Best light for night dives

[srhtech]

what is the best light to get. I am looking for a good LED light for night dives. What are things that are differant about differant lights?

[mitsuguy]

Gonna need a lot more information...

where do you dive, what kind of visibility do you typically have, what kind of run times do you need/expect?

Some popular ones are the Oxycheq which is a very bright, very focused beam in a standard flashlight form factor; the Princeton Tec Miniwave or Shockwave LED which are bright, not so focused pistol grips; then you get into some more expensive somewhat brighter LED's and HID's...

[bubbletrubble]

The best bit of advice I can give you is to talk to people who dive regularly in your local waters. Some places have great vis, whereas others have a fair amount of murkiness that requires a more robust light. Since you weren't very specific about your location in your ST profile, I really can't say what would be the "best" LED light for your local water.

The most commonly recommended primary lights here at ST are:
- Princeton Tec Shockwave eLED (8C)
- Princeton Tec Miniwave LED (4C)
- UK C8 LED (8C)
All of the above lights can be had for $100 or less.

If weight is an issue because you'll be traveling to your dive destination, then the Miniwave LED is a good choice. Personally, I have only had experience with the PT Shockwave eLED and the UK C8 LED. Both give a nice white light that is not as penetrating as the UK HID Light Cannon. Others have had issues with the PT lights breaking down. I actually prefer the lock-out mechanism on the PT lights to the wimpy pull out triangular knob on the UK lights.

Good luck with your light search and don't forget to purchase a smaller backup light in case your primary stops working.

Have fun and dive safe.

[russp]

I just recently bought my light setup for my advanced class and the best advice I can offer is decide on a budget. There are OK 3 light sets starting at about $100 (not LED) and individual lights going close to $400. I went with all Princeton Tec LED lights and for what I needed, was very happy with the $150 price.

[rawalker]

Princeton Tec Miniwav LED is 9 watts output on high, 6 on low.
This is the same output as the Shockwave LED in a 4C model and is higher output and brighter than the UK 4C eLED and most other 4C offerings. Fairly tight beam focus. Battery life is very good considering the high output. Usually priced around $89. I find this to be a good general purpose primary light.

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by srhtech

what is the best light to get.

The best dive light I'm aware of is the ROV Medusa built by Phoenix Engineering of Virginia for James Cameron's 3D Titanic movie. You probably won't do much better than 12,000-Watts of arrayed HMI lights.

Originally Posted by srhtech

I am looking for a good LED light for night dives.

In that case, the best light I'm aware of is the Salvo Rebel 21 Watt LED Dive Light, powered by a 10.4 amp Li-ion rechargeable battery pack providing 4 hours of burntime. The 21 Watt LED emitter outputs 1100 lumens at 5600 kelvin on full power. The Emitter is rated at 50,000 hours and is focused to 6 degrees. With your 10% discount and $10 off, it's only $1142. But hey... if you want the best, it'll cost you.

Originally Posted by srhtech

What are things that are differant about differant lights?

• Price
• Power source
• Burn time (how long will the battery last?)
• Light output (brightness)
• Light color (affects how well the light penetrates water)
• Heat output (affects how well it can be used out of water)
• Construction materials
• Switch type (some are more reliable/pressure sensitive than others)
• Depth rating
• Backup bulbs?
• Diffuser?
• Power Settings?
• Focusable beam?
• Size
• Handle type and position
• Hand held vs. canister with cable
• Reliability
• Manufacturer

What is it you're really looking for? If you want a good all-around LED primary light for recreational night dives, the Princeton Tech Shockwave LED is pretty nice. I also really like the GulfTex Photon Torpedo LED. I have two of them.

[rox@ucf11]

agreed with msilvia, also look into the hid's if you want to go to that price level.

Would also recommend the oxycheq light st carrys it and I think its around 50 dollars after your 10% discount

[thesmoothdome]

Princeton Tec Shockwave LED is a good light and you can usually find it for around $100.00 for about double that you can move into a UK Light Cannon which will be a little brighter. Both will do the job in pretty much every condition a recreational diver will encounter.

[Duckydiver]

I can vouch for the princeton tec shock wave led. I got the three light package before my aow. For the price, and all it comes with, it was a good buy. (except for that eco flair thing, that I don't care for too much, but thats just me)
For someone like me, who only does maybe 2 night dives a year, they work great.
If you plan on doing more than a handfull of night or low light dives than maybe one of the more high end lights would be better.

Good luck either way.
Don

[Sansho]

I have a UK C4 eLed, which is a 4 C cell LED lamp, 205 lumens on full with a half power switch. I've only usedd it on one night dive so far, however, it worked very well. ST will price match Scuba.com at $54.95.