HID vs. LED

[jpdiver]

The drawback to HID is that you are out $120 or so when the bulb goes. You don't have that problem with LED. I still don't think the LED's penetrate as well or focus as well at a long distance in a cave. This is a matter of opinion though. I know many people who are happy with them. I The best I have seen so far for penetration is the new Halcyon but I am waiting for more improvements until I switch which I hope is soon since I just had to buy a new HID bulb.

[bletso]

Perhaps it's because I am cheap, or then again maybe I can't afford it but... I dive what Diverite now calls a HID1000. They called it something else when I bought it. I have always liked the intense center beam. My buddy dove the old MR16 HID heads. Maintenance was a nightmare. Bulbs were very sensitive. The one I have seems robust enough. My buddy now dives the LED version and I personally don't like the light distribution. I do like that it's virtually bullet proof as are all the LED's. It is to be sure a matter of preference. I have always used the adjustable light head starting with a Ralph Hood 50W. (That was a light. I still have it though it needs a battery.)

Dale

[newdiver]

So would you definitely say that a LED is best for caves, and a HID are best for wrecks and general Diving?

[Sludge]

I wouldn't. I haven't seen any LED lights that I like as well as my 10w or 24w HIDs.

[MORGAN]

HID lights are plenty durable if you are a persnick. Persnick is a term coined years ago by writer and wilderness canoe traveler Robert Kimber to describe someone who is persnickety - precise, detail oriented, careful, methodical, and fastidious. Persnicks also like solving problems and fixing things, and tend to prefer harmony to conflict. As Kimber says, "When you're recruiting a crew for a long haul wilderness expedition, always pick persnicks!"

I was brought up from early childhood to treat things carefully - tools, guns, outdoor gear, farm equipment, etc. I pick things up carefully and set them down gently rather than snatch them up and toss them down. When I am not using something, whether it's a woodworking tool, a firearm, a camera, or an HID light, I put it away in it's proper place. If something has a protective case, it's either in use or in the case. I don't step on rope. I have had the same Dive Rite 10W HID light for 6 years and haven't broken a bulb. I don't baby my equipment, and I use some of it hard, especially my canoes and tripping outfit. But I'm careful not to abuse it. I have an 18 foot wood & canvas guide canoe that I've put probably 3,000 river miles over the last 20 years without needing more than new paint and varnish every 7 or 8 years.

I admit that these characteristics can be mightily annoying to people who don't share them, but it's equally annoying to me when one of my co-workers tosses his iPhone on the counter so hard it bounces. I can hear my grandfather back on the farm saying, "Those things cost money, mister! Treat it so it'll last!"

It seems to me that a majority of cave divers are persnicks in good standing.

Mike

[Sludge]

Fixing a typo - 'cause I'm a persnick!

Not persnickety enough, though!

[phillip1]

For diving i like LED better, I think the light monkey 12 w led lights up as good or better than any 10w hid, but it is bullet proof and has a burn time of about 6 hours.
Personally I do not like 21w or bigger lights as they get really bulky and are totally unessessary for cave diving, bigger lights are only really necessary for video or photography, but that is a personal preference some people really like big lights and don't mind the extra weight/bulkiness, for cave diving any good 10w hid or led is more than enough.

Having said that I think that hid technology is in it's final year or years, LEDs have the edge in every way and soon will be the norm.
Even in video, Sartek sent me the new LED 10000 lumen video light and it is not only really small it has a small battery pack and lights up as bright as a 200w hid, amazing!!! You can turn it on and off as many times as you want (nt the case with HID) and you don't have to treat it like it's an expensive piece of fragile pottery.

anyway this is just to illustrate that HID will not be around for much longer, maybe in car headlights but not in diving as LED lights are now just as good as HID or better in some cases but are far more reliable and solid.

i have not seen the light monkey 21w led but i am assuming it lights up more or less like a 21w HID for a way smaller light head though.
i like how the 12w led has a semi focused beam, nice hot spot but not a "laser sword" like a super tight HID, but has nice useable spillage over the sides and makes for much more illumination than a tight HID.

I use the light monkey 12w led on all my non video cave dives and it is really great, i have dropped it from about 5mtrs onto solid rock twice with zero problems, i don't take any special care of the light dump it in my truck attched to the harness after each dive and the thing is super extra reliable, i really do not want to have to be extra careful of my gear if I don't need to.
i am alway going to remote sometimes hard to access caves and the last thing I want is some darn HID light that wont fire.

I mean if i had to choose between super fragile fins that i always have to be careful with or fins i can throw on the floor and not even think about them, all things being equal I would choose the later.

[Sludge]

As usual, I completely disagree with our friend from the DR. It has been my experience that while a 10w HID and a 10w LED put out about the same amount of light, the higher you go in wattage, the more light you get per watt in an HID vs. an LED.

I expect to be using HIDs for many years to come, at least until the LEDs get a smoother output. Like Mr. Morgan, I've been using HIDs for many years (almost ten), and when you take care of them they last and last.

[phillip1]

Man, can't we all just get along? Lol..
I bet that if you were to dive caves here you would hate having to baby your HID, the acces to almost all the caves here usually involves a lot of climbing down dry caves and a million opportunities to hit stuff on rocks, even some full on dry caving there are only two caves were access is down kind of nice steps, here it is mostly a hassle to get in the water, even more of a hassle if you in addition need to be babying lights.

I used to have an HID but I really like the LED better, IMHO it lights up the same but the solidity factor makes it my choice.

my truck has Hella HID fog lights and since no one here will lower they're brights at night unless you have even brighter lights I usually win the headlight wars, I love the HIDs, however if Hella makes as bright LEDs I will definitely switch as the HID bulbs do not fare that well on really messed up dirt roads.

[BUNIT]

Bein 6'2" and 200lbs I can handle the monster battery pack... my instructor on the other hand...