it is. I only bought my 21w because I couldn't stand being upstaged by Calvin. I agree that beyond 21w, it's just overkill. I don't see a huge difference between 21 and 35 or even 50w. I DO see a difference between 10 and 21, but it's not really much. 2 years ago, my buddy's 21w failed right before we were about to splash on the Governor, and I handed him my 10w- we did the dive, and it was just fine- no complaints from either one of us. it held its own at 240' in 10-15' viz.

I dove a 10W for over a year because I could barely stomach the $600 or so that it cost at that point, but upgraded after I learned to stop worrying about cost so much, and never looked back and really don't like diving on a mixed team of 2 x 21W/24W with one diver with a 10W. The 10W is really difficult for me to track when there's two other brighter spots in the water. Its going to be a bit easier on a team of two since you control your own light and can control moving it away when you're trying to track the 10W. Still I'd be looking LED rather than 10W these days.

YMM clearly V.

[Joshua Smith]

I don't agree about the 10w. I still take my 10w salvo out from time to time, and I'm still impressed by how great it is. I only bought my 21w because I couldn't stand being upstaged by Calvin. I agree that beyond 21w, it's just overkill. I don't see a huge difference between 21 and 35 or even 50w. I DO see a difference between 10 and 21, but it's not really much. 2 years ago, my buddy's 21w failed right before we were about to splash on the Governor, and I handed him my 10w- we did the dive, and it was just fine- no complaints from either one of us. it held its own at 240' in 10-15' viz.

I dove a 10W for over a year because I could barely stomach the $600 or so that it cost at that point, but upgraded after I learned to stop worrying about cost so much, and never looked back and really don't like diving on a mixed team of 2 x 21W/24W with one diver with a 10W. The 10W is really difficult for me to track when there's two other brighter spots in the water. Its going to be a bit easier on a team of two since you control your own light and can control moving it away when you're trying to track the 10W. Still I'd be looking LED rather than 10W these days.

YMM clearly V.

MMMV. I will gladly dive my 10w on any dive with no hesitation. It can do the big boy dives, and I have no problem tracking it. A new diver could do a heck of a lot worse. In other words- 10 vs. 21 watts is hardly a game changer.

[LCF]

I did a dive a couple of years ago with Bob, when he had just gotten the fixed-focus 10W HID for Cheng. Honestly, the beam was so well-focused that there was little difference between his light, and my 21W. (Of course, I don't seem to have the brightest 21W on the block, either, but there was little difference.) A lot of how bright a light is is how tight the beam is.

[lamont]

Well, whenever the classical "gear mistakes" thread comes up about gear you bought and later regretted, I don't have as much as the typical diver who went from some kind of BCD to BP/W, but I consider my 10W light to have been one of those mistakes. Money spent on something not quite adequate enough that could have been spent on the right gear first...

[Cera]

I LOVE princeton tec lights. They have a great warranty. I have a tec 400 which I love, everyone who borrows it loves it and it runs about $30. Its small enough you can clip it and forget it, but has great beam and brightness. I have had it for almost 10 years and am still using it nearly every dive! I also have a PT shockwave, which is nice but big. They make a lot of LED lights too, but they are about twice the cost.

[airsix]

My opinion about PNW diving is that insulation and lights are #1 and #2 priority. These two things have the most bearing on my enjoyment. Having used many light styles over the years I can tell you what I will and won't use. No lantern or pistol-grip lights. Too unwieldy. I use canister lights, but any light that can be worn on the back of the hand is great (canister or not). If on a budget I suggest (as others have) to buy a quality backup (what a technical diver would consider appropriate) and use it on a Goodman handle. Move it to backup duty when you advance to a more advanced primary. Another option I think has a lot of merit would be buying a used 10w hid. I think buying 10w hid new is not a good value, but used they can be an extremely good value. I don't think you'll find more performance per dollar. It will serve you well and when you advance it can become your spare. Having a spare primary has saved me many dives. I've never needed it but I've loaned it out a lot. Despite what Lamont says about 10w hid, you have to remember what you are comparing to. They are going to far outshine the vast majority of non-specialty general dive consumer lights in terms of both performance and durability of construction. They truly represent the crossover point from so-so to high performance. When I say performance I'm not only speaking of light output, but of ergonomics, durability, and the overall experience.