HALCEON EXPLORER 9/21W PRIMARY LIGHT
I must admit I was a little bit excited when I was given the HALCEON EXPLORER 9/21W PRIMARY LIGHT to test. It’s a piece of kit from an American manufacturer with a loyal following. I had some deep and dark dives planned for February, which were ideal to test this light out. Would I become a Halcyon fan or would this light not live up to my expectations?
Slipping into Jeremy Clarkson mode some would say that this light is so powerful that it can place a dot of light on the moon and that its beam is so intense it’s solely responsible for melting the polar ice caps. This is total rubbish of course but when you hear of the massive £1219.00 price tag for the version I tested you can bet my expectations were high. It’s a serious price that demands a torch of the highest quality.
On looks, quality and materials used the torch certainly delivers. The battery compartment is manufactured from a solid rod of derlin, which is strong and light. Two stainless steel locking latches press the lid of the canister down on a large blue dry “o” ring. Two stainless steel jubilee clips secure webbing to the canister and this enables the unit to be secured to cylinder bands or a suitable mounting point. The on/off switch is on the top of the canister so the final position must bear this in mind.
The cord is strong and flexible and includes strain relief fittings. Should the cord be pierced or damaged the lid of the battery canister is completely sealed from the cord and light head, protecting the battery. The unit I tested was supplied with an E/O cord, which enabled the light to be disconnected underwater. I found this to be a great aid when rinsing the light off after the dive. I could leave the canister attached to my wing whilst safely storing the head unit.
The light head is the business end of this system. It’s fitted with a Goodman handle, which was a joy to use, and the light head rested along my forearm. I quite happily used the unit while also using my camera. The light itself is supplied from a 21 watt HID bulb, which costs £95 to replace. (If you wish to learn the difference between HID and LED lights take a look at Halcyon’s website www.halcyon.net. It contains all the facts). I found this light took around 10 seconds to warm up to full power. The head unit contains a small plastic screw, which enables the head unit to be moved around 1 cm and this widens or focuses the beam of light. Here I was disappointed to note that the wide setting was throwing out a doughnut of light with a dark unlit hole at its centre. Flare coming off the light was also a problem. It had the similar effect of driving with full beam on in the fog. For me that setting was completely useless. Bringing the light into a more focused beam the black spot in the centre disappeared halfway through the available adjustment. At the other extreme the beam at its narrowest sent a very powerful but narrow beam of light that penetrated through the dark water. Apart from the hotspot there was very little peripheral lighting. My time with this torch was limited to the month of February and weather considerably reduced the dives I managed with this torch, so I didn’t get the beam setting I really liked on my dives but minute adjustments to the beam setting could eventually get it right.
That said other similar torches don’t suffer from that annoying black spot at the wider settings.
This is a serious torch for serious divers. The burntime is 4hrs, which is excellent. The torch comes with a quick charger that charges the quality battery in under an hour, which is superb. The torch can be dived
to a depth of 90 metres. (Its tested to 152 metres)
In conclusion this is a beautifully made torch using high quality materials. For me though the wide beam setting was a disappointment.
I also tested the Halcyon, 2 cell, LED scout back up torch. Made again from derlin this unit was light and strong and gave out a nice beam of light. It’s rated to 90 metres. In comparison with the led lenser frogman torch I reviewed a couple of months ago, the scout gave off a brighter light and if you have read my review you will know the frogman is no slouch. That said the 2-cell LED scout retails at £135. Realistically then the Scout will only be of interest to Technical Divers that dive over 60 metres of depth.
Tough torches for extreme diving but at a price.
Mike Clark
I must admit I was a little bit excited when I was given the HALCEON EXPLORER 9/21W PRIMARY LIGHT to test. It’s a piece of kit from an American manufacturer with a loyal following. I had some deep and dark dives planned for February, which were ideal to test this light out. Would I become a Halcyon fan or would this light not live up to my expectations?
Slipping into Jeremy Clarkson mode some would say that this light is so powerful that it can place a dot of light on the moon and that its beam is so intense it’s solely responsible for melting the polar ice caps. This is total rubbish of course but when you hear of the massive £1219.00 price tag for the version I tested you can bet my expectations were high. It’s a serious price that demands a torch of the highest quality.
On looks, quality and materials used the torch certainly delivers. The battery compartment is manufactured from a solid rod of derlin, which is strong and light. Two stainless steel locking latches press the lid of the canister down on a large blue dry “o” ring. Two stainless steel jubilee clips secure webbing to the canister and this enables the unit to be secured to cylinder bands or a suitable mounting point. The on/off switch is on the top of the canister so the final position must bear this in mind.
The cord is strong and flexible and includes strain relief fittings. Should the cord be pierced or damaged the lid of the battery canister is completely sealed from the cord and light head, protecting the battery. The unit I tested was supplied with an E/O cord, which enabled the light to be disconnected underwater. I found this to be a great aid when rinsing the light off after the dive. I could leave the canister attached to my wing whilst safely storing the head unit.
The light head is the business end of this system. It’s fitted with a Goodman handle, which was a joy to use, and the light head rested along my forearm. I quite happily used the unit while also using my camera. The light itself is supplied from a 21 watt HID bulb, which costs £95 to replace. (If you wish to learn the difference between HID and LED lights take a look at Halcyon’s website www.halcyon.net. It contains all the facts). I found this light took around 10 seconds to warm up to full power. The head unit contains a small plastic screw, which enables the head unit to be moved around 1 cm and this widens or focuses the beam of light. Here I was disappointed to note that the wide setting was throwing out a doughnut of light with a dark unlit hole at its centre. Flare coming off the light was also a problem. It had the similar effect of driving with full beam on in the fog. For me that setting was completely useless. Bringing the light into a more focused beam the black spot in the centre disappeared halfway through the available adjustment. At the other extreme the beam at its narrowest sent a very powerful but narrow beam of light that penetrated through the dark water. Apart from the hotspot there was very little peripheral lighting. My time with this torch was limited to the month of February and weather considerably reduced the dives I managed with this torch, so I didn’t get the beam setting I really liked on my dives but minute adjustments to the beam setting could eventually get it right.
That said other similar torches don’t suffer from that annoying black spot at the wider settings.
This is a serious torch for serious divers. The burntime is 4hrs, which is excellent. The torch comes with a quick charger that charges the quality battery in under an hour, which is superb. The torch can be dived
to a depth of 90 metres. (Its tested to 152 metres)In conclusion this is a beautifully made torch using high quality materials. For me though the wide beam setting was a disappointment.
I also tested the Halcyon, 2 cell, LED scout back up torch. Made again from derlin this unit was light and strong and gave out a nice beam of light. It’s rated to 90 metres. In comparison with the led lenser frogman torch I reviewed a couple of months ago, the scout gave off a brighter light and if you have read my review you will know the frogman is no slouch. That said the 2-cell LED scout retails at £135. Realistically then the Scout will only be of interest to Technical Divers that dive over 60 metres of depth.
Tough torches for extreme diving but at a price.
Mike Clark
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