A bit of necromancy going on.... Raising a dead thread here...
I think I've narrowed my choices down to a 24w HID Darkbuster (nicely affordable), a Greenforce umbilical with a Tristar LED head (a bit more expensive) or a second hand Salvo 10w (a little more than I wanted to spend but going to last a long time...right?)
I'd rather get an umbilical than a handheld (partly so that I don't have to worry about losing it if I drop it!) and it's mainly for lighting up things in front of me so that I don't get scared when it all goes dark in the lovely UK vis we get
but I can see the bennefits of signalling with it so a tightish beam seems good.
Diving is mainly in the 20-40m range on the South Coast with the odd venture down to 50m.
I know that LED is controversial but I don't like the idea of paying through the nose for new bulbs. How fragile are HID's really?
Is the output on the 10w Salvo really worth the money? I've not used one but wouldn't a 24w Darkbuster be a lot brighter? I'll sacrifice having to hold onto it if I'm getting more light for my cash. I'm worried about buying an expensive Salvo only to decide that it's not bright enough!
I've read so many threads on here and I still can't decide what's best! I guess I'm suffering from not having actually tried any of them.
Any thoughts would be most welcome!