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Article posted on SDTechDiving.com on April 2006

The Dive Rite 21W Slimline HID canister light uses a Brightstar ballast and bulb; there are two worthy notes regarding this. First, its a lot cheaper than the Welch-Allyn ballast and bulbs and second, the Brightstar 21W HID bulb is very robust and the color temperature of the standard bulb is around 5000 K. What this translate into is a very durable HID light that can take minor abuse; this is advantageous considering the fragility often associated with these expensive canister HID lights. There are downsides to the Brightstar ballast and bulbs. First, there are some quality control issues with these ballasts and several confidential sources have told me that some do not work, and others suffer from flickering issues and have to be replaced. I have been told of the ratio of working to non-working ballasts, but since I can't confirm these numbers I will refrain from making them public. Another issue, and it really isn't one related to quality control, is that the although 5000 K is close to natural daylight, wavelengths in this range do not penetrate the water as well as bulbs throwing out light at a higher color temperature. This is very evident when I compared my 21W HID light to a Salvo 21W HID, using the same ballast, but with a different bulb running at 6000 K color temperature. The bluer the light, the further it can penetrate. What this amounts to is that the 6000 K bulb will penetrate further and appear much brighter than the 5000 K bulb, this is especially noticeable when there are a lot of particulates in the water as we have in Southern California.

Dive Rite, at the time of this writing, sells two canisters, both made of delrin with a PVC lid. A wreck canister with a 13.5 mAh battery capacity and a slimline canister with a 4.5 mAh battery capacity. With a 21W HID, the 4.5 mAh battery results in approximately 2.5 hours of reliable burn time, the 13.5 mAh gives a burn time of approximately 8 hours - these numbers will vary depending on the condition of the battery pack and the operating temperature. The wreck canister has a larger 3.5" diameter canister while the slimline has a 2.5" diameter canister; I opted for the slimline canister due to its smaller size. It would have been nice if Dive Rite offered a slimline canister which was longer so a 9.0 mAh battery pack could be used since a 2.5 hour burn time is not sufficient if you are doing multiple dives without the ability to recharge. You can, of course, carry multiple battery packs. The other feature of the DR 21W HID is that the lighthead is relatively compact and is machined out of aluminum. There are several options when deciding how you want the light to attach to your hand, there is a goodman handle, ergonomic handle, and a velcro band. I opted for the standard goodman handle although I did evaluate the ergonomic handle as well - I prefer the goodman handle as it felt better and positioned the light more naturally on my hand. The reflector is relatively small but is focusable, which is not as useful as one may think, but is a nice option.

One of the reasons I decided on a DR 21W HID over others was because of the lower price, and because of the many compliments I had heard about Dive Rite's customer service. Unfortunately, my experiences with them do not reflect what I had heard. On the sixth dive with the DR 21W HID, the light failed me; and although I had charged the battery prior to the dive (as I always do since I have a 4.5 mAh battery pack), I thought perhaps I had not charged it all the way. I plugged the battery in and it immediately started smoking, melting the PVC wrap on the battery pack. I took it back to the store and they sent it back to Dive Rite for repair. After two and a half months, the light came back and it was in the exact same condition as before - the battery pack still had the melted PVC shrink wrap. Turning the light on resulted in the battery pack smoking. It was clear to me, and the store owner, that there was a short in the system, but Dive Rite was adamant that they checked the light before sending it back. The light went back to Dive Rite. After a few weeks, it came back - again - in the same condition, although they were still adamant that the light was tested before it was sent out. The light wouldn't turn on, and the battery pack smoked, indicating a short circuit somewhere. At this point, the owner asked for a new light to be sent, which Dive Rite did. The non-working light was sent back to Dive Rite. I have had the new light for a few months now and it has worked flawlessly, but this was after having to suffer through the frustration of having dropped a significant amount of money on a light which I could not use because it was being "repaired" for a few months. This experience certainly is not consistent with what I have heard about Dive Rite customer service. Nonetheless, they did get me a working light after a frustrating three months of waiting - I find this unacceptable for any manufacturer and I am disappointed that they did not offer a new light, or a loaner light, while my light was being repaired.

One of my dive buddies recently had his Salvo 21W HID upgraded with a new bulb of the 6000 K color temperature variety. It blows my DR 21W out of the water in terms of penetration, especially when visibiliy is low. For comparison, I have included pictures on the right of the Salvo 21W HID light with the larger 9 mAh canister alongside the DR 21W HID Slimline Canister. However, there is a saving grace for the 5000 K bulb in my DR 21W HID - its closer to natural daylight (less blue) and is well suited for use as a video light. Ultimately, my DR 21W HID will be used for video and I will purchase another HID canister light for use as a dive light. I will purchase another DR 21W HID so I can have two HID's for my video light (along with two 10W HID for macro shots). With my past experience with Dive Rite, you would think that I would not consider another Dive Rite HID light, but their prices are very good and in the end I got a working light, albeit I had to wait several months for Dive Rite to resolve the problem. Would I recommend the Dive Rite? Depends on what you want to use it for. For video I would recommend the DR 21W, or at least the Brightstar 21W bulb for its favorable color temperature, but for normal diving where the light is used for signalling, I would recommend a longer burning battery pack and a bulb in the 6000 K color temperature range.

