Hi, I am a recreational diver (not caverns or deep wrecks) looking for advice on primary dive lights for night diving. Sport Diver magazine recommends: the Princeton TEC Shockwave LED, the Pelican Nemo BC, and the Ikelite C-Lite 8. Does anyone use these and if so, what do you think of them? If not, do you have other recommendations? Thanks!

I like this one. It's small and has a dual lamp. If one burns out on a dive you can switch to the other.

http://www.brightguy.com/products/Sunlight_C4_Dive_Light.php

Thanks for the link Ron, it looks interesting. Do you think xenon bulbs are as good (bright and long -lasting) as LEDs?

Hi Blue,

I have looked up the lights you mentioned. They are pretty big. I used to have big lights too, Metalsub with variable dimmer. Really nice but big and as it turned out I had it at the lowest I could get it 99% of the time. Only turned it way bright to completely light up a big seafan or something. Found out I found more stuff with less light. Then I bought a very small LED a few years ago, just for fun, a new toy, it was new technology (to me) and was nicely machined aluminum. Was a little bit too small to dive with but noticed that the LED light was different and brought out a lot more color. So I looked for some a little bit bigger and got 2 from Frogman Opto-electronics. They work on 4AA, go for 14hrs. and the bulb should last 13.000 hrs. I REALLY like them and so does everyone who I let use one.
The Pelican Stealthlite 2410 LED looks a lot like it.

My personal favorite for night diving is the UK Light Canon - HID. Verrrry bright! A little larger than some of the others but very manageable.

My wife uses the c4 by uk and it does a fine job. I have a d8 and am buying a c4 led before our next trip in june to bonaire.

The more I night dive the less light I seem to need. Less light scares away the things you are trying to see on a night dive. Enough light to see your gear and your buddy seems to be enough. As Bas mentioned, a lot of the lights that use 4AA batteries are plenty. I tend to use the modeling light on my DS125 strobe for most dives. I do have redundant lights as backup, but have not needed them. YMMV

I carry a PClite on all dives day or night it is useful for looking into and under places that are dark. At night I use a UK C4 as my primary and carry the PC as a backup. The UK has dual bulbs and both use 4C cells.

I have the Underwater Kinetics C8 eLED. I love the white light of the LED but I agree with the above posts from the standpoint that this light is pretty big and bulky and I really don't think I need to carry such a big light.

Take a look at the UK Sunlight SL4 eLED. It uses 4 C cells and is compact enough to put in your BC pocket. I have the non LED version of this light for my day time dives for looking in crevices, etc. and it is a good size.

I can also recommend the Sunlight C4 (by Underwater Kinetics). However, I'm leaving it home on my next trip. I'm taking the UK's mini-Q40 eLED (uses 4 AA cells; $25) which gives a lot of light for its size. I take two and use one as a backup. It's small enough to put in a BC pocket, so you have it to light under ledges even during the day. I agree with Ron and Bas; the more you dive, the less light you seem to need. Even if you get a bigger primary, try a Q40 for a backup.

I'm with Bas and Ron,
less light = more critters.
I use a mini q40 and put it behind two fingers that act as a lid -- and just let out a sliver of light.
most of the critters I want to see are sensitive to light.

Mare

One more thing to consider, Get a light with enough interior space so that you can use in during the day to put your sunglasses, keys, and wallet in while you shore dive. Personally, I will not travel without my RayBan sunglasses and need a safe place to keep them while I dive. An empty dive light housing is perfect and I have found that the 8 cell lights give me enough room. I love the UK C4 LED, but carry a C8 for that reason.

Jeff

LED is the wy to go, far less hassle with batteries.

We use three LED lights attached to our camera housing. 6 x LED light as a spotter/target light for the camera - wide halo and soft light. Frogman lenser as the main dive light - bright compact beam and Q40 LED or mini frogman 4 x AAA dual LED as a back up.

They are small, light in weight, very reliable and far less trouble and good for many dives before recharging.

My wife and I also use the UK C4 and are happy with them, though we don't do a lot of night diving. I like the idea of using one for waterproof daytime storage--ideal for car keys and my hearing aids, some cash, etc. Check the SCUBA DIVING magazine dive gear section for comparative evaluations of dive lights.

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions! If there are more, keep 'em coming! But this is really helpful info and it seems like there are a few real favorites - I will check out SCUBA DIVING magazine recommendations too.

Hi Blue,

Small is good. I can recall MANY night dives on the Buddy house reef where the Tarpons and I were having a grand old time "fishing" and I was enjoying all the night critters with my little c-cell dive light, sometimes no light at all enjoying the bioluminescence.

Then a new group would enter the water, turn on what looked to be 4 sets of landing lights off a 747, the entire reef life would suck in close until seconds after they blew past at the speed of dark, and then we could resume our adventures.

I am of the opinion that if you are THAT afraid of the dark, don't dive at night-lol

I have a Shockwave LED and my wife has a UK HID. Personally I like my light more, she likes hers. The are both very bright with much whiter light than other lights. When on night boat dives both of us normally have other divers inquiring about our lights after we surface.

You can't really go wrong with either, although one drawback of the UK is the very high replacement cost for bulbs. The Shockwave is easier on batteries too.

I'll be trying out my new Nocturnal Lights TL50 canister light on my next trip - 50 W daytime for looking into crevices etc. should work great, and 20W or less for night dives. I liked this better than HID because I can change the bulbs easily and use different wattages, and the bulbs are only a few $$$ at places like Home Depot and Lowe's. Also, no bulb 'warm-up' time which some HID have.

http://www.nocturnallights.com/

For more traditional hand-held light I like the Niterider Sea Torch. It's a 5 D-cell 14 watt design with a good focus on the beam. I didn't pay anywhere near $70 for mine though - bought it from a dive shop owner who was retiring, and it came with the pro diver kit.

http://www.niteriderdive.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=DLI&Product_Code=79XX&Category_Code=ALS

I use a UK Mini Q40 as a backup light, and I bought the LED bulb and tried it out, but I think I like the halogen bulb better.

Anyway, more food for thought. PM me if you're interested in Nocturnal Lights - I can direct you to a place with a discount code.