Aquatec mini lights

[Ron]

I picked up two of these Aquatec mini-lights in my last order from Bryan. I am really impressed with these things. I am in that ever continuing quest to make my gear smaller, lighter, and more minimal. The lights either clip onto your mask strap, or have a lanyard for use like a regular underwater light. I clipped one on my mask and carried one. By the end of the dive I stuck the handheld one in my pocket, and was just using the mask strap one. It is absolutely weightless underwater. It literally feels like it isn't there. It is also cool that the beam naturally cowitnesses with where you are looking due to its mounting. You can also turn it on or off with one hand because the bracket and flashlight are keyed together. Even my fancy cave diving buddy with his high falooting cave diving light thought they were bright for how small they are, and he carries a small sun on his goodman handle. Here's some shots from Paradise Springs in Ocala, which is a wonderful place to dive as well:

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The light comes with a battery, a lanyard, and the clip

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Here the light is on my Aqualung Micromask. The mask sucks, and leaks, but it is the smallest and lightest mask I own, so I figured if the light would be too heavy or pull, then it would be on this mask.

These lights are going to replace my Princeton Tec 40 lights for everyday use. My Tec 40 lights are 28 lumens, weigh 181 grams, and use 4 AA batteries with a 5 hour burn. These Aquatec lights are roughly 10 lumens, weigh 39 grams, use a single AAA battery, and burn for 3 hours. For open water diving these things are awesome. They even did pretty well in Paradise Springs, which is pretty dark being a cavern with a small opening and all.

My buddy shot some underwater video with a Gopro, which I will share when he gives it to me.

Bottom lines:

-Minilights are bueno.
-Aqualung Micromask is no bueno.

[sitkadiver]

Thanks for the review. I saw these in the VDH store. I also use a mini Q40 on my work mask. It isn't very bright, but it does the job when working under a boat turning wrenches. I may have to upgrade to one of these for hands free stuff.

[Bryan]

Thanks for the review Ron,look forward to seeing the video. I tried various ways of taking photos of the lights at night and nothing comes out very well with my limited camera resources and skills.......I don't think these will totally replace your handheld lights but they are surprisingly bright and inexpensive. I think these will come in handy when diving the reefs at night as it keeps your hands free in the event you are under attack by the Kraken like Alan was last year in Cozumel.

[Nemrod]

LEDS have really been a godsend for underwater lighting. They have progressed from those bluish things with invisible light that did not register on my rods and cones to THE way to produce light for any purpose. Gone for sure are the days of the old 50 watt aircraft landing light and NiCad cells from a jet starter battery.

Those look like cool lights, I wonder if Sir Luis would fuss at me if I used them on a night dive?

Have y'all ever heard of the Candlepower forum? It is where, honest to goodness, flashlight geeks hang out. And you thought vintage SCUBA was a niche forum,


Nem

[Bryan]

I sent some to Bonaire with Herman and Luis this week. I'm sure they will share their thoughts when they return.

[sitkadiver]

Just bought two of these, and I'll say that they throw a lot more light than I expected. I attached them to my AGA mask, which is my work mask, but I'm going to change the set-up a bit and screw them directly into the side of the visor. There'a a hole in the light mount which should work perfect. These will be great work lights for when I'm doing zinc and prop work.

And thank you for keeping your price below all the other online retailers. A working diver like me really appreciates that.

[sitkadiver]

I installed one of the mini lights on my AGA last weekend and was able to use it for an inspection Monday morning. Over all, it worked very well.

I had to drill a hole in the left side of the AGA, since I have an ABG valve on the right. I started small and worked my way up so as not to risk cracking the visor - although I'm not sure that much caution is really warranted:



The hardware I used was just spare stuff from the work bench. I used a screw head that was small enough to fit inside the mounting bracket of the light, and I used a washer to hold on side of the mount flush against the visor.



I also used a bit of silicone glue to keep it water tight and to prevent the light from rotating too easily once it was installed:



Overall, I like this light. It definitely puts out enough lumens to light up a nut or bolt or some zinc screws. It also provide great light for general use. These photos show Alaska in the spring time, so my viz was only 10 feet.






If anyone needs a handy back-up light, this could be for you. Especially if you need a light for hands free operation: In terms of hands free work lights, this is great. I like the mounting options and also like the fact that I can turn it off or on with just a simple twist.

I'm looking forward to night diving this in the winter, when I have 40 or 50 feet of visibility. This should be awesome for late night bottle hunts.

[Bryan]

Thanks for the write up Dave! Pictures say a thousand words sometimes.

[JES]

Outstanding write-ups!

Here's the link to allow you to directly go to the Aquatec mini light page in Bryan's Online Store to add to your dive gear.