Purchase A Flashlight For DivingOutings - Some Common Mistakes
When considering underwater lighting some divers may believe that brighter is always better. Therefore, when they buy a flashlight for diving, they go with the highest intensity beam. While this may work in some situations such as cave diving, a brighter light is does not always work best when the water is murky and filled with small debris. In fact, when the water is filled with particulates, the brighter flashlight can decrease visibility.
Normally a single flashlight is not sufficient for a scuba dive, and a diver should have two backups of different intensities. Following the rule of brighter is not always best, not only will the scuba diver have backups but will have beams of varying intensity to suit the situation.
The power source of most diving lights is traditionally batteries but fortunately for many divers rechargeable batteries are now an option. Divers who plan dive trips and live on board a dive boat for several days or weeks find rechargeable batteries essential. How long a battery will last on a charge is an important point and the battery charge of any dive light should be at least twice that of the expected length of the dive for safety.
Inexpensive dive lights are normally rated to much lower depths and may even be suitable only for very shallow dives. It is essential that the diving light be chosen to exceed the usual dive depth, as diving lights are required for safety and their failure due to exceeding the depth rating of the light is avoidable.
When choosing a diving light the diver should select one that is not only has a clear strong beam but is durable and can hold up under normal use. Less expensive lights may be attractive due to the price but they may not be as sturdy and dependable as a slightly more expensive light.
Since a flashlight is such an essential part of dive safety care should be taken to account for how long the batteries last, how strong the beam needs to be, how much normal wear and tear the light can sustain, and what that the light can withstand the depth of the dive.
It is strongly possible that a less costly diving light will be perfectly suitable for the casual diver the diver should remember these lights usually have weaker beam, and can take less abuse than a professional grade diving light can. In addition, the one size doesn’t fit all rule applies to diving lights, and several beam intensities are usually advisable to match water conditions.
The casual diver may not need a professional diving or underwater photography light system but they do need to choose a quality light, with a long lasting battery which gives them more battery hours than they might every anticipate needing. They should also consider the ease of recharging a battery as opposed to carrying along a limited supply of fresh batteries.
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