Good light for freediving

[fogish]

I am expecting a review on your two new purchases within a week. I really want to get a LED light since that is what I have switched to with my head lamps when I trim horses (I am abusive and damage my toys a lot) and really like LED now.

[Fondueset]

Assignment accepted! LED is for sure sturdier. I'll try to get in a night dive this weekend

[fogish]

Alright Fondueset it has been a week, did you get a chance to test out the lights? I am eagerly awaiting your review.

[Fondueset]

Sorry Fogish. The nights have been really cold and still - which means a thin and really annoying sheet of ice to crash into with your forehead! I will post as soon as I get in. Probably next week sometime.

[fogish]

Thanks, since I moved to the west coast of Oregon the spring is coming 2 months sooner than I am used to (and the winter is really nothing to write home about). I will just check this randomly for your update until you get the time and conditions to hop in the water.

[Fondueset]

Finally last night we dove with our lights. I had the Darkbuster jr. HID and my dive buddy had a princeton tek shockwave led. In air the Shockwave actually seemed brighter - possibly due to a more tightly focused beam. (the HID light has the wide reflector option - 12 degrees vs 6- you can get it either way)

Underwater - No contest. The Darkbuster penetrated much better as well as illuminating a larger area. We both observed that we could often see better - at least over longish distances, if the other guy was lighting an area for us - so I practiced using the light out away from my eyes.

It was a beautiful night with a sliver moon and clear skies. The water was mirror still and the view looking up from below was awesome. We saw sleeping bass, a few suckers, a walleye and a burbot that let me pick it up.

The Darkbuster Jr. is definitely an awesome dive light. Very easy to carry, extremely bright and penetrating and a very good value for the money.

I can also recommend the Princeton Tek Shockwave LED. For this area - where we have a lot of light sand bottom - it is an excellent primary light for freediving. I got mine for about $79US - though I see the price is back up to $109 on Leisurepro. At the low price is probably wins the bang for the buck contest - with it's 10 hour burn time and immortal bulbs. Visibility in our dive ranged from 40 to 70 or more feet - though, as I mentioned - the lights penetrated better when areas were illuminated from an angle.

I highly recommend both lights
Brightstart Darkbuster jr. $199us
Plus: 3.5 hour battery life - Recharchable Lithium Ion
Extremely bright and penetrating beam - good blue spectrum
Good Ergonomics - easy to carry - can be wrist mounted
Superior to the UK light Canon - and only slightly more $$
Negatives: Bulbs do burn out eventually - $75 to replace (this is a plus actually - very cheap for HID bulbs.)
HID bulbs can be fragile when hot.
Lifespan is affected by how often they are turned on and off

Princeton Tek Shockwave LED $109us
Plus: Very good battery life - 12 hours on high beam
Very Bright with good area coverage and penetration
Fairly inexpensive
Bulbs basically last forever
Reasonably small size - easy to carry
Negatives: Not as bright or penetrating as the HID
I like the lantern style handle on the Darkbuster better than the pistol grip on the shockwave.
Doesnt come with recharchable batteries. (no big deal with a 12 hour life)

[fogish]

Fantastic, thank you very much!!

[strangelove]

The princetontech has a life time warranty, with no questions asked, I've broke mine, call them, told them what I did and they still replace my light !