If you had £250 to spend

[AlanP]

Originally Posted by Rob Dobson

What sort of diving are you doing? What is important to you and what sort of burn time do you need out your light? I would buy to a specification rather than a price because you can end up making expensive mistakes for the sake of s few extra quid.

I know I wasted a lot of money early on by buying the wrong lights for the diving I wanted to do.

Well dives up to 45m.. Looking at twinning up this year and doing ERD next. I having been borrowing my mates Kowalski and I am not impressed.

I intend to be diving alot more north norfolk this year. So want some thing nice and bright. I say I would not dive more than 4 hours in a day..

[Rob Dobson]

Originally Posted by AlanP

Well dives up to 45m.. Looking at twinning up this year and doing ERD next. I having been borrowing my mates Kowalski and I am not impressed.

I intend to be diving alot more north norfolk this year. So want some thing nice and bright. I say I would not dive more than 4 hours in a day..

OK... So 4hrs burn time and nice and bright. How do you use your light? For team signalling and tracking or lighting up holes and chasing lobsters?

Do you want a lantern or umbilical? Personally I only use umbilical for a number of reasons but some people prefer lanterns.

Do you intend to travel abroad with it?

[AlanP]

I went on a dive in the channel a few years ago with no torch and it frightened the life out of me.. So I brought one of those little sunlight jiggys.. Really nice for Gildenburgh dives, but as I am starting to go deeper some thing with more poke is needed.

I dive with a Hog setup at the mo, so I guess I would like to continue down this track. I do like the idea of seeing my buddies beam to know he is ok so I guess I would like the same.

I go abroad may be once a year to the redsea, so would just use a diddy torch for night dives there as I have seen what a HID light can do to a Red sea night dive and the rest of the punters didnt seem amused

I am not the kind of chap to buy some thing just because its flashy and new.. Or thinks bigger is better, but a light I have found makes all the difference on a dive. From what I have read a 10w HiD is about my target.. Would you agree?

I looked at some Canisters at UE in Portland, but have read the Halcyon lights are quite unrealible.

[Rob Dobson]

Originally Posted by AlanP

I went on a dive in the channel a few years ago with no torch and it frightened the life out of me.. So I brought one of those little sunlight jiggys.. Really nice for Gildenburgh dives, but as I am starting to go deeper some thing with more poke is needed.

I dive with a Hog setup at the mo, so I guess I would like to continue down this track. I do like the idea of seeing my buddies beam to know he is ok so I guess I would like the same.

I go abroad may be once a year to the redsea, so would just use a diddy torch for night dives there as I have seen what a HID light can do to a Red sea night dive and the rest of the punters didnt seem amused

I am not the kind of chap to buy some thing just because its flashy and new.. Or thinks bigger is better, but a light I have found makes all the difference on a dive. From what I have read a 10w HiD is about my target.. Would you agree?

I looked at some Canisters at UE in Portland, but have read the Halcyon lights are quite unrealible.

I wouldn't say that Halcyon lights are unreliable just that the WA bulbs they use are more fragile. Treat them with a lot of care and you should be OK...

However based on what you have said I would suggest one the following:

2nd hand Salvo 4.5ah 10W HiD (and buy a new battery with your left over cash) or a 9ah 21W (new style round ballast if you can find one).

A new Dive Rite 10W HiD 4.5ah. *Very* focused beam which is good for signalling/tracking but is so focused it hardly illuminates where you're going. You can obviously de-focus it but then it loses beam penetration.

The Salvo 12W LED might be a good choice but I've yet to see one in the water so I don't have an opinion on those yet...

[Leg Of Salmon]

I have used a 12W LED Salvo.

It was very bright for such a compact torch, well focused, penetrated well in silty water. Good battery life too according to the manufacturer. I have posted some photos on the forum.

HTH

[AlanP]

Originally Posted by Leg Of Salmon

I have used a 12W LED Salvo.

It was very bright for such a compact torch, well focused, penetrated well in silty water. Good battery life too according to the manufacturer. I have posted some photos on the forum.

HTH

Do you have the link for those pics?

[Leg Of Salmon]

Salvo 12W LED + handheld battery pack review

[Woz]

Buy 25000 penny chews.

[AlanP]

That handheld looks impressive.. Can you buy the umbilcal battery pack for it?

3.5 hours.. Not sure I would need more? And brighter than the Halcyon HiD..

Would the umbilcal just give more burn time? Or I am missing some thing?

[Leg Of Salmon]

Originally Posted by AlanP

That handheld looks impressive.. Can you buy the umbilcal battery pack for it?

3.5 hours.. Not sure I would need more 2.5 hours I think ? And brighter than the Halcyon HiD..

Would the umbilcal just give more burn time? Or I am missing some thing?

The Umbilical gives 5 hrs burn time with the 12W Head (check out niknaks site to confirm). It is umbilical so you have to think about how you will manage that obviously. As you can see in the photo the battery can isnt that big. It would probably fit in a BCD pocket. Or if you have a buddy stab it might fit into the suicide bottle bit, you would have to bodge up some sort of retaining straps though.

I bought the 12W umbillical LED. The handheld pack, which I bought seperately, is usually supplied with a 9W LED head. If you speak to niknaks you might be able to sort somthing out if you want a 12W Handheld.

HTH