HID or LED which do you prefer more for cave diving and why ??

[decostanza]

I was with Bobby in JB last week checking out the LD35 and one of his other lights and was blown away by the LD35. (I was equally impressed by the other one but am trying to stay on topic of the LD35) I am coming from a 21wHID and couldn't believe the concentration and output of light...my first thought was "this thing is a light cannon." The quality of the lights have dramatically improved and the first thing I noticed was the 100% improvement with the light head clip. In full disclosure, I did the short teaser for Bobby...but regardless of the relationship, I was very impressed with the direction they went in with the LD35. Taking it to less exciting waters tomorrow (Gilboa quarry) for a couple buds that want to check it out to see how it does in the quarry. Side note: If anyone reading this will be at Gilboa on Sun 9/15 and you want to check it out...I will be on the deep side in the morning...pm me here.
back on topic...regardless of the light you choose that best suits your needs...you have to admit that anyone who has met Bobby picks up on his passion for building quality lights and educating divers to make them educated buyers.

[Herbie]

LED.... because of longer burn time and durability.

[MORGAN]

I've only used HID - Tracy and I have had the same primary lights since starting cave diving in 2005. A friend just converted our lights to LED and we'll be putting them to use soon. I've had an HID bulb blow when I turned it on after a very slight impact with a rock while getting into the water, and I've had a couple blow for no reason that I could discern, except that maybe they were trying to be annoying. So I'm looking forward to the increased durability. These LED's are also supposed to have about 1.5 X the light output of the HID bulbs they replaced, but I've always felt that my 10 watt HID gave me plenty of light.

Mike

[next gen]

Some of us are stuck with HID's because of money but when the day comes that my light wears out (and when I have the money) I'll switch.

[WJH]

After a couple failures with my Halcyon HID that caused cave dives to be called, I switched to the Greenforce LED, which I loved and worked flawlessly for me for 9 years. It just failed last month due to battery age, and I placed my LightDude order last week. The 9watt equivalence of the Greenforce was enough for me, but I am excited about receiving my new Lightdude light and seeing wall-to-wall! The reviews have all been stellar, and I know Bobby well enough to know that he would not enter the market just to offer another light, but to offer something exceptional!

WJH

[JCGoodwin]

Now I am even more interested to see the new 35 UWLD.
I love the LM 35 HID and the UWLD 26w LED those two lights I have used and enjoyed.
Used LM 21 HID, DR 10w HID, LM & DR LED's all worked well but the two afore mentioned lights were my pics.
Outstanding service from either companies.
If you know Bobbie he is driven to produce the finest light out there!

Looking forward to seeing one of these inaction in Oct.!

JCG

[corvettejoe]

I have the HOG 21W HID (LM Made supposedly)
I had the chance to dive with a 21W LED LM light last year. I just didn't compare to HID.

I missed the focusable beam that my HID has (I use this feature a lot). Also it seemed the LED just didn't have the cutting power that the HID did, it couldn't throw as far.

I like the nice clean white of LED, but it just does't cut it when it comes to sheer brightness overall, spread, etc.
I also like that LED is either on or off. There's no warm up time as with HID...and no period of pause before firing it back up if you should shut it off for fear of damage.

Just observations over the past year or so since I got my HID.

[darkdiver211]

LED technology has grown by leeps and bounds and their durability is second to none. I my opinion the secret is how the high performance manufacturers have figured out how to assemble the light head so the LEDs are focused and the power doesnt burn the LEDs up after a few dives.
It is no secret that I am a huge Uwlightdude fan, Bobby refuses to settle for status quo in manufacturing or in life. I think that the HID technology will be around for a few years and you will be hard pressed to tell a cave diver that his HID he has used for years is junk. You might get a blackeye from a diver that has hundreds of great dives with that light. I am very lucking to have the lghtdude as much friend and mentor, in the years I have known him he has taught more about lights and cave diving than I could have ever learned without him. He will be a leader in the light industry for years.

[Greenwood_60]

LED. I don't do canister lights, and you can't package an HID small enough.

[diveconjeff]

Some of us are stuck with HID's because of money but when the day comes that my light wears out (and when I have the money) I'll switch.

If money is a concern, do not dismiss the ULD refit. He did a refit to one of the small DR light heads for me that is outstanding at a remarkable price.

In fact, if you were to come across one of these DR lights with either an HID or an early DR LED conversion for the right price, add the cost of his refit, you would come out of it doing quite well with a great light...

I am not a spokesman blah blah blah, just a satisfied end user.