Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Big Blue CF 250 with Goodman's glove


Big Blue, who are they? We had never heard of this dive light company, but Jose first gave them a try by purchasing the CF250 light with neoprene glove for easy hands free operation. At 250 lumens, this light has a double o-ring seal, magnetic switch, a twisting bezel that focuses the beam angle from 6 to 31 degrees, AND it only uses 3 AAA batteries which when freshly charged, will run for over an hour and still shine brightly!

A few months later Marco and Rags also purchased the same light. We have never had any problems with them even after more than 500 dives each. We have them with us on every single dive...divers love it  when you are able to show them the true colors of the reef, even during the day!  It also makes pointing out critters much easier (this is where the narrow beam comes in handy!), without having to get too close to the sensitive coral formations - always a good thing when following the Roatan Marine Park regulations of not getting too close to avoid any incidental damage!

These lights are also great if you are taking pictures or video underwater the hands free operation the G-Glove makes focusing your camera during macro photography much easier.

That's from Jose Silva who is closing in on 1000 PADI Certifications (now en route to Maui with 35 certifications to go!).

The only gripe with the light is the Glove's longevity - the Velcro (tm) attachments do wear out after a while.  It is an excellent concept that, surprisingly enough, has not been adopted by other light manufacturers. It's amazingly useful and comfy. When you need light simply flip over the switch.

Other lights also use double O-ring technology as does this one. To turn them on you unscrew the light. If you keep going they shut off. Keep going after that and they flood. Yikes, that was dumb is when I realized my awesome Hollis light failed. That's a user error I accept.  Was looking for something different this time (duh!). Hence copying Jose and his "light." We give it double OKs.

We purchased a charger and we reuse batteries over an over. We no longer worry about whose batteries they are. The lights have undergone lots of testing, under "live" conditions