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Article posted on SDTechDiving.com on Novemeber 2006

It seems that in this day in age HID lights are everyone’s favorite. Things are starting to change. Several different manufacturers are beginning to experiment with LEDs instead of an HID lamp. LED has several advantages over HID. The first of which being durability; HID lights are known to be very fragile, if you were to drop your HID on the ground it would most likely break. This is not true with LEDs, they are very robust and can get take a extreme pounding before they stop working. This is very helpful for divers that get there gear tossed around boat decks every weekend. Another advantage of LED over HID is the cost of each bulb. LED bulbs are much cheaper to replace and last a lot longer than an HID bulb; most last thousands of hours before they need to be replaced. LEDs are not exactly perfect however. LEDs cannot be focused as tight as HIDs which is really the only draw back.

The Deep Outdoors 10 watt LED light consists of 3 x 3 watt LEDs in the light head which are overdriven by electronics in the light head. I would say the light output is very comparable to a 10 watt HID. The light head is very compact and light, about a quarter the size of my 21 watt HID, and is manufactured from anodized aluminum. The light will come standard with a glove type soft mount but a hard Goodman handle is optional. The light is powered by a 4.5 amp hour NiMH battery that will allow for a 4 hour burn time; this should be sufficient for at least a days diving. The canister is also very small and compact, and like the light head, is anodized aluminum and will match the color of the light head. The light is turned on by a rotating bezel that sits around the light cord and is magnetic so there is no switch boot to tear. The light cord itself is connected on each end by wet connectors that will allow for the light head or battery canister to be changed out underwater.

The light performs very well in low light situations and really shines when there are lots of particulates in the water. The LEDs give off much less backscatter than the 21watt HID, which makes them ideal for videography or photography. I was impressed by how well the light worked compared to the tried and true HID; it is a very good alternative to its fragile counterpart. I will also mention the size and weight of the light makes it ideal for traveling. This light has very few weaknesses and will sell well in the recreational and technical markets.

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This review was contributed by Tyler Stalter and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs and/or opinions of SDTechDiving; they are the sole written opinion/expression of the author(s). SDTechDiving is not responsible for content contained within this article, including links which may take the reader to websites outside of our control

It seems that in this day in age HID lights are everyone’s favorite. Things are starting to change. Several different manufacturers are beginning to experiment with LEDs instead of an HID lamp. LED has several advantages over HID. The first of which being durability; HID lights are known to be very fragile, if you were to drop your HID on the ground it would most likely break. This is not true with LEDs, they are very robust and can get take a extreme pounding before they stop working. This is very helpful for divers that get there gear tossed around boat decks every weekend. Another advantage of LED over HID is the cost of each bulb. LED bulbs are much cheaper to replace and last a lot longer than an HID bulb; most last thousands of hours before they need to be replaced. LEDs are not exactly perfect however. LEDs cannot be focused as tight as HIDs which is really the only draw back.

The Deep Outdoors 10 watt LED light consists of 3 x 3 watt LEDs in the light head which are overdriven by electronics in the light head. I would say the light output is very comparable to a 10 watt HID. The light head is very compact and light, about a quarter the size of my 21 watt HID, and is manufactured from anodized aluminum. The light will come standard with a glove type soft mount but a hard Goodman handle is optional. The light is powered by a 4.5 amp hour NiMH battery that will allow for a 4 hour burn time; this should be sufficient for at least a days diving. The canister is also very small and compact, and like the light head, is anodized aluminum and will match the color of the light head. The light is turned on by a rotating bezel that sits around the light cord and is magnetic so there is no switch boot to tear. The light cord itself is connected on each end by wet connectors that will allow for the light head or battery canister to be changed out underwater.

The light performs very well in low light situations and really shines when there are lots of particulates in the water. The LEDs give off much less backscatter than the 21watt HID, which makes them ideal for videography or photography. I was impressed by how well the light worked compared to the tried and true HID; it is a very good alternative to its fragile counterpart. I will also mention the size and weight of the light makes it ideal for traveling. This light has very few weaknesses and will sell well in the recreational and technical markets.