Justifying £800 on a torch!

[deepestandy]

As a regular UK/holiday diver I own three torches, the total cost of wich is not more than £200. They are all Underwater Kinnetics. They have never flooded and all have excellent light output and burn time (except D4R). I have been reading with intrigue about salvos and halcyon HID's and yes they look nice but are they £900 nice?

Just what is the story is with these umbillical lights that everyone seems to have nowadays, and what makes someone spend the best part of a grand on one? Are they really that much better?

Andy

[mark2]

I use a green force f2 hallogen at the moment , just looking at changing it for a Tristar LED. The battery sits its pouch always out of the way and the head in my hand very snug and very happy with it. O yes and all for £350 ish

[mark2]

I use a green force f2 hallogen at the moment , just looking at changing it for a Tristar LED. The battery sits its pouch always out of the way and the head in my hand very snug and very happy with it. O yes and all for £350 ish

[Bardo]

Originally Posted by mark2

I use a green force f2 hallogen at the moment , just looking at changing it for a Tristar LED. The battery sits its pouch always out of the way and the head in my hand very snug and very happy with it. O yes and all for £350 ish

You buying the Tristar or the Tristar 15? If it's the former than you might want to try one before you spend your dosh - I owned one myself a few years back and thought it was totally, totally crap! I've seen plankton glow brighter than one of those bloody things!

If you really want to go down the LED route for a primary torch, you might want to check out the Solus range...

[ardhill]

Originally Posted by deepestandy

Just what is the story is with these umbillical lights that everyone seems to have nowadays, and what makes someone spend the best part of a grand on one? Are they really that much better?

For some of the divers here, they need the best they can get as the diving they do warrants it. But for most of the owners of these torches that buy them because they 'want' them. It is really down to what money you can spend and are willing to spend on diving kit. For instance a new AP Inspiration costs about £4,500. And many of the owners could do the same dives with twins, but they 'want' one and that is what makes it worth the money to many people.

BTW, they are good torches too Just ask Phil (divingniknaks).

[Depth-junkie]

Andy

I think it all comes down to what diving you are doing or in some case's a fashion statement if you can afford it.

I have for the last 2yrs been running a greenforce FII 100watt HID, cost about £570. And i can tell you that i felt sick paying that much for a torch. But i felt for my diving it was a must, my eyes are not that great in dark conditions (i do wear specks) and on deeper trimix dives my old D4R would not cut the mustard, and it came a time for me to bite the bullet as my eyes were not getting any better.

I have to say since buying it, i have not regreted it one bit. the torch has given me great service and has been used on loads of dives in the Uk and abroad from 30m down to 91m.

But if i was not doing the deeper dives i would have stayed with my old Uk D4R, as for shallower dives you dont need any more. And anyone else buying a lightsaber for any other type of diving than deep stuff is only doing it for a fashion statement or they have loads of dosh to waste. They are great torches but are a bit overkill for some diving.

ATB
Gareth

[Scubapimp]

Andy,
I have to say that I have wondered about this expensive torch business too. Recently I went to plymouth and there were a few DIR guys on the boat. Nothing against DIR but £900 is a car or a holiday or lots of other dive gear and to be honest my UK C8 eLed was just as good. Hope I'm not upsetting anyone but just can't see the point!

[Bardo]

Originally Posted by Scubapimp

Andy,
I have to say that I have wondered about this expensive torch business too. Recently I went to plymouth and there were a few DIR guys on the boat. Nothing against DIR but £900 is a car or a holiday or lots of other dive gear and to be honest my UK C8 eLed was just as good. Hope I'm not upsetting anyone but just can't see the point!

I think 'just as good' is perhaps not the right wording as you simply cannot compare a C8 eLed to an 18- or 21w HID. If you had said 'did the job just as well' then that's a bit different and I'd be inclined to agree with you for 90% of the diving that most of the UK diving community undertake...

As someone else said, it really depends on the sort of diving you're doing. If you're a weekend bimbler then spending £900 on a torch is just stupid. If you're doing any serious wreck penetration or cave diving, though, your torch becomes somewhat more 'mission critical'...

[deepestandy]

I understand wanting something and there is also the fashion element too it. I guess I just arent there with my diving yet, I would still like to hear some of the justification for these what makes them worth the £800-900 they cost.

This may be a bit out there but I dare say my UK torches would probably stand more hammer than one of those Salvo/halcyon canister jobbies. i.e. dropping etc.

[Okeanos]

Originally Posted by deepestandy

I would still like to hear some of the justification for these what makes them worth the £800-900 they cost.

Supply and demand denotes the price.

I use a Greenforce FII & HID 100 Impact, I use it for every dive I do now where I think I might need a torch. It has a wide bright beam and a very long burn time, about 90 minutes. I also have a video lens for it which I use when I use the GF for lighting my video camera setup.

I have tried many torches, I use my old light cannon as a backup now or for extra lighting for the video.

When you use a good expensive canister type torch you will wonder what you did before you bought one.


p.s. Plus it's sexy and looks good.