Cave and wreck divers may want to add the initials H, I and D to their gear list. The letters stand for High Intensity Discharge, which describes a lighting system that puts out hotter, brighter light than your standard incandescent light bulb, yet uses far less power for an equivalent brightness. My first encounter with an underwater HID light happened a few weeks ago in a murky north Florida cave. Veteran caver Harry Averill and I were pulling an expedition reel from a seldom-dived system known as Rose Sink when explorers Lamar Hires and Del Motes blew past us in a wall of bright white light that made my 50-watt primary look like a child's night light. The next day, I dropped by Dive Rite Manufacturing to get the lowdown on the new lights. Without getting into the technology, let's just say that Del has figured out a way to incorporate an HID bulb and ballast system into a standard Dive Rite MLS canister and light head. Current owners of MLS lights can upgrade with a new cap/cord unit for around $300. They can expect to get three or more hours of burn time from a compact 7-amp-hour pack and an 18-watt HID bulb that puts out slightly more light than a standard 50-watt system. Word is that New York-based Sartek has also come out with an underwater HID system that puts the ballast in a Goodman-style light head. Do the benefits of HID technology justify the cost? Let's put it this way: The first time a diver equipped with an HID primary swims past you in a cave or on a wreck, you'll be flipping through the Yellow Pages in search of the nearest dealer. To save you the trouble, click on Dive Rite's home page below.
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A Bright Idea
By Pierce Hoover
| Published On February 10, 2000