How to Choose the Best Dive Light:
Primary vs. Backup & What to Look For

Understanding Dive Lights

A good dive light is essential for underwater visibility, safety, and enhancing your experience. Whether you're diving at night, exploring wrecks, or simply looking to improve color perception at depth, choosing the right dive light can make a significant difference.

Dive lights generally fall into two categories:

• Primary Lights – High-output, durable lights meant for extended use. These come in two forms: handheld lights and canister lights.
• Backup Lights – Smaller, more compact lights carried as a redundancy in case of primary light failure.

I personally own several OrcaTorch brand lights and always carry both a primary and a backup dive light, securely connected to the D-rings on my harness for easy access. Through trial and error, I’ve refined my setup to ensure reliability and ease of use in any dive environment.

Choosing a Primary Dive Light

A primary dive light should be bright, long-lasting, and easy to handle. These are the main lights you rely on during a dive. Personally use the OrcaTorch D720 because it is plenty bright, fits in a soft Goodman handle and has an adjustable beam.

Key Features to Look For:

• Brightness (Lumens): 1000+ lumens recommended for most recreational and technical diving.
• Beam Type: Spot beams (narrow, high penetration, best for signaling, wreck, and cave diving) vs. flood beams (wide, even lighting, ideal for general visibility and photography). Most divers prefer a spot beam for primary lights.
• Battery Life: Aim for at least 1.5–2x the expected dive time.
• Durability: Depth-rated to at least 100 feet beyond your typical dive depth.
• Switch Mechanism: Some lights use push buttons, twist-on activation, or magnetic switches. Push-button and twist-on tend to be the most reliable for divers wearing gloves or drysuits.
• Mounting Options: Handheld or Goodman handle for hands-free use.
• Rechargeable vs. Disposable Batteries: Rechargeable Li-ion batteries offer long-term cost savings.

Canister Lights vs. Handheld Lights

When choosing a primary dive light, you’ll need to decide between canister lights and handheld lights. Each has advantages and trade-offs, but for most recreational divers, a handheld light is the better choice.

Canister Lights

Canister lights consist of a battery pack connected via a cord to the light head, usually mounted on the diver’s harness. These are popular among technical and cave divers because of their extended burn times and powerful output.

• Pros:
  • Extremely long battery life, often 4+ hours on high power.
  • Higher lumen output than most handheld lights.
  • More secure mounting via harness and Goodman handle.
• Cons:
  • Cord management required – A snag hazard in open water and an additional risk in an out-of-gas scenario if the light is deployed.
  • More complex to set up and maintain.
  • Overkill for recreational diving – The extra power and battery life aren’t needed for most dives.

Recommendation: Canister lights are best suited for technical, cave, and wreck divers who require long burn times and redundancy. Recreational divers do not need the added complexity and should opt for a handheld model instead.

Handheld Lights

Handheld dive lights are self-contained, with an integrated battery. These are the most versatile and practical choice for the majority of divers.

• Pros:
  • Simple to use—no cords to manage.
  • Lightweight and easy to travel with.
  • More than enough brightness for night, wreck, and reef diving.
  • Great balance between cost, power, and usability.
• Cons:
  • Shorter burn time than canister lights.
  • Some models have lower max lumen output compared to canister lights.

Recommendation: For recreational divers, a handheld primary light is the best option. Look for a 1000+ lumen model with adjustable brightness settings and a narrow beam for signaling.

Situational Awareness & Light Etiquette

• Avoid blinding your buddy. Use the edge of your beam, not the hotspot, when communicating.
• Mind your positioning in groups. If you’re following another diver, don’t shine your light at their back—it’s annoying and useless.
• Team Diving Tip: If you’re behind the lead diver, point your light at the ground in front of them. This lets them know you’re still there without needing to turn around. Be a good buddy.
• During ascents and safety stops, avoid wildly waving the light—slow, deliberate movements make signals clearer.

Redundancy & Failure Scenarios

• What happens if both your primary AND backup light fail? If you're in open water, stay put, and ascend safely if possible.
• Test your lights before every dive. Just because it worked last time doesn’t mean it will this time. Batteries die, switches fail, and you don’t want to find that out underwater.

Best Light Positioning & Usage Tips

• Avoid lighting up too much backscatter in murky water—angle the beam slightly downward instead of straight ahead.
• For signaling a buddy, use calm deliberate movements of light instead of waving it wildly—this avoids confusion and improves communication.
• Secure your light properly: A dive light should either be clipped to a D-ring or stored in a pocket. If in use, a soft Goodman handle is best—you can let go without dropping it.
• Turn it on before unclipping it. If it slips, you might still see it on the lake bed or ocean floor and recover it.

Real-World Dive Light Mistakes to Avoid

• Turning it on at full brightness before entering the water—drains battery unnecessarily.
• Forgetting to check the charge before a night dive—not fun when your light flickers out at 40 feet.
• Not securing the light properly—clipped lights stay put, loose handhelds have a bad habit of disappearing.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right dive light depends on your diving style and environment. Prioritize reliability, battery life, and depth rating to ensure a light that performs when you need it most. Recreational divers should avoid canister lights and stick to handheld models for simplicity and ease of use.

From personal experience, I’ve never needed my backup light—but I always carry one. Take the time to choose a high-quality primary light that suits your needs, and if you want to know which OrcaTorch lights I use for backup see my blog post from 2025 for more in-depth recommendations.