When you start investing in scuba diving equipment, an excellent underwater flashlight is one of the first things you should look for. A high-quality flashlight isn’t just a good thing to have — it’s an essential piece of safety equipment. And if you’re out in the water for a night dive, you should always carry more than one, in addition to a strobe.
To take some of the confusion out of your purchase and take your night dives to a whole new level, we put together this handy buying guide for scuba divers that covers the best underwater flashlights available today.
Types of Underwater Flashlight
There are three types of underwater flashlights for recreational divers. Most divers keep a barrel-grip flashlight on them while they dive because they’re compact and easy to clip to your scuba gear.
Pistol-grip flashlights are usually more potent, with higher lumens ratings and battery capacity. These lights are well suited for dives where you intend to keep your light on at all times. Wrist-mounted flashlights strap to your wrist and free up your hands for other things.
1. OrcaTorch D530 1300 Lumens Light
The OrcaTorch D530 is powerful enough to be a primary light and small enough to use as a backup. This compact, versatile barrel-style flashlight is equipped with Cree LEDs and offers two lighting modes.
The high mode pushes 1300 lumens for when you need to light up a large area. Low mode cuts the brightness down to 380 lumens but increases the battery life from 1.5 hours to 4.5 hours. The OrcaTorch D530 includes a 3400 mAh rechargeable battery, a USB charge cable, a lanyard, and spare o-rings.
2. Tovatec Sport Tac II Compact Light
Tovatec’s Sport Tac II is an excellent option if you’re looking for an all-purpose scuba diving light or a backup light that’s a bit more affordable. This compact barrel flashlight is not as bright as the D530’s high mode. However, it offers a more brilliant output and longer run time than the D530’s low mode.
The 2600mAh battery in the Sport Tac II can provide more than 2 hours of runtime with the light running at 500 lumens. At 50% brightness, this light will last for up to 4 hours and 40 minutes. The Sport Tac II also has an SOS mode, which will flash the SOS morse signal for up to 4.5 hours.
3. Bigblue 1300 Lumen Narrow Beam Dive Light
The Bigblue 1300 Lumen Narrow Beam Dive Light has four operation modes (power settings) that provide varying degrees of brightness and battery life. Level IV runs the light at its full 1300 lumen potential, allowing 2 hours of burn time. Meanwhile, Level III cuts the brightness in half to 650 lumens with a runtime of 5 hours.
Level II gives you 325 lumens for up to 10 hours. And level I cuts the brightness to 130 lumens, with a total potential run time of 20 hours. The narrow 10-degree beam angle on this flashlight is also excellent for illuminating small crevices.
4. Bigblue AL450NM Narrow Beam 450 Lumens LED Light
The Bigblue AL450NM Narrow Beam flashlight is a wrist-worn light with an extended 4-hour burn time at its full 450-lumen brightness. The AL450NM casts a wide 8-degree beam, which provides direct illumination for spotting shrimp, crabs, lobsters, and other nighttime marine animals.
The light features an on/off push button switch to power the illumination. The AL450NM takes three AAA alkaline batteries or a NiMH rechargeable battery pack with a charger. Batteries aren’t included with this piece of diving gear.
5. Light & Motion Sola Dive 1200 Spot/Flood Light
The Light & Motion Sola Dive 1200 is a wrist-worn diving flashlight that offers both 60-degree spotlight and 12-degree floodlight modes. The floodlight provides a powerful 1200 lumens beam angle to light up anything in your path. The spotlight mode gives you a concentrated 500-lumen output certified to the FL-1 Standard.
6. Underwater Kinetics Sunlight C8 eLED (L2) Dive Light
The Underwater Kinetics Sunlight C8 eLED Dive Light is the only pistol-grip light in our top flashlight list. It also boasts the brightest output.
The Sunlight C8 delivers 1200 lumens, with most of that light concentrated in the central beam to give you an extended illumination distance. The C8’s housing is made of HYDRALUM and polymer components that will resist corrosion from seawater for up to 20 years.
