***SALVO 12 Watt LED Review***

[Mike Edmonston]

Hi Gang,

Last weekend I went to Ginnie and our team dove 3 of the new Salvo LED 12W lights.

I am writing a somewhat condensed report, as I am getting ready to head up to BTS for 5 days.


WOW WOW WOW, was I impressed with the LED's! The cannister is literally the size of a red-bull can, and is sealed! You charge it through the head. There is no switch on the cannister either, it is activated by turning the head 1/4 turn. Therefore you could mount the cannister on your plate if you so desired, and wouldn't have to worry about reaching the switch!

As far as the performance, it was a BETTER light than any 10W HID, for a few reasons.

1. Durability, I literally threw the light up in the air across 2 picnic tables and let it land on another picnic table. NO PROBLEMS!

2. I grabbed the light head, held it out in front of me, and let it swing down (like a pendulum) until it hit the leg of the picnic table. Again, No problems.

3. The light can be turned on / off without fear of harming the emitter.

4. The beam is not as pinpoint as the HID, but it lights and signals better, as the light is more "natural" and covers a greater area, although the spot itself is a little larger.

5. The light DEFINITELY shoots farther than the HID! I don't know the physics behind the color spectrum to achieve this, but the dam thing really goes!

6. Charging was very very fast. After a full day of diving, it took the light 35 minutes to fully recharge.

All in all, I am really impressed. I have sold all of my 10W HID's and will not be carrying any of them in the future. The 12W LED is just a much better light all around.

I will be having a BIG sale on Salvo lights after BTS. If anyone here wants a light, PM or Email me and I'll get to it after next Tuesday. It's worth the wait.

See you all at the show. If you're going to BTS, give me a shout.

Safe Diving http://thedecostop.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[caroln]

I'm excited to see this light in person. I had convinced myself that I could wait a while for a can light but who can resist brand new toys.

See you at BTS

[captain cave man]

Hi whats the dry land weight on the above.?

thanks.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

What kind of pricing are we looking at? Has the technology come along enough to be financially reasonable?

[FW]

Since nobody is answering questions, I got this from Salvo's website.

Price: $780.00
Details:
The Rebel 12 Watt LED is powered by a 5.2 amp Li-ion rechargeable battery pack. Burntime is 5 hours and outputs 750 lumens at 5600 kelvin. Emitter life is 50,000 hours and has a 6 degree focused beam. Comes with an elastic handmount for hands free diving. The light is activated by rotating the head with no need for a switch. Canister is 2"(5cm)in diameter and 7.5"(19cm) in length. Weights in at 2.5 lbs.(1.1kg). The charger accepts 90 to 240 volt input and recharge time is 4 hours from a complete discharge. Charging is done by removing the lighthead from the tail piece. The battery pack for the Rebel 9 watt LED can also be used to power the lighthead for a 2.5 hour burntime and is available separately. Comes complete with goodman handle that can be used in a hard or elastic mode.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Nice... Maybe my light will break at the end of the year when I can afford a replacement :)

[FW]

Nice... Maybe my light will break at the end of the year when I can afford a replacement :)
You might want to see one for yourself first. Not that I am skeptical, but Mike E. is a dealer :-D

[SuPrBuGmAn]

My current 10w HID only has about 100 dives on it, so I should have time(I hope) to see one of the 12w LEDs before the current light croaks :)

[DogDiver]

Well, My dive rite 10w HID took a dump today at Ginnie. I told myself that I would not put anymore $$$ into this unit. All in all, it is 6 years old. Battery is 4 years old. I'm on my fourth cable and can't recall how many bulbs ($$$$$). Is it time for LED?

[sam]

Is it time for LED?

YES!
I bought one of these Lights to replace my H10. I love it. I can not come up with a down side. I am very happy with my purchase.

[mwhities]

YES!
I bought one of these Lights to replace my H10. I love it. I can not come up with a down side. I am very happy with my purchase.

I had planned to get the 12w LED but, there was no "secure" way to attach a goodman handle to it. So I opted for the 10W HID. I'm happy with it. Maybe Barry will design a way to securely attach a goodman handle to the light and when that happens, I'll get one.

Michael

[Dave]

The 12w LED can be purchased with a standard goodman handle.
Just ask Barry what you want when you order it.

[jpdiver]

How well did the light penetrate and focus at distances greater than 50 feet or so?

[JahJahwarrior]

The 12w LED can be purchased with a standard goodman handle.
Just ask Barry what you want when you order it.

Yes, but any handle, soft or hard goodman, is just "clipped" on to the head. Infact, I have found that it is impossible to turn the light on or off with just one hand, the goodman does not hold the head strong enough to just twist the back end of the head. To turn it on or off required removing the light head from my hand and using both hands to twist the head.

(still, beautiful light!!!!!)

[mwhities]

Yes, but any handle, soft or hard goodman, is just "clipped" on to the head. Infact, I have found that it is impossible to turn the light on or off with just one hand, the goodman does not hold the head strong enough to just twist the back end of the head. To turn it on or off required removing the light head from my hand and using both hands to twist the head.

(still, beautiful light!!!!!)

That's why I didn't purchase it. The "C" clip and that It'd be a PITA for me (having one-arm) to turn it on that way. If the goodman handle was secured to the light head (permanent), I think I'd have a better chance of turning it on.

Michael

[JahJahwarrior]

That's why I didn't purchase it. The "C" clip and that It'd be a PITA for me (having one-arm) to turn it on that way. If the goodman handle was secured to the light head (permanent), I think I'd have a better chance of turning it on.

