Underwater Flashlight Suggestions for Wading in Fresh Water

Guys

Hopefully this section of the forum is the best fit for the question I am about to ask. If not, please help move to the relevant subforum.

With summer coming up is less than 2 months in Australia, I am after some underwater flashlight suggestions to be used for night time wading in fresh water (1 to 1.5m deep) to scoop fresh water crabs. Apart from good flood and underwater tightness, I am unsure of what level of brightness is required, perhaps minimum 2000 lumens??

Initially I was thinking of spending no more than US$20, but if you guys think I will end up with rubbish spending so little, I am happy to spend up to US$40 if it means I wonā€™t end up chucking the US$20 flashlight after just a couple of uses.

Following are some of the diving flashlights I have found, from the limited time I have spent on this. Thoughts please?

US$10 and below
XM-L T6 3 Modes 2800LM Diving Waterproof LED Flashlight 18650/26650 - This flashlight claims to output 2800LM, surely not true for such a cheap US$10 light???

US$10-20
Solarstorm DX1 XM-L2 U2 1200LM Diving LED Flashlightt 100M
Elfeland XM-L2 2000LM High Power Waterproof Diving LED Flashlight
HaikeLite TS100 CREE XM - L2 U2 6500K 1000Lm Diving Flashlight

US$20-30
SolarStorm D02
Yupard 10W 3000LM CREE XM - L2 LED Diving Flashlight
UltraFire 3000LM Cree XM - L2 Diving LED Flashlight

US$30-40
SolarStorm Dx4S Cree XML U2 3200Lm 18650 / 26650 Diving LED Flashlight
HaikeLite DT70 CREE XHP70 3300LM 6500K Diving Flashlight
Brinyte DIV 11 CREE XM L2 U2 LED Flashlight for Diving

My favorite? The Ultrafire DV-S9!

Magnetic slider switch, so no rubber boot, seals, nothing to deal with. Any movables that have to go underwater always spell trouble to me, so a magnetic slider with no holes or seals or whatever gets a thumbs-up from me.

Tailcap has 3 beefy O-rings sealing it.

Only thing Iā€™d make sure of is the front-glass. Dunk it in a bucket oā€™ water overnight to make sure nothing leaks. :smiley:

Takes a 26650, or 18650 with included bands. Bright, too. Youā€™ll be scaring those crabs right into the buckets in no timeā€¦

It does have a slight parasitic drain, so you need to give it a Ā¼-turn or so to lock it out when not being used for a while.

Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like a good looking flashlight too. I really like the blue color :slight_smile:

Also noticed the HaikeLite TS100 uses the same Cree XM-L2 emitter so should have equivalent brightness? But I canā€™t seem to find any review on the HaikeLite TS100? Does anyone know if this is perhaps a newish release light, and hence there is no review yet???

Itā€™s even better than that. In the pic, it looks like a generic medium-blue, but in person, itā€™s more of a nice rich indigo color.

Had one that worked perfectly, yet still got a second one, Just Because. :smiley:

You forgot to finish your sentence. :open_mouth: :wink:

Had one that worked perfectly, yet still got a second one, Just Because I am a flashlight-holic. :smiley:

Do you use 26650 or 18650 battery in your Ultrafire DV-S9? If using 26650, do you have any suggestion on which ones to get?

Naw, just because in case one crokes or gets lost or something, Iā€™d have another to take its place.

26650. I got a few LKs, but this doesnā€™t stress out too much, so Iā€™m ā€œusing upā€ an old ā€œDEā€ (Digital Energy or something) cell that I got from Rat Shack. Itā€™s holding its own surprisingly well, though.

General recommendation, LKs make some nice 26650s. I got some, so stopped looking at others as thereā€™s no need ā€™til those start going south.

Sorry for continuously bombarding you with questions. There seems to be two types of LKs 26650 batteries. Black and Blue. Unfortunately both GearBest and BangGood no longer ship batteries to Australia :frowning: But will be good to know which one is best to get? Both seems to show as unprotected (max discharge current of 20A) and flat top. The Flat Top will definitely work in the Ultrafire DV-S9 that you like so much without doing solder top that I see people doing?

LiitoKala Lii - 50A 5000mAh 26650 Li-ion Rechargeable Battery - 2PCS BLACK
LiitoKala 26650 5000mAh 20A 3.6V Rechargeable Li-ion Battery - 2PCS 2PCS BLUE BLUE

Itā€™s not a high-strung light, so even a panny-B with a rubberband would work fine. If you want a 26, get whichever has the most capacity. Both 5AH? Either one would be fine.

Ordered the UltraFire DV - S9 LED Dive Light on 16/10, after approaching the GB rep here for a great price, and she set me a fantastic price of $12.xx. She also offered 10 pieces of it for the same price on the GB discount thread, and I believe it would have been snapped up within a day. I also asked her for a price on the HaikeLite TS100, and the discounted price of US$13.xx she set for me was snapped up by others so quickly (within 4-6 hours?), they were all gone by the time I decided to order it as a 2nd underwater light to try out.

It is probably at least another 3 weeks before I will see the Ultrafire DV-S9. Have also ordered 3x Liitokala 26650 5100mAH battery from this AE seller here (US$14.50 for 3 before shipping) a few days ago, so canā€™t wait.

I have a big family of six, so I definitely need a 2nd dive light as we regularly split into groups of 2 or 3 when we are in the water scooping for crabs. :smiley:

Apart from you, I am just surprised there isnā€™t any other members who has an opinion on this?

Yeah, I ordered another one from that batch. Mightta even been the first. :smiley:

Yeh, so the nice-price of a 12buk DV-S9 will sure help!

Doesnā€™t seem to be a big audience for actual dive lights. Me, I just wanted a light thatā€™d hopefully be more waterproof than ā€œhope these O-rings work to keep out water!ā€ lights.

Plus, I like the magnetic slider.