I have dived with and used many different types of dive light over the past couple of decades, but will the TecLine TecLight cut the mustard.
TecLine TecLight Review
What I particularly liked was the practicality and ease of use of the head unit. Rather than being a lamp head plonked on top of a separate Goodman handle, the TecLight has a sleek unit which incorporates the light head itself and the Goodman handle. This sits comfortably on the back of your hand, and the handle can be adjusted quickly and easily for a good fit regardless of whether you are diving bare-handed, in neoprene gloves, or even in drygloves. There is also a circular hole titled DPV, which on questioning Tecline is designed so that you can slip the lamp head off your left hand and slot your right thumb into this hole to securely hold the light while your left hand is occupied – say you are checking your gas supply.
Turning on the light, and cycling through the different modes, is simplicity itself – there is a large push button on the back of the lamp head which is easy to operate whatever exposure protection you have on your hands. One push turns it on, and then each push cycles to the next mode. Press and hold and the light goes off.
TecLight Modes
The different modes are also a stand out from the crowd. Rather than just having low, medium and high settings from the same LED(s), the TecLight has what Tecline call three operating modes – communication, video, and combined (communication and video).
What this means is that when in communication mode, the central XML2 CREE spotlight is on, which has a beam angle of 6 degrees and pumps out 1,300 lumen. This has a burn time of seven hours, and it penetrated into the gloom of a typical British quarry with ease. Obviously, a bright, narrow beam such as this is ideal for attracting your buddy’s attention, hence the mode title.
In video mode, the seven XPG2 CREE LEDs that are arrayed around the outside of the main lens come into play, and pump out 2,600 lumens with a 120 degree spread. This effectively gives a soft halo with a light temperature of 6,500K, which is perfect for lighting up video and still photography subjects without any hotspots. The burn time in this mode is two hours and 30 minutes.
Finally, there is the combined mode, which as the name suggests, brings both the communication and videos modes into play at the same time. So you have the 120 degree halo beam of 2,600 lumens from the seven outside LEDs, as well as the 6 degree spotlight at 1,300 lumens from the central XML2 LED. This mode has a burn time of one hour and fifty minutes.
The Important Bits
Recharging time for the Tecline battery pack is two hours and thirty minutes. However, it is worth noting that the TecLight is fully compatible with the Ammonite System batteries if you decided you need extended burn time across all three modes, or wanting to combine using the light with a heated undersuit.
The Tecline TecLight is made from anodised aluminium and Delrin, and has a durable, quality feel to it. It is depth-rated to 150m, but has been tested to 200m, which is more than enough for the vasy majority of tech divers.
How Much Does The TecLine TecLight Weigh?
The TecLight is also travel-friendly. It weighs in at only 1kg for both the lamp head and the battery, and as 75Wh Li-Ion batteries are commonly accepted by commercial airlines as hand luggage, it can venture off on your next foreign jaunt without taking too much valuable luggage space.
How Much Does The TecLine TecLight Cost?
The Tecline TecLight has an SRP of £688.57 in the UK. There is also a dedicated sidemount set-up for the TekLight, which has a 1.5-metre cable instead of the stand 1.2-metre cable, which is £734.86. However, while this may be the ideal rig for sidemount diving, fellow tester Richard was diving in sidemount and was using a standard TecLight without any major issues caused by the slightly shorter cable, so it is feasible to use the ‘normal’ model for all kinds of diving.
I have dived with and used many different types of dive light over the past couple of decades, and they’ve all had their pros and cons, but I have to say that the Tecline TecLight is one of the best all-round I have seen in a long time.
Visit the website to find out more about the TecLine TecLight.