Michael

That's the one thing I miss from the DR 10 watt I had for a few weeks before getting thing. The handle on this light seems nicer, in terms of build quality, but I liked how the DR light felt more "solid." I also liked how I could turn it on or off with one hand.

[mwhities]

That's the one thing I miss from the DR 10 watt I had for a few weeks before getting thing. The handle on this light seems nicer, in terms of build quality, but I liked how the DR light felt more "solid." I also liked how I could turn it on or off with one hand.

I sure wish there is(was?) a way to get a goodman handle on it. If Barry figures out a way to do so, I'll buy the LED and keep my HID as a back up or let my dive buddy borrow it till he gets his.

Michael

[Scubastud16]

I've noticed the same thing on my Salvo 10w (fixed focus). While the handle is very solid and VERY comfortable, the light rotates within the clip pretty easily. Not really a big deal for me, because the switch is on the cannister, but just something I noticed. Did I mention I love that light?

[tflaris]

You might want to see one for yourself first. Not that I am skeptical, but Mike E. is a dealer :-D

Saw One at Salvo. Pretty Darn close on the description...but did not see it in the water. But the size is incredibly small as well as the on/off switch design is very cool. Durabilty-they did a bang test for me on the showroom floor. Comment from Salvo is they are discontinuing the 10w HID because the 12w LED is brighter.

Will be purchasing one soon.

Anyone need a 10w HID slimline canister???????

[RescueTechDiver]

how well do these work out of the water will they overheat? ie could it be used for dry caving?

[tflaris]

Give them a call for they would be the best source on info

Salvo 705 NW Santa Fe Blvd. High Springs, FL 32643 sales@salvodiving.com Phone: 386-454-1440 Fax: 386-454-1661 Mon - Fri 8am - 6pm EST Sat 8am - 4pm EST ...
www.salvodiving.com/ - 16k - Cached - Similar pages
Dealers
Regulators and Gauges
Video Lights
Knowledge Regs, Gauges, Hoses
Backup Lights
Agir-Brokk Wings
More results from salvodiving.com »

[JahJahwarrior]

how well do these work out of the water will they overheat? ie could it be used for dry caving?

If you read the product description, Salvo claims that after five minutes the light will reduce its output to avoid overheating.

[jj1987]

They're using the Ostram Ostar LED from what it looks like (I don't know of many other LED's with 6 on a single chip), and it's really good for not getting hott when you compare how powerful it is..... not first hand knowledge, learned this from reading candle power forums.

[Scubastud16]

They will overheat out of water.

[stairman]

I like elastic handgrips v.s hard goodman handles.My guess is the head doesnt turn with the elastic grip since its screwed in and not clipped on?

[JahJahwarrior]

I like elastic handgrips v.s hard goodman handles.My guess is the head doesnt turn with the elastic grip since its screwed in and not clipped on?

The hard and soft handles are both bolted to the clip, which clips onto the head.

[FW]

The 21 watt LED shows the Goodman handle bolted on (on the Salvo website).

[JahJahwarrior]

The 21 watt LED shows the Goodman handle bolted on (on the Salvo website).

Ah, yes...I just assumed we were only discussing the 12 watt here.

I love the 12 watt I've got, the goodman seems to be of higher quality than the elastic goodman on the DR light I used for a few weeks before getting this one. However, I am having some issues with the light, namely that it begins to flicker and look more like a dying strobe light after 5-10 minutes of being on. Barry suggested that I might have failed to charge the light correctly, so I gave it another go, yet it flickers still. And my roommates now think I'm nuts, with a "funky strobe light thing" in my water bottle..... I don't know what I'm doing stupid, but I have emailed Barry about it and so far he's been extremely quick to reply. I don't know what's up with it, but I was able to limp through a dive with it, turning it off then turning it on a few minutes later seemed to give me a few more minutes worth of usable light before I felt like I was back in a bad horror flick. Silt+strobing primary=waiting for Dracula fish to appear and bite me....

However, I do really love how you can run the light for several minutes without harming anything. Helps a ton when trying to load gear up. You can't just flick on an HID like that to light up your truck bed for half a minute to help you find a mask! Granted, you could use a backup light, but if they are clipped off and held in by innertube, it can be easier to grab your primary light head for a quick look-see.

I'll see if I can't get some pictures at some point, with the canister size compared to several popular energy drink can sizes :)

[icestac]

I sure wish there is(was?) a way to get a goodman handle on it.

It may not be pretty (unless Sam does it), but you could always glue it to the clip so it does not move when you want to twist it on.

~Jeff

[icestac]

I bought one of these Lights to replace my H10. I love it. I can not come up with a down side. I am very happy with my purchase.

For those who care, Sam has the 12W and I got the 21W. We dove them together at the bottom of a cold, dark quarry and they both performed extremely well. Since the 21W can be adjusted to different levels, I played with the settings at the bottom to find which setting best matched the 12W. In my opinion, the second level (40%) seemed to match the 12W in that water. However, even with the 21W at 100%, the 12W had no problems signalling or being lost in the 21W. One thing to note is that we were not lucky enough to do this test dive in a cave, so there may be some differences (clearer water, reflection off the wall, etc), but I did want to put some feedback up regarding the comparison of the two. As far as size, the 12W canister can fit into the DR Handheld HID pocket (after you remove the webbing clamps). The 21W canister is about the size of a spray paint can.

~Jeff