New Archon V10s as a backup?

Hi, I kind of like these new tube lights with side switch and battery status LED indicator and I am considering one as a backup for recreational diving. The V10s from archon has actually become very affordable (e.g., ALI or BG )

I have found a review of the former V10 model, which was OK. V10s has a redesigned switch with independent led because the former was too hard for some users (in the picture v10 is on top, v10s below).

Any thoughts? at little over 30$ I am about to bite the bullet!.

P.S. BTW, Does banggood has a best price matching policy? - Even with coupon it is cheaper in a few Aliexpress sellers.

Answer to myself: ordered and arrived today. Like it! Now just waiting for the water to heat up a little and test it. The build quality seems quite good and there is a single thread at the middle with generous double o-ring. Rated 860 lumens and waterproof to 60 m … we´ll see

can you test it in water any time soon? just curious how "waterproof" they actually are...

No way… at least not scuba diving. Not till may-june. But from the way it is constructed, I don’t see weak points. Bezel and tail are closed, only opening is well sealed. Switch is magnetic. Former model v10 and a rebranded version (don’t remember the name) are popular in some scuba diving forums so it should be OK.

OK... Id like to see whether these "scuba lights" are actually real scuba lights..

there are many claiming they are able the be used underwater, but I have my doubts.. thats why Im just curious if they actually are waterproof!

I know that there’s different water pressures the
deeper you go while scuba diving , but can’t you
do just a real basic waterproof test by placing the
light in a bathtub , sink , or bucket full of water ?

Of course, I’ll do that. No problem at all but I am pretty confident that it will pass. Such test just doesn’t say much about what will happen down there. Pressure at 60m (maximum rating) is 7 times as much as at surface as you know. In any case, as I said there are several users in diving forums that have carried this torch in normal recreational dives (>30m) without issues. I’ll report back.

I like this light. Do you know if it’s easily reachable to change out the emitter and or do some mods?

The link to bang good shows pictures of the older model. Where did you purchase yours from?
Can you please tell us the UI?

From my first overview, modding looks complicated. Wouldn’t expect less of a diving light though. I need to look it further but there is not easy access to the pill or driver. At the bezel side, there are 4 indents molded in the aluminum that look like could be used to unscrew the bezel with a 2 or 4-tip spanner wrench. I can see an O-ring below the front glass so this should be possible to open. I don’t have the tool and I am not eager to open it just for the shake of it, but I would bet that from that side you can access the LED plate. At the other side, the driver only shows the contact spring and one screw head. So I suppose that it can definitively be removed but, considering the magnetic side switch mechanism and contacts, and the LED to show the charge level, I would leave that exercise for the more advanced modders with patience and tools… and not too worried about compromising the waterproofness for the shake of some fun gutting a new style of light. In any case, the only obvious modding that comes to mind would be changing the LED and I don’t see the need for that. It has an XM-L-U2 @6500K according to the instruction flier included

I bought it from BG, the pictures are messed there and in many other sites because the new and old models are mixed. But the description says clearly that it is the v10s model and that is what I received. Quick shipping BTW, just a couple of weeks to get if. The UI is wxtremely simple and I like that for a diving light. The button has a good feeling, not too soft and not too hard (this was a common complaint to the switch of previous version v10). It lays beside the indicator LED on a flat plate recessed 2-3 mm from the head body, so it won’t be pressed accidentally by normal contact against other gear within a pack or jacket pocket (unless it is pressed with small stuff or pointy surfaces obviously, and if you intend to put that in your gear pack it would be very easy to protect the light from accidental activation just with a hood made of piece of plastic/carboard and an elastic band to hold it). The UI has 3 modes without memory: High, Low (30% output) and SOS/Signal (not annoying strobe but blinking). Starts always on high, cycles through the modes as HIGH>LOW>SOS>Off. To switch off from any mode the switch must be pressed and hold for about 2 seconds. The battery indicator, according to the manual changes color according to the battery voltage from 4.2 to 2.8: Above 70% Blue; 70–40 Green; 40–10 Red; 10–5 Blinking red; Below 5% the flashlight turns OFF. I don’t know if the strobe below 10% means a blinking red indicator or that the lamp itself goes to blinking mode.

Overall I think that if is a smart UI for a diving lamp, but will report when I have the chance to test it underwater. Since the cutoff mode is around 2.8V I think that the smartest choice of battery would be an unprotected 3.400 mAh able to withstand discharge to that level.

EDITED WITH SOME MORE TESTS:

- Overnight in a 500L seawater tank (about 50 cm depth) - No signs of moisture inside.

- Starts red indicator blinking - removed battery and tested voltage, reads about 3.2V. Reinserted in the light, the indicator starts blinking in a couple of seconds. Does this consistently 3 times.

  • Flashlight turns off - removed battery and tested voltage, reads 2.9V. Reinserted and turned the lamp on again, the indicator blinks and the light turns off in a few seconds… Also consistently.

These V values are measured but without load on the battery other than the voltmeter. So I would say that the cutoff is safe and close to the specs, if anything on the safe side.

The light warms up quickly on high but it does not get uncomfortable to hold. In the water should have not thermal issues.

Thanks a whole bunch for the overview!

Thanks, I find it difficult to explain some things in English so I get in verbose mode! :8)

^ That looks interesting, maybe send one out to someone that can review it?

Hi Iker,

Thanks for posting about this diving light. I had something similar a few years back that I purchased from Manafont before they went out of business. It was a Diving Specialist brand light, and had the same battery indicator around the side mounted clickie. My friend loved the light and begged me to give it to him, and I’ve been looking for another light similar to it for a while now. The Archon V10 is the first I’ve seen that is very close to the look and operation as the Diving Specialist version. I’m going to pick one of these up.

Thanks again for the review.

The version of this light I had is viewable from my BLF link below.

Hi Richie,

Thanks for your input, I had not seen your post on the Diving specialist and it does look similar to the Archon, particularly to the older v10 model and its cousin the Mako spearguns. The interface seems different though, I have not seen the hidden strobes in the v10s nor they are described in the light instructions. Also, I was curious about the lock-out feature that you mention, how does it work?

I wrote a more “proper” review of the v10s light here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/32139

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If the Archon is listed as having a hidden strobe function, you may want to hold the switch down for a few seconds, whether in the “Off” position or while turned “On” in any mode, and see if it’ll begin to strobe.

As for the “Lock-out”, simply turn the tail cap about a 1/4 turn, so contact is broken. Confirm by the light not turning on, and you’re locked out from any parasitic drain from the electronic switch.

Just checked, there are not hidden modes in the archon v10s and, since there is no tailcap in it, no lock-out feature either.

Had two of these with me last month while in Thailand. Always kept one with my on my BC and had 49 dives over a 2.5 week period with them. Never had any issues and was down to depths of 100 feet/30m. Was nice and bright, much brighter than the lights given out on the boat for night dives. Would deff consider buying them again.

Hi and welcome Pyro_. Do you have any pictures of the dives with your light in action?

Sorry no pics of them in action.

Just a quick update, water is starting to be warm enough so I have taken the V10s with me in the last couple of dives. Nothing too deep or technical, just easygoing 15-25m depth on daylight for about 50 minutes. I found the flashlight very convenient to use for looking under slabs and caves. The light is quite powerful and I like the beam. As expected, no flooding. This was not an extensive test and I have no pictures or video.