Hey everybody. My wife and I have recently become scuba certified and I’ve naturally gone on the lookout for lighting solutions. We have an Advanced OW course night dive coming up in the future and I’d like to be prepared well ahead of time. Based on my BLF experience, I figure I can get some very good options for reasonable amounts of money. Reasonable means good value, not cheap necessarily. If anyone has looked at the price of lights at the local dive shop you’d all be shocked. Making a waterproof light isn’t exactly nuclear science, but you would think so looking at their MSRP. There has got to be a better solution that still provides a fair level of safety and performance without costing $500. I’m cool with Li-ion cells and use them on a regular basis on dry land. My wife is aware of the required safety issues. 18650 based lights would probably be best. Anyway, It seems it’s been a while since there has been a round up of the greatest bang for the buck lights going… Anybody have some suggestions? …and thanks
I like the DV-S9 as a nice inexpensive diving light with magnetic slider (no screws, gaskets, etc., for any switches).
Ultrafire DV-S9 seems to be out of stock in Gearbest.
The DV-S9 from Ultrafire.com doesn’t seem to be using genuine Cree XM-L2 LEDs (slightly less bright).
I got 2 of mine from FT. Think only 1 from GB when on a flash-sale.
I was itching to make a wooden “stick” (similar to a wooden ruler) to fit the grooves and try to take off the front bezel, ideally to to an emitter-swap, but never got around to it. It’s fine as is. <shrug/>
Oh, and the BLF code at FT still works, as far as I know, so that knocks off a few % from the price.
A review posted some months ago:
The Brinyte DIV15S is currently on a big sale on gearbest. It is 20.58$ App only.
I didn’t tried it or know it before but it seems to be pretty good.
that light comes up at $120 cdn for me…
Anyway, I think I’ve got it narrowed down to the…
Sofirn Sd-01, sd-02, sd-03…
Thorfire TD26
xtar whale (I like the Walrus but not looking to drop $500 for 2 of them.)
Have I missed anything super duper or am I making a mistake with any of these?
BTW… I need 2 of each for whatever gets decided.
* $30 cdn on the app. seems decent for the money
On the APP it is below 19€ form like 86% OFF 
It’s a bit more ‘rocket science’ than you think. Water under pressure is a VERY persuasive force seeking out any weakness. Saltwater + electronics = disaster.
Chinese lights can work well, but are notorious for shoddy construction. Many of the “dive lights” are only splash and puddle proof, not suitable for diving. There are some that do work
The Ultrafire DV-S9 is decent and has been personally tested on a few dives. That does NOT guarantee it’s reliability over time. Typical of cheap lights this one may come with different LED’s or maybe even drivers. Of the 2 I have they absolutely have different LED’s. Construction seems OK. Anodizing is ‘pretty’ and not very good for wear.
I have one of these: U`King ZQ-X960 CREE XM-L2 1200LM Underwater 100m Diving Flashlight Torch - BLACK to compare. Almost exactly the same light but seems better made.
An advantage both have is the ability to use 18650, or 26650 cells. That also makes them larger but they can last more than a single dive. Most bright single cell 18650 are good for a single dive.
If you step up a bit this one has been shown to ‘go the distance’ in actual diving: Xtar D26 I know a couple active divers that have extensive experience with them.
There is also the Throfire TD26 as posted above. Seems good, no personal experience.
The DGX 600 has been shown to hold up amazingly well, and you get some support from a real US dive shop.
I’ve got a couple of these: SEA-CK TS100 XM-L2 U2 1000Lumens 4Modes Waterproof Diving LED Flashlight 50M
So far, holding up. Quite small, easy to stash. I find the switch suspect. I’ve had this kind of switch rust out in real saltwater use even with rinsing. First thing I did was take it apart and silicone grease the bejeezus out of it AND the screws. I always rinse it well and pump the switch a lot. I plan to repeat every 6 months or so with any dive use.
I’m a licensed plumber for a living so I’m aware of the power of water, but it’s not THAT difficult to properly size o-rings and gaskets. I do it all the time as a result of my employment, It seems a lot of the north american shops offer chinese lights simply rebranded with a considerable mark up…. The DRIS 100k is a perfect example of this… I appreciate the comments though, please keep the suggestions coming.
I ordered the SD-02 5350 to 5700K light yesterday. For $19.88 I might as well give it a try. For starters, I'm going to drop it in a shallow lake near where I live turned on and then dive down and pick it up an hour later. If it's still running, I'm happy.
Unless you have some serious requirements for a LOT of light those big monsters aren’t a good idea. If you are tropical diving IMO it’s WAY too much.
Something smaller that you can strap into a soft Goodman handle is much nicer than having to carry it around.
we are right on the shore of lake Ontario (on the Great Lakes) up in Canada. Locally it’s all fresh water. Tropical diving, for us, would only be on holidays down south. Leaning towards the xtar d26w whale, and the thorfire TD26. Really pulling for the sofirn Sd-02A though, since they’ve been gracious enough to offer one up for testing and review. I’ve got some local divers interested in the whole “budget” light options out there, and it could mean a few (or more) sales for someone.
If you looking greatest and lastest dive light, this cost.
If you looking swiming light than buy dvs9 and similar cheap shit for 20-30 bucks.
If you diving seroius than you know reasons already.
Same here, freshwater lakes in BC, very cold and dark. The brighter the better.
Depends.
Focus angle of the light is important to the requirement for the diver and for the environment. The Great Lakes now, from what I hear, are quite clear. So you may be able to get away with a variety of lights. If you have poor visibility, narrowly focused lights penetrate > better for seeing and being seen + signalling.
Wide focused lights in poor viz situations are kind of a mess, reflecting back like in a snowstorm, illuminating everything in the water but not what you want.
A reality of MOST cheap lights is they have low quality drivers. That translates into a light that is bright to START, and rapidly fades with voltage. You generally have to just up to much more costly lights to get around that issue. Functionally, that may not really be much of an issue on a single dive if you have enough battery to support the draw. But, don’t be taken in by highly exaggerated claims for these lights. Try to get some first hand reports of it.
Some may have poor heat sinking. The higher the output, the better that has to be.
Reliable water tightness is critical of course. That trait usually shows itself soon if it’s inadequate.
Flydiver, thanks for that info, something to think about!
BTW, here is a pic from one of the buyers of the Sofirn SD02 on Aliexpress. He likes the light and I like his set up with his dive helmut.
Sofirn has the SD02 and SD02A (3000K tint). They say the warmer tint of the SD02A works better for underwater?
I notice Boruit also has a so-called ‘diving’ light, which looks very similar to the UltraFire DV-S9:
I wonder if it’s similar to the UltraFire DV-S9 in quality. There are lots of similar-looking designs.
That's another interesting dive light I never saw before. I thought about getting the warmer tint of the SD02A and then decided on the NW tint instead. For the price, it's easier to get another one if I like it.