Too bright light

[Realms]

heh heh KABOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!! talk about a surprise

[Marbry]

There are some new HID bulbs out there which are somewhat more shock resistant. Here are a couple of good examples, plus they're dive lights which of course means you can dunk it without worry.

If want some good HID's that would be suitable for caving try this one for an actual helmet mountable 10W. It puts out a very good spot beam and folks are getting 3+ hours on one set of 2700MAh NiMH AA batteries:

http://www.diveriteexpress.com/lights/lighthidhh.shtml


I have two of the Brightstars below for my UW video lights which work quite well. Especially considering the price compared to 'high end' UW video lights (http://www.salvodiving.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=2537). I'm going to be using them for video out of the water as well:

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/CategoryID_972/Context_965/Sort_Stock/DescSort_0/Filter_4%3d174/BLRDBL.html?Hit=1

The 24W Brightstar HID's are available with the video reflector giving a wider beam, and have over a 2 hour runtime. Most folks wouldn't want to mount one on their helmet though but it should be good for photos or video.

The main thing to remember with HID's other than not banging the head around too much (bulbs are not cheap) is to not switch them on and off too quickly. They require a warm up - cool down period. There are some ballasts out that are instant restrike but I haven't used one in a handheld light yet.

[Sean Ryan]

At what point does a MagLite become a MagLite Saber?

[barcelonacvr]

[quote="Marbry"]There are some new HID bulbs out there which are somewhat more shock resistant. Here are a couple of good examples, plus they're dive lights which of course means you can dunk it without worry.

I have been using the Trailtech HID ATV lights in cave with excellent results to add to your list.

[barcelonacvr]

[img=http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/550/dual13watthidgi4.th.jpg]

[Marbry]

Nice, those are the 10W lights? That Trailtech 30W bulb and ballast is very tempting to try and put a light together with.

[barcelonacvr]

Nice, those are the 10W lights? That Trailtech 30W bulb and ballast is very tempting to try and put a light together with.

Yes the 10 watt (although the package it came in said 13 watt ?)They don't get too hot unless you burn them the whole 2.5 hr run time and even then they are just pretty hot to touch but still functioning.
I have had them down to 10 ft below and they did not flood but the lights you suggest of course will go much deeper.I cannot imagine how bright the 30 watter would be and with small hip mounted packs being easy to make.The burntimes could be made to last a substantial time frame.

Some of the older purists I cave with do not like how bright they are,that was until they were in Friars hole with me recently and they saw that missing leads and or passages in shadows (especially in big rooms) is a thing of the past with lights like these.I use them primarily for big room photos and path finding.

Coming from cave diving first...I am used to seeing a lot of the cave due to the standard big lights.While I have heard many comments about losing 'night vision" etc ,I think that mindset came from having no ability to carry big lights due to huge battery systems back in the day.People simply became used to navigating in very low ambient light because the alternatives were huge and bulky to say the least I don't like navigating with very low light where you can vaguely make out ways on and or the passage itself.

Although I still love turning out all lights and soaking in the nice cave ambiance on rests , i don't want the sun in a cave all the time.In small passage I switch back to my Princeton tech APEX which is bright as hell in it's own right .With current battery and bulb technology one can easily carry big lights (that are in a small package).

Mark Passerby has a nice article on a HID headlamp in one of the Cavediggers PDF magazines as well.I can't wait for even smaller more powerful batteries to make long trips viable with HID.Seeing the entire borehole is pretty cool IMHO