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This review was contributed by Paul H. Kim and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs and/or opinions of SDTechDiving; they are the sole written opinion/expression of the author(s). SDTechDiving is not responsible for content contained within this article, including links which may take the reader to websites outside of our control

The Dive Rite 21W Slimline HID canister light uses a Brightstar ballast and bulb; there are two worthy notes regarding this. First, its a lot cheaper than the Welch-Allyn ballast and bulbs and second, the Brightstar 21W HID bulb is very robust and the color temperature of the standard bulb is around 5000 K. What this translate into is a very durable HID light that can take minor abuse; this is advantageous considering the fragility often associated with these expensive canister HID lights. There are downsides to the Brightstar ballast and bulbs. First, there are some quality control issues with these ballasts and several confidential sources have told me that some do not work, and others suffer from flickering issues and have to be replaced. I have been told of the ratio of working to non-working ballasts, but since I can't confirm these numbers I will refrain from making them public. Another issue, and it really isn't one related to quality control, is that the although 5000 K is close to natural daylight, wavelengths in this range do not penetrate the water as well as bulbs throwing out light at a higher color temperature. This is very evident when I compared my 21W HID light to a Salvo 21W HID, using the same ballast, but with a different bulb running at 6000 K color temperature. The bluer the light, the further it can penetrate. What this amounts to is that the 6000 K bulb will penetrate further and appear much brighter than the 5000 K bulb, this is especially noticeable when there are a lot of particulates in the water as we have in Southern California.

Dive Rite, at the time of this writing, sells two canisters, both made of delrin with a PVC lid. A wreck canister with a 13.5 mAh battery capacity and a slimline canister with a 4.5 mAh battery capacity. With a 21W HID, the 4.5 mAh battery results in approximately 2.5 hours of reliable burn time, the 13.5 mAh gives a burn time of approximately 8 hours - these numbers will vary depending on the condition of the battery pack and the operating temperature. The wreck canister has a larger 3.5" diameter canister while the slimline has a 2.5" diameter canister; I opted for the slimline canister due to its smaller size. It would have been nice if Dive Rite offered a slimline canister which was longer so a 9.0 mAh battery pack could be used since a 2.5 hour burn time is not sufficient if you are doing multiple dives without the ability to recharge. You can, of course, carry multiple battery packs. The other feature of the DR 21W HID is that the lighthead is relatively compact and is machined out of aluminum. There are several options when deciding how you want the light to attach to your hand, there is a goodman handle, ergonomic handle, and a velcro band. I opted for the standard goodman handle although I did evaluate the ergonomic handle as well - I prefer the goodman handle as it felt better and positioned the light more naturally on my hand. The reflector is relatively small but is focusable, which is not as useful as one may think, but is a nice option.

One of the reasons I decided on a DR 21W HID over others was because of the lower price, and because of the many compliments I had heard about Dive Rite's customer service. Unfortunately, my experiences with them do not reflect what I had heard. On the sixth dive with the DR 21W HID, the light failed me; and although I had charged the battery prior to the dive (as I always do since I have a 4.5 mAh battery pack), I thought perhaps I had not charged it all the way. I plugged the battery in and it immediately started smoking, melting the PVC wrap on the battery pack. I took it back to the store and they sent it back to Dive Rite for repair. After two and a half months, the light came back and it was in the exact same condition as before - the battery pack still had the melted PVC shrink wrap. Turning the light on resulted in the battery pack smoking. It was clear to me, and the store owner, that there was a short in the system, but Dive Rite was adamant that they checked the light before sending it back. The light went back to Dive Rite. After a few weeks, it came back - again - in the same condition, although they were still adamant that the light was tested before it was sent out. The light wouldn't turn on, and the battery pack smoked, indicating a short circuit somewhere. At this point, the owner asked for a new light to be sent, which Dive Rite did. The non-working light was sent back to Dive Rite. I have had the new light for a few months now and it has worked flawlessly, but this was after having to suffer through the frustration of having dropped a significant amount of money on a light which I could not use because it was being "repaired" for a few months. This experience certainly is not consistent with what I have heard about Dive Rite customer service. Nonetheless, they did get me a working light after a frustrating three months of waiting - I find this unacceptable for any manufacturer and I am disappointed that they did not offer a new light, or a loaner light, while my light was being repaired.

One of my dive buddies recently had his Salvo 21W HID upgraded with a new bulb of the 6000 K color temperature variety. It blows my DR 21W out of the water in terms of penetration, especially when visibiliy is low. For comparison, I have included pictures on the right of the Salvo 21W HID light with the larger 9 mAh canister alongside the DR 21W HID Slimline Canister. However, there is a saving grace for the 5000 K bulb in my DR 21W HID - its closer to natural daylight (less blue) and is well suited for use as a video light. Ultimately, my DR 21W HID will be used for video and I will purchase another HID canister light for use as a dive light. I will purchase another DR 21W HID so I can have two HID's for my video light (along with two 10W HID for macro shots). With my past experience with Dive Rite, you would think that I would not consider another Dive Rite HID light, but their prices are very good and in the end I got a working light, albeit I had to wait several months for Dive Rite to resolve the problem. Would I recommend the Dive Rite? Depends on what you want to use it for. For video I would recommend the DR 21W, or at least the Brightstar 21W bulb for its favorable color temperature, but for normal diving where the light is used for signalling, I would recommend a longer burning battery pack and a bulb in the 6000 K color temperature range.