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Underwater Kinetics eLED
Imagine a light that is bright, long-lived and uses less battery power than your current dive light. That's exactly what Underwater Kinetics' new eLED does.
It is well-known that solid-state LED technology provides a brilliant white light while consuming far less power than a conventional incandescent bulb of the same brightness. The limiting factor was the overall output of an individual LED module, which, while efficient, was low in comparison to other available light sources. Attempts were made to gang multiple clusters of LED to increase output, but these clusters could not be paired effectively to a reflector.
To overcome these limitations, UK uses a new type of larger, more powerful third-generation LED, and created a special nonparabolic reflector to channel the light output into a forward- focused beam.
Not only does the eLED provide up to 30 times greater bulb life than traditional bulbs, it provides longer burn times (4.5 hours with four C-cells or 7.5 hours with eight C-cells) and is extremely shock-resistant.
I accidentally dropped my test light on a concrete ramp while gearing up for a night dive, and it survived the punishing 8-foot fall with nothing more than a few scuff marks on the tough polycarbonate case. In the water, it provides the same sort of sunlight-bright light as the expensive HID lights that have become fashionable with tech divers.
Dual power settings of 3 or 6 watts deliver up to 104 lumens of illumination in a dazzling beam that seems to cut right through murky water.
At a price between those of conventional incandescent lights and high-tech HIDs, the eLED is the most exciting development in underwater illumination that I've seen in the past few years.
IMPRESSIONS: The efficiency of LED illumination, the power of a primary light. KEY FEATURES: Available in four or eight C-cell cases; eLED module can retrofit current UK Sunlight models; 5500 K color temperature; dual power setting; 500-foot depth rating. MSRP: C-4 $85; C-8 $100 CONTACT: 858-513-9100
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