Which Torch

[pieater]

Originally Posted by wilbo

heh heh.. then may the highest bidder win.

which is a really obvious statement..

Hey, don't get me wrong son, I'm not obessional!!

[TAZA]

Just got the Proteus 3 10 w focusable head,made up with it.
Only done 8 dives thou.and I dive around Anglesey

[Garyb]

Got the Salvo 21W HID last week, dived the Kyarra on Saturday. This torch is awsume...

[IanW]

Originally Posted by diablo

New to DIR. Which torch should I get? Sofar the favourites are Halcyon Helios 10/18, or Salvo NiMH 21. But what about the Greenfoce impact 100 and Solus SU500?
Ta

Right, let's go through your torch choices one by one. As you've already said you're interested in DIR, I'll try to give my answers a DIR flavour...

1. First, the Halcyon Helios 10/18w torches. I've used both the 10w and the 18w and have to say that, performance wise, they're very good torches. In terms of light purity, the 18w head is perhaps the best HID you can get as it uses the superior WA bulbs designed for medical applications. That said, the real downside to these bulbs (and this applies to both the 10w and 18w models) is how fragile they are which is not good, especially if you're planning any cave stuff. If you do break the bulb, expect to sell your first born - they're bloody expensive to replace! The quality of Halcyon's aftersales service here in the UK has been called into question a few times too although personally I cannot comment on this myself as I thankfully never had to put their service to the test...

2. The Salvo range. Despite the drama with Barry Miller, Salvo is still going strong and still selling quality dive lights. I honestly think Barry 'muddied the waters' a bit when he released so many new models in such a short time but the current range is solid, robust and very well made. I personally use a Salvo 21w now and I swear by it (rather than at it). The quality of the beam isn't quite as good as the Halcyon but it's bloody robust and very reliable which - in my honest opinion - beats a slight improvement in light quality any time (especially when you're a couple of hundred metres back in a cave!).

What is also worth considering with the Salvo range is the after sales care you get. I bought mine direct from Barry before Divingniknaks took them on in the UK and I'm pleased to say that the after sales service I've had from Phil has been every bit as good as the service I ever got from Barry. If your torch goes wrong the week before that liveaboard trip, it's nice to know that it'll get sorted - that's something you cannot say about many other manufacturers...

3. Greenforce - My first ever 'real' torch was a Greenforce Impact 100 with an F3 battery pack so I've got experience of these too. Greenforce torches are made to withstand some serious punishment but this ruggedness makes them unweildy and overengineered inho. The Impact 100 uses the same bulb as the original Salvo 21w so it produces a good quality light. Because it's encased in a solid aluminium head, it'll take some serious punishment too - I still remember Wally Lumb using an Impact 100 as a hammer and the bulb still worked!!!!

The real problem with the Impact 100, inho, is the light head which a) cannot be focused (very, very important as you need to be able to signal your team) and be) cannot be mounted on a decent goodman handle (the Greenforce goodman handle is a joke!). The battery packs tend to be fairly small capacity too unless you use the dustbin-sized battery packs which are stupidly heavy - give me a Delrin NiMH battery pack with 6hrs+ burn time any time!

4. Solus SU500 - Now I haven't seen one of these in the flesh yet so my views are based purely upon what I've read about them on Rebreather World. From first impressions, it looks very good - it's not as bright as any of the HID models listed here (with the exception of the 10w Halcyon) but it's a vast improvement over previous generations of LED light. The quality of the light output isn't bad either although some people have commented that it's still a bit 'yellow' which, to me, indicates a lower colour temperature to HID. This lower colour temperature will effect how well the light penetrates the water, especially since the Solus seems to lack a beam focusing facility. This, unfortunately, seems to be the main problem with it from a DIR point of view - unless you can focus the beam, it's use as a tool for focusing your team is going to be very limited.

BTW - there's a very good review of the Solus on Rebreather World if you guys haven't seen it already...

Solus SU-500 Review - Rebreather World Forums

[diablo]

I did'nt want it anyway (not much) looks like I'll stick with my box of matches.

[Darren A]

So, who got the Salvo then, anyone from YD?

[Lou]

Originally Posted by Darren A

So, who got the Salvo then, anyone from YD?

Maybe......Brick?

Went for way over what i had to spend on it!

[pieater]

Originally Posted by Darren A

So, who got the Salvo then, anyone from YD?

Yup

[Brick]

No, I didn't get it - I got my Salvo from Phill a couple of weeks ago - a lovely 7.2 amp lithium ion 21W...mmmmmmmm. It's bright - like really bright. So bright, if you turn it on and shine it in your eyes, with your eyes closed, it hurts.

[pieater]

Originally Posted by Brick

No, I didn't get it - I got my Salvo from Phill a couple of weeks ago - a lovely 7.2 amp lithium ion 21W...mmmmmmmm. It's bright - like really bright. So bright, if you turn it on and shine it in your eyes, with your eyes closed, it hurts.

Did you actually do that?