Canister primary lights have a number of advantages over other types of dive light, but the primary one is that the battery is attached to the waistbelt of the harness, and the compact light head is then held in the hand.
This means that we don’t have to carry cumbersome battery units in our hands. When using lights for long durations, this becomes especially important. The small light heads can be clipped off on the harness when not in use, and picked up when needed – very useful if you have a handful of things to do at once!
You need to consider two things when selecting a primary light. The first is burn time. There’s nothing more frustrating than having a light battery fail mid dive, so it’s important to make sure that the battery will last. If you undertake multiple dives in a day, and recharging between dives isn’t an option, then again, consider a longer burn time light.
The second thing that you need to consider is the power output. How bright a light do you need? If you use the light to look under rocks, into holes, and around on wrecks in low visibility, then you might not need such a bright light. However, if you use the light for signalling to your buddy or team-mates, then a higher power light can be beneficial.
Don’t forget that the brighter the bulb, the more current it will draw, and the quicker you will use the battery, so you need to weigh up your needs carefully. The brighter the light, generally speaking, the more expensive they become. Make sure you buy a light that will grow with the diving you intend to do over the coming years. Equally, there’s little need to buy a huge powerful light if you don’t intend to undertake cave or deeper diving.
Wreck and cave offer a range of lights, with burn times from 2 to 6.5 hours, and a choice of either 10W or 18W High Intensity Discharge bulbs. Contact us directly for advice as to what light would best suit your diving and your pocket.