Northwest Dive Club

Apparently SOMEONE has a story to tell about how many lights you SHOULD take with you underwater.

I carry my primary and one backup. I've often thought that I should start carrying a second backup simply because I have experienced a primary failure and didn't have the confidence that my backup would get me through the dive. Not that it's unreliable but because I put batteries in it, rarely check it and forget it's there.....kinda like insurance.

So how many lights do you carry? What's the standard? Should I buy another backup to my backup?

I'm not consistent in how many lights I carry. I always carry a primary light. It's not only good for looking at stuff, but it's my primary means of communication with my team, and the lights we carry make it easier to find people if you get separated, too.

In strong ambient light, none of my backup lights is much good for communication. The only ones I've seen that really do much are the eLED upgrades for the Photon Torpedo, which are really tightly focused and cut through the murk. I'm perfectly willing to do a shallow daytime dive with my primary and no backups, although I usually have at least one, because they live on my harness.

At night, your lights are all you have, and there, I carry three: My primary, and two backups. One backup is a very bright but not tightly focused light (Salvo Rat Jr.) with about a 3 hr burn time. The other is a very dim but long-lived light. If I lose my primary at night, I'm probably going to turn the dive, and all I need is enough light to identify me to my teammates, because I'll more or less be coming home on their lights.

In the tropics, I sometimes carry no lights, because even the HIDs don't do much to communicate there. Sometimes I'll just carry a small light for looking in holes. I get lazy . . .

It depends. I own a can light and three backups, a Photon Torpedo LED, a OMS Vega LED and a Halcyon Scout xenon. I'll put the PT and the OMS on my harness when I night dive or do a big dive (for me). Otherwise, I have one backup on the harness. My lights kinda bounce back and forth between my rigs, but I always carry at least one backup.

I carry a can light and 1 backup. I am about to add a second backup for an upcoming course. I think the majority of the time though I will wind up with only one backup.

Around here, even on night dives I typically only carry my primary HID and one backup. Mostly cause I don't wanna tote around a backup that's never getting used and run the non-zero risk of flooding it. Between me and my buddies we'd have at least 2 primaries and 2 backups. And its not that big a deal for me to exit without any lights.

If I'm doing a big dive for me I generally bring 2 backups. Big is all relative but typically below 130-140ft or in Lake WA (where they are all dark). Mostly cause its damned hard for me to see my gauge in Lake WA or below about 120ft in Puget Sound so I really need a light to safely get outa there. My gauge has a backlight but the button is the same as the stopwatch reset button so I don't use the backlight much.

In the tropics or Channel Islands (by LA) lights are basically useless. For cave/cavern dives I bring 3.

Richard

I carry two lights.

A main light and a small backup.

I carry two, because I own two, so why not. I figure that way if my primary craps out on a recreational dive, I can continue on my 1st backup with no ill effects, I still have a backup. That or I wind up handing one off pre-dive to someone with no backup. One is the Salvo/Princeton tec xenon, the other is a pelican recoil that the bulb died in, so I replaced it with a Maglite LED drop in. It's nice and bright yellow, so it's distinctive.

Jake

6, as in SIX !!
YES, count them, 6 lites...
Looks Like a "Freak'n Christmas Tree"
LOL.. man, they sure to creep up...

Camera has a Focus lite and SL4
On left side belt, QL4 and Green Force Tri-LED (new)
Right side has a a Dive Right LED
On Shoulder Strap QL4 - shines on the computer when brought up
On Computer hose QL4

Looking like a Freak'n Dive shop...
Bringing it back down to 3 on straps and 1 on camera...

Had 3 go out on a Dive at Whycliff, outer wall... been a light junky ever since... but kicking the habit...

Did I mention I don't normally do night dives... usually have them off anyway..., just camera light...

I carry 3 usually:

1 35w Salvo HID (primary)
1 10w Salvo HID handheld (back-up primary)
1 4AA Princeton Tec LED (2nd back-up)

I test them all as I gear up to ensure they're all working before the dive.

I usually carry my primary (18w HID) and a back up (LED Photon Torpedo)

On deep-deeper than 150- I carry 2 back ups.

On dives that I have my video camera, which means I can't carry a primary, I carry 2 back ups.

I typically carry 2....HID primary, LED Photon Torpedo for backup.

On big dives, I'll throw a 2nd LED PT on my harness.

In warm water, unless cave diving, I don't even bring my HID. I just bring the 2 PT's (1 for primary, 1 for backup) and they work just fine, even on night dives.

One primary (when I can bum one) and one backup.

To answer your question Pez: I've considered adding a second backup but school eats funds normally allocating for diving like a starved pit bull with a steak in it's sightline.

The best light in the world doesn't do any good unless you have it with you. I thought I was SO prepared Saturday with:
SL4 backup on my harness
35w HID canister
50w halogen canister (in case someone else needed a light)

... but I forgot both can lights on the floorboards of the car when assembling gear (put them there so they'd be 'safe'. lol). Rode 3/4 mile from the parking lot to the drop site in the back of a pickup with other divers before realizing light was missing. Couldn't go back. :(

-Ben

airsix wrote:The best light in the world doesn't do any good unless you have it with you. I thought I was SO prepared Saturday with:
SL4 backup on my harness
35w HID canister
50w halogen canister (in case someone else needed a light)

... but I forgot both can lights on the floorboards of the car when assembling gear (put them there so they'd be 'safe'. lol). Rode 3/4 mile from the parking lot to the drop site in the back of a pickup with other divers before realizing light was missing. Couldn't go back. :(

-Ben

](*,)