Keeping You and Your Buddy Visible

On a night dive off the WA coast last year, we surfaced in a bit of a chop. The boat wasn’t far, but without my torch, spotting my head bobbing in the chop would have been near impossible. A solid beam helps your buddy see you, and if things go sideways, it can help others find you. Think of it like your hi-vis vest for the ocean.

Lighting the Way Into Caves and Wrecks

Wrecks, caves, and swim-throughs are thrilling to explore, but they're pitch black once you’re inside. You need to know where you’re placing your hands or fins. I've used a focused beam to check out the interior of a sunken trawler, spotting sharp edges and snag hazards that would have been easy to brush past or get tangled up in without light.

Speaking Without Words

Hand signals are great until it’s dark. Torches add another layer to communication. You can flash a signal, point something out, or get attention fast. We once had a group of students in open water training who drifted slightly apart; a quick sweep with the torch brought everyone back together.

Spotting the Good Stuff

Some critters only come out at night. Crabs scuttling over coral, sleeping parrotfish, octopuses changing colour - a torch lets you experience an entirely different side of the reef. Even the coral can change shape at night. It also helps you find camouflaged animals that blend into the background during the day.

Backup When the Sun Goes

Even if you plan a midday dive, weather and depth can change light conditions fast. Cloud cover or swimming under a ledge can make things go dark quickly. I always clip a compact torch to my BCD-it's saved my skin more than once.

See More Than Just Blue

Ever swum through a reef and realised everything looks a bit...blue? That’s because water absorbs light fast, especially reds and oranges. Even on a midday dive in clear water, you will start to lose colour from around 5 metres. A good torch brings those colours back. It doesn’t just make things prettier; it helps you identify what you're actually looking at.

Picking the Right Torch

There are plenty of options for different use cases and different budgets, so think about what suits you. Wide beams are good for video, but a dive torch needs a narrow beam to punch through the water. A dive torch needs at least 1000 lumens, but for filming go for at least 2500 lumens if you're filming close up, or more for wide angle footage. 

Trusting Your Gear

Every diver has their go-to bit of kit. For me, it's my torch. It’s been with me from shore dives in Esperance to night dives on the Great Barrier Reef. Once you find one that fits your hand, has solid burn time, and can take a knock, you'll wonder how you ever got in without it.

 

• Share on:
• WhatsApp
• Deel
• X
• Pin it
• Messenger
• Email
• Share

---