Decent dive light?

I'd like to pick up a decent and reasonably priced dive light for saturday, any suggestions of models/retailers? 

Thanks,
-Josh

i think the Underwater Kinetics c/4 light is a good light. you can get the small or large lamp style. i like the lamp with pistol grip becasue you can drop down and shine with a nice flood view of the holes and whats sittin in it. if i see a ling i usually leave it facing him, go up for air if i need to and come back down for him. its liike he has a ceiling light in his house. real bright. also, these lamps have 2 bulbs so if you burn one out, flip the switch the opposite way and continue. i think the hid lights are greta but man, they had some issues, they pop a lot and shut down if they get hot. i worked at a dive shop locally for a couple years til i got here, last time a year ago and we saw so many hid's come back for fixin at UK. get a simple c4 light and its so hassle free. also, use em out of the water and you wont burn em up either. i carry one when i go offroading or on camp trips.

they also have a lifetime warranty so if it ever gets water in or corrosion or anything, bring it back to the shop and they do a straight swap.

oh yeah, i think its like 40.00 or soemthing for the pistol grip lamp. not too big either. wallins dive always has them in stock.

Well, I went to wallins intending to get the C4, but for some reason the guys there talked me into a cheaper 6xAA handheld instead.  I guess if I need a bigger light I can order it online.  The C4 was $55 at wallins.  The light came w/ batteries too, which was cool.

They were out of finkeepers, so I'll have to invent a ghetto(tm) solution with old nylon straps and velcro. 

Well, I went to wallins intending to get the C4, but for some reason the guys there talked me into a cheaper 6xAA handheld instead.  I guess if I need a bigger light I can order it online.  The C4 was $55 at wallins.  The light came w/ batteries too, which was cool.

They were out of finkeepers, so I'll have to invent a ghetto(tm) solution with old nylon straps and velcro. 

i have one of those as well as a 4c light too, the beam is ok but not as wide. did you talk to david or dan? i might be working there in a few weeks to help out. i like it there, beats my desk job. and i can check out all their new gear.

i also have a UK mini 4 AA battery light that goes on my mask. sometimes its good and sometimes it snags kelp bad.

Yeah, it's the Ikelite PCA.  These guys seemed to like it.  http://www.divernet.com/gear/torch297.htm

I still don't understand why the salesman re-directed me to the PCA when I asked about the C4, maybe they were out of stock.  I'd think the fancier light would have a higher margin for them.

man, i think the ikelite pcs lights are good but if you accidentally leave the thing on it will melt the lens and bust a bulb. these always came back flooded. also they eat batteries like mad. i think those who used the ikelite mini c light for diving and photography like the way the ikelites work but the pca just is not as tough of a light as the UK lights. i think we saw more of those lights than anything. they are also expensive, they are bright but man, if you leave it on for just a little time you can feel the heat the light makes. about a set of batteries for a couple hours. ikelite has no replacement on the spot warranty either. but yes, it is a bright light and thats the selling point. they also come with a joke lanyard made with chewing gum.

I did notice the laynard was funky.  I'll be careful about turning it off then.  Do they flood because the lense melts or due to o-ring failure?  By 'leave it on' do you mean out of the water?  I can't picture a lense melting underwater.

the lights tend to leak from the switch that or the weird shaped oval o ring.. the o ring isnt compressed much when the head is on the light.

as for melting lens, thats out of water. use the switch lock always.

john

Cool, I feel better now.   

The salt point hotline just came back online and the ranger said the visibility was zero!     There's a few calm days left for it to improve though. 

i agree with fuzz, with proper care the light should be just fine. i think that any light if abused real hard can lead to problems. heck, i had 2 pca's myself and loaned em out and never got them back. i had a black and yellow one. i did like the brightness of it though. that the uk lights could not compare to. and the size is nice, a lot smaller than the uk's i have.

same with the uk lights, on occasion i have to slam mine to get it to work. something about the contacts in the switch i think.

enjoy the diving!

Hey Ab divers,

I use a small hand held light that uses 4 AA batteries that turns off and on by turining the lense.  I actually tape the light on to my ab iron, turn it just enough to go on and off with the pressure when I dive down.  It helps so much to see the big abs underneath the big shelves.  Since it's attached to the iron, it's basically hands free (except the iron)  Unfortunately I go through them once or twice a season due to water getting in through the "o" ring.    If any one wants to dive, I'm always looking for dive buddies and I have been diving for 20 + years. 

Hope this helps,

George "DIVNDC" Wagner

Hey Ab divers,

I use a small hand held light that uses 4 AA batteries that turns off and on by turining the lense.  I actually tape the light on to my ab iron, turn it just enough to go on and off with the pressure when I dive down.  It helps so much to see the big abs underneath the big shelves.  Since it's attached to the iron, it's basically hands free (except the iron)  Unfortunately I go through them once or twice a season due to water getting in through the "o" ring.    If any one wants to dive, I'm always looking for dive buddies and I have been diving for 20 + years. 

Hope this helps,

George "DIVNDC" Wagner

thanks for the tip George, i have a UK 4 AA cell light and i think i just might do that trick to it and tape it on. i never even thought of doing so!

john

Mini Q40 eLED® Plus

http://www.uwkinetics.com/products/mini-q40-eled-plus

Has anyone got one of these? It looks like what I am looking for.

 

wow, 2006 thread! 

IMHO, I wouldn't even bother with that light, it won't throw enough light to hole hunt decently.  I have this one which is almost double the lumens:

http://princetontec.com/?q=torrent-led

and it is probably the minimum brightness I would suggest. However, I'm interested to see what the other more experienced guys would say as well.