This HID light outshines the rest, says Simon Rogerson 
24W Darkbuster HID torch, £249A new player in the competitive world of diving torches, Brightstar has been causing a stir with its provocatively named Darkbuster series. Admittedly, the name raised a few smiles at the DIVE office, but when you charge up one of these lights and flip the switch, that’s exactly what you get. It imitates the colour temperature of the sun, effectively giving you a pool of daylight to shine down on the darkest of wrecks.
This 24-watt high-intensity discharge (HID) version is the top of the range, putting out 1,750 lumens in the form of a broad, powerful beam. To put this into context, it’s the sort of light I’d be very happy using for UK-style wreck diving. It will comfortably illuminate sizeable areas – level it at a propeller from 5m away, and you’ll likely find yourself lighting up the rudder and a decent portion of the sea bed as well.
Here’s the need-to-know: this torch is sizeable, but weighs a modest 1.5kg, making it a realistic option for international travel. It runs on a lithium–ion battery and has an official burn time of two hours, though I managed a little more than that from the review model. It is rated to 200ft (61m), and can be used out of water without any danger of overheating.
Charging the integral battery is simple: you use a coin or similar to remove a screw on the back of the body, connect the supplied cable and recharge from the mains until a green light appears on the charger. There is also an attachment for charging from a vehicle via the adapter – handy for divers on the go.
The 24W Darkbuster comes in two versions: spot reflector and video reflector. The latter has a textured finish to the parabolic reflector, giving the beam a softer centre for those who wish to use the light for photographic work. I was using the video reflector version, which yielded an even pool of light sufficient for me to use it as a single light source when taking photographs in a dark training pool (see photograph, left). The spot reflector is brighter, but its beam isn’t as broad.Brightstar also sells an underwater camera arm set (not included in this package), so you can convert the torch into a fixed lighting system for your camera. There’s scope to play with the quality of the light, as the torch has a mounting system to fit filters. You get a nice selection with the package, though they are fiddly to use – put them in place prior to diving.
In-water, the torch is negatively buoyant, with an effective weight of half a kilogram. It comes with a choice of ‘pistol’ or lantern grip – I fitted a lantern grip, but it’s so light in the water that the pistol grip (see photograph, left) is actually the more practical choice, making it easier to counter its tendency to rise on the more buoyant front end. I have no major criticisms of this torch. Some may dislike the plastic body, but it seems reasonably robust: the distributors are sufficiently confident with its durability to offer a year’s guarantee on the costly HID bulb it protects. There are more powerful torches out there, but this a very competitively priced and practical HID system. And if 24-watt firepower is too much for your needs, there is a 21W version, available for £229. Whichever you choose, your buddy – and anyone else on the dive – can be assured of seeing a bright star rising.
DIVE says…
A bright HID light for an extremely competitive price
Value 10 Performance 9
Contact
www.pcbuyit.co.uk/dive