Vent: My primary light gave out at 90 feet on a bridge piling job

I was working on a bridge piling inspection in Mobile last Tuesday, about 90 feet down. I had just started my second sweep when my primary light, a Light Monkey 21W LED, just went black. No flicker, no dimming, just gone. I always thought carrying a backup light was extra weight for simple jobs, but being down there in the murk with just my helmet light changed my mind fast. I had to feel my way back to the down line, moving real slow to avoid snags. It added a good 20 minutes to my dive time and messed up the whole schedule. What's a good, tough backup light you all trust that won't break the bank?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan6662mo ago

Totally agree with the Orcatorch idea. I grabbed a D530 as a backup after my main light flooded on a night dive. It's small enough to clip to my harness and forget about, but it's crazy bright for the size. That thing has been banged against rocks, dropped in the boat, and it just keeps working. Makes you wonder why we ever dive without a solid backup, even on a simple job. What model does your buddy use?

kim.sandra7d ago

Lost my main light on a night dive once, not a flood just a flat battery. I was doing a simple wreck check with a buddy who had one of those big canister lights and I figured I'd be fine. Halfway down the line his light flickered and died, something with the connector. We were both in the dark for a solid 30 seconds before I remembered I had a little backup clipped to my chest. I fumbled for it but that thing saved our dive, we had to turn around anyway but still. Now I never clip my backup anywhere but my hand or a lanyard around my wrist, learned that lesson the hard way.

karenw902mo ago

Scary stuff! It's wild how we skip backups for "simple" jobs until things go dark. My buddy swears by the smaller Orcatorch lights as a cheap backup that can take a beating.