Tektite H2113 Seeker light?

[DetectorGuy]

Have any of you ever used a Tektite dive light? How would they compare to Halycon, OMS, Dive Right, or Sartek lights as far as quality? I think I am going to get the Tektite H2113 Seeker soon, and I wanted to bounce this decision off some of you. Couple things I like about it are the lithium Ion battery and the focusable head. The 1500 lumens when switched to 21 watts would light up the inky water pretty good (and probably warm it some too) and the battery life is 2+ hours at 21 watts. Switch it down to 13 watts and still get 990 lumens and the battery would last 3 hours. I also like the fact that it has a universal fast charger that can be used in other countries and a car charger. I am not sure I like the idea of having the switch for the wattage change on the light head though. Here is a link to some info on it:

[Kirk]

I’m almost positive that is actually a Sartek light.  Other than the label, I think the only difference might be whom you’d call if you ever need to get it serviced.  Sartek makes good lights.  I used to own one.  Other than the open Goodman handle (which I find to be a bit of a line trap), I liked it as much as my Halcyon and Salvo canister lights.  The only reason I got rid of my Sartek light is because I really don’t need more than two HID canister lights.  I kept the Salvo and Halcyon lights because they had better lamp wattage to battery capacity ratio for the dives I’m doing (my Sartek had a 21 Watt HID bulb, but only about a 4.5 amp NIMH battery pack).  - Kirk

[arcFlash]

I've only used the DiveRite MR11 head at 10watt and sometimes I'd like more power so I think 13 is the sweet spot. The head I have is tiny and doesn't get in the way when I work with reels.

This head looks like it could be clumsy and 21watt is likely too bright for the back-scatter we get in this area. If it was me, I'd set up a dive with someone that has a 21w and see if it's worth the money. You may save some by getting just a 10 or 12w if 21w is too bright.

[DetectorGuy]

Now that I started looking at Sartek lights I might switch my thinking. Sartek has a lot more variety of lights to choose from. The focusable head is a selling point for me to go from a 3 degree pencil beam for plain diving, to wide flood for video... I just don't see how I can go wrong. If the 21 is too bright for the local turbidity then I can just click it down to 13 watts. I do realize that the further you can project a beam of light, the more particles will be illuminated, but do you think a high wattage light will cut through some of this "fog" or not? Maybe its like driving in a snow storm with your high beams on and I will be disappointed. I am still thinking that a person can not have too much light even with the back scatter. If you have seen any of the video I have taken using a UK D8 dive light, you can see that I need more lighting horsepower. For an extra few hundred bucks I can get one with a 15.6 amp/hour battery that will last me all weekend. The downside of these 15.6 amp/hour batteries is that they come with 3 separate 5.2 amp/hour cells and 3 chargers (that come with it). The other question is whether or not to get the wet connection cable or not. Right now I am thinking that for the extra 100 bucks for that, I can do without. I like redundancy, but I do not see my self changing HID bulbs underwater or changing to a fresh battery underwater, so the standard cable is probably ok.

[arcFlash]

I've shut mine off because it was worse but it's very rare for me to do that. I'm happy with my 10w about 90% of the time. I want more when I'm in clear water but past say 130 or so. It's just so dark the abis eats all the light.

Read Decostop. Some of them sold the 30w HID for being too bright. If the cost of a dual brightness isn't much you probably can't go wrong.

I'd get the adjustable beam for sure. Mine is fixed and I've not needed to change it but it would be nice if it remained compact.

Check out replacement cost on lamps. It may change your mind some. I've had good luck but some time ago Lonnie told me he lost a few lamps in a row. I've had mine probably 3 seasons and when the lamp blows I'm putting in the biggest LED replacement I can. HID is nice but the uncertainty that it will arc on an important dive is worth the trade.

[DetectorGuy]

Thanks for the info Steve and Kirk. I will need to look at the Decostop site and see why people are selling their lights, and what they are switching to. Are the LED lights really worth the upgrade from HID (or in my case halogen)? Is it because of the longevity of bulb/light emitting diode life, or is the quality of light better?
I have been toying with the idea of the LED dive light and I dismissed it as a passing fad. I do have LED's in the horse trailer. I can see the logic that they use very little juice and they last forever, but I don't see how practical they would be in the local ponds. I guess I need to do some more research before this next  purchase.

[LKunze]

Yeah, I have a Halcyon 10 watt focusable HID canister light.   I did go through two HID bulbs within a few weeks apart.  It was my error though, I banged the light head a bit.  The Welch Allyn HID bulbs are extremely fragile and you have to be very careful with them.  It really doesn't take much to ruin them.  Both times mine went bad were from falls of maybe 2 and half to three feet to a hard surface and that was enough to do the bulb in. If you get a light that uses Brightstar bulbs though those are much more durable.  Since being more careful I haven't had any issues with my light and the bulb in my light now is probably 3 years old.  I haven't really used it much in the past three years though.  I'm guessing it probably has less than 100 fires on it so it should be good for quite awhile.  LED is much more durable than HID too if you go that route though.  I have yet to see an LED that puts out a beam that throws as far as HID does in the water which is why I never bothered to switch to an LED primary light.  LED is the way to go for backup lights.  I currently have a couple of the Intova 4.7 watt Cree narrow beam backup lights.  They put out a nice beam for a backup.  They even work adequately as a primary in some conditions.

[Kirk]

I personally don’t think LED is there yet as far as a primary light that will penetrate through the water like a HID.  When I cave dive with someone with a LED light, and if he or she is behind me, I can’t see his or her signals, I just see my shadow.  I think, however, the LEDs are close to getting there.  I recently saw something from a company call Tilly Tec out of I believe Germany that actually has a LED slug which simulates a HID slug, and makes use of the same type of reflector common with HID test tube slugs.  This actually looks promising as a way to get the punch of HID with the reliability and durability of LED.  This one is pretty expensive, but I personally think the flashlight builders are on the right track with something like this (that said, I’d like to see one underwater, or at least hear some feedback, before actually shelling out the cash for one).  Here is a link:  .  I, however, agree; those little Intova LED backup lights are really nice.  I’ve been using my pair now for a few years, and like them a lot.  - Kirk 

[arcFlash]

It's the reliability for me. I love my HID but if LED was close to comparable, I'd move to it without thinking.

I don't remember missing out on a dive because of gear problems. My HID is the only piece of gear I don't trust implicitly to work. Sure I have my backups but that's makes for a sad dive.

[DetectorGuy]

Well I got off the 21 watt kick and finally purchased a 15w Dive Rite. I found out that Sartek is waiting to procure ballasts for their 21w lights and they don't know when they will find a suitable supplier. It only has a 3.5 hour burn time but eventually I might buy another battery the same size and then it would be enough for a weekend. It was cheap enough that I could buy a steel HP120 with the change! now I cant wait till it shows up to try it out. Here is a link to the light: