The Boruit looks like the same light I mention in my first post as the U’King. It’s pretty much the same design as the DV-S9. Possibly a decent light. Mine worked fine, but I haven’t tested it extensively.
I know the DGX 600 (Dive Gear Express) that I linked to is a ‘cheap Chinese light’ with DGX logo on it. I forget the original brand name but it was pretty common for awhile. I’d strongly suspect the same for the bx2. The issue is sorting out the decent stuff from the crap. I’ve got a good number of cheap dive lights that are only suitable for walking in the rain. For serious diving, I take good lights.
Having said that I took a couple of those really cheap fluorescent yellow/green twist-on type for my trip to the Philippines. They are extremely small and light (serious weight issues with camera gear), and some of them put out a decent light. But, I did some serious touch-up work on the O-ring channel (crappy workmanship), and changed to better O-rings. Even with that one of them ‘seeped’ a couple drops and they were a pain to turn on and off.
Some measure of consistency, reliability, and possible warranty support is what you get from a real dive shop. They’ve done the vetting for you. It’s pretty much that vs. lower price + unknown quality.
I ordered the SD02 and have a tube of Sil-Glyde ready. The side button on the SD02 I'm not sure how to make water proof other than hope Sofirn did a decent job with it.
Hmm. Thorfire S1 and Sofirn SD01, I suppose shouldn’t be too much surprised as I notice many Thorfire flashlights have look-alike (or exactly the same) models as the Sofirn ones, since it’s said that Sofirn is the OEM manufacturer for Thorfire…
The Sofirn SD02/SD02A looks like a push-button switch, probably not magnetic, I was wondering if it will really be waterproof too…
Yes. Corrected. Thanks for jogging my memory about Brynte light being DGX. You can get the Brynte for half or less.
Note - Have a friend with a Dive Rite canister light ($$:money_mouth_face: that was getting a short run time. I checked it out for him. Nice light. Battery was seriously unbalanced with 1 bad cell. I’ve seen a few PCB protection go bad and not do their job which screws up the whole pack. They wanted a small fortune for a simple 5S 18650 flat pack containing Tenergy cells. Bought a Tenergy pack for 1/3 the price, swapped connectors, and it’s doing fine 2 years later. I’ve found some of the high end canisters have great lights, and skimp on the cells and charger.
I can’t comment on the other two, just the DV-S9. It’s sealed hella well with triple O-rings in the tailcap, everything else is Just One Big Tube (ie, no head+tube), and the only other possible point of ingress is at the front lens and bezel. Looks to be well-sealed as I haven’t yet gotten the bezel to loosen, but probably only a single O-ring between bezel and lens might be a weakness under pressure.
If I were doing some serious diving, I’d a) check the thickness of the glass vs water pressure to make sure I don’t go down too deep, and b) if taking it apart, use RTV or something to really seal the lens against the bezel, and then only worry about the bezel-to-body interface. (And let it outgas quite a while so it doesn’t fog the lens/reflector.)
I use YEZL lube-goo on my lights’ threads, as it feels stiff and waxy at first, but smears pretty well, like thick Vaseline™. Over several threads’ worth, it should provide a good seal.
The lube is so the O-rings don’t distort with screwing the back on. Lube provides no sealing power for real diving. Putting it on bare AL threads certainly helps with friction and helps minimize corrosion. Theoretically the O-ring should prevent water from getting there.
On any of these lights that front seal is always a question. For the most part you dive it and hope. Opening it up probably increases the possibility of failure unless you know what you are doing. I’ve done it, but it’s kind of scary.
On a glass surface that small there would have to be pressure beyond recreational limits to be an issue unless the glass was really thin. Can’t say I’ve even bothered to worry about that issue. If it was a problem the manufacturers would learn about that pretty quickly.
An issue I found is the metal ring that keeps the switch slider from falling out. It’s AL to AL threads with thin anodizing. Take that in saltwater and they WILL corrode together. Best to take it off when new and use thick silicone grease liberally on the threads. ANYWHERE there are screws/threads/metal-metal contact in saltwater needs to be addressed, generally BEFORE you ever dive it.
The screws, bolts, and connectors on my camera tray get awful after 6 months, and I always rinse the hell out of them. Pressure and capillary action drives saltwater into microscopic thread areas and simple soaking just doesn’t get it out. If you don’t address it regularly (disassemble, clean, assemble with thick silicone grease) they fuse together, then they corrode until they fall apart. That’s an expensive problem.
Hmm, what about grease-packed bearings like for small (remote) subs and the like? Thought the grease, “wetted” to the shaft and housing, is supposed to block water under at least modest pressures.
Unless it’s a crappy seal to begin with.
Pressure + an accidental tap might just stress it beyond its working limits.
That’s what I don’t quite understand. If they’re the same metals (ie, not acting as a battery w/ saltwater electrolyte), and have 0V potential across them, what makes them corrode?
There are ‘dynamic’ (movement) and ‘static’ (no movement) seals. Technically you need nothing on static seals but a small amount of lube is generally used for assembly. On dynamic seals you absolutely need lube. In a regulator at full tank pressure a few of the O-rings are subject to 3500psi air pressure, and absolutely no air is allowed to leak. On piston type regulators the main O-ring is dynamic so there is movement, not a lot, but there is. High durometer (hard), O-rings of special compounds and really good grease are required.
There’s huge amounts of very technical info if you care to dig deeper.
Pressure + accidental tap > happens with some frequency when poking around in corals and rocks. Can’t say I’ve ever heard of a lens breaking. OTOH, most of my dive buddies are using true dive lights.
Saltwater + a chunk of most any metal all by itself > corrosion. When you dive EVERYTHING gets rinsed, or you pay the price. Titanium and gold seem immune. Even chrome and brass corrode after awhile.
I don’t have personal experience with this light, but Archon is one of the reliable dive light makers. I know several people that have other models that work well. I’m tempted but have so many other dive lights it’s hard to make a case for yet one more.
I see only this on your link:
[For a variety of outdoor activities such as:sport fishing,night riding,camping,emergency rescue,mountaineering,caving,etc.] Diving is not listed. I’d think if it was, it would clearly say so.
[Waterproof IPX8 ]
IP = International Protection rating
X = Dust ingress not specified/tested.
8 = Can be immersed beyond 1M.
That’s all. The actual depth and time it can remain underwater as well as how much dynamic pressure it can withstand are entirely up to the manufacturer, the details of which they are supposed to divulge in the product specifications. No details means the IPX8 rating is invalid.
