As a cave diver, I get asked about what light I choose to dive quite a bit. As most of you know, underwater caves have no natural light, so we have to bring light with us. Outside of maybe regulators or a mask, light is THE MOST important piece of gear we have. So important, that we carry not one, but at least two backup lights as standard procedure. As you can imagine, the quality of our primary light has to be top notch. A light failure typically means the end of a dive, and no one wants that! There are many factors to consider when purchasing a technical dive light. Obviously battery life, size, brightness, quality of components are on that list. I have dived all of main light brands available in the United States, and my favorite by far is the UWLD (Underwater Light Dude) Gen 6 LD-40 with a tall can. I’m writing this review because I post about my light a LOT… and I’m lazy, so now when people ask me why I like it I can just send them this link. I know, I know. I’m Brilliant. 😛
So here it is…. The many reasons I am in *love* with my UWLD “Bobby” light! (In no particular order.)
Customer Service
Okay no particular order after this one. UW Light Dude has hands down THE BEST customer service of any light manufacturer. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone else who dives and UWLD light and they’ll tell you the same thing. Think “Shearwater Customer Service” level. Yes. That good. Why is this important? Well despite being the most durable light I’ve found…. Sometimes things happen and when they do, you need those “things” resolved very quickly. Bobby has super fast turn around times, the best warranty on the market, and above all else, excellent communication with his customers. I wish the other give gear brands were half as responsive and supportive as Bobby is. If you couldn’t tell, I’ve been hurt before…
Durability/Quality of components
I am not gentle with gear. I dive in harsh environments, and sometimes my light ends up at the bottom of my pile of gear. And even when I’ve gone out of my way to be gentle with other light brands, their cords just never seemed to hold up. Bobby uses the highest quality parts and components, and after almost a year with and UWLD light, my light has held up against everything I’ve thrown at it. It is quite literally Tracy-proof. Lol.
Lightweight light head
I never realized how much strain I was putting on my left arm whilst scootering through the caves with my previous lights until I slide an LD-40 on my hand. That may not seem like a big deal, but long exposure times with constant muscle strain can lead to DCI symptoms, and Decompression Illness is nothing to mess with, not to mention a sore arm can be downright uncomfortable. But there are other advantages of a lightweight light head. ULWD light heads are PERFECT for photographers pushing already-heavy gear through the water. It’s great to attach to a scooter to light up a passage whilst videoing (Bobby makes a great 5k video light – on my list to upgrade to, or you can buy a third party diffuser to a primary light). I’ve also seen cave divers who wear a helmet add an attachment point to quickly clip their light to the side of their helmet. Definitely something you couldn’t do with a larger light head. While I don’t wear a helmet when I cave dive (you know, because I watch where I’m going and know how to control myself in high flow lol), I starting to put together a helmet set up for fossil diving, which will allow both my hands free to snatch up lots of pretty shark teeth <3.
Beam Angle/Light Output
The new Generation 6 light, which hit the shelves in 2020, has a new and improved tight 6° angle beam, that helps cut through murky water and pesky particulates. In all honesty, this is a big one for me. I really didn’t like the Gen 5 light because of its wider beam (sorry Bobby). The good news is you can upgrade your older version model light to the tighter beam 🙂 The beam doesn’t have hot spots and is fixed at the optimal beam angle so you don’t un-focus your light light like some of those “focusable” lights out there do!
Battery Indicator Ring
Another fancy new feature that appeared in the Gen 6 version of the light is the battery indicator ring. It’s easy to see and easy to read, appearing right around the piezo switch on the (lightweight) light head. This is a nice feature that you don’t see on the other big brand name lights… Although there are lots of other innovative attributes you see on UWLD lights.
Stackable caps/Interchangeable Battery Options
Speaking of innovative…. Likely my FAVORITE design/functional feature of Light Dude lights is its stackable cap system. If you’re a cold water diver or a photographer… Pay attention this one. Stackable caps allow you to use multiple devices on one battery pack. This includes your primary light, video lights, and heat controller (the UWLD heat controller is SIIIICK). You can mix and match what you take on you’re dive based on what you need for that particular dive and can easily add or remove additional devices.
External Sealed Charging System
This is just downright fancy. Opening your can, causing more wear on your o-rings, exposing the interior of your light to water/the elements is SO ten years ago.
Battery life for DAYS
With multiple battery size options, you can customize the perfect set up for your style of diving. The mini, short and tall calls fit all of the current light heads and the head controller, and the adjustable power settings allow you to summon just the right amount of power from your badass light 🙂 If you ever get to the end of your battery life (aka you forgot to charge your light lol) there is an end of battery warning, that flashes the beam multiple times and then turns the power down to low, to allow you extra power efficiency to help you end your dive before your light shuts off.
Things that Don’t get a Full Explanation but are Still Noteworthy
Latch less System – LED over-heat Protection – Redundant Sealing throughout the light – Safe for Air travel – Piezo cover – In house, innovative engineering – True advertised light output – Upgrade path for previous generations – Bobby’s wife does an excellent Borat impersonation – Heat Controller – 5k Lumen video lights – 10k Lumen video lights – IT’S BLUE – Corded Can Light (I’ll do another post on the benefits of this one at some point, and maybe another one about video lights when I go down that route) – Included soft and hard goodman handle (the hard goodman is the best, fight me.) – The light is beautiful and sleek 🙂
So where do you buy one of these fabulous lights?
Reach out to me if you want more information about a light or to be connected with a dealer 🙂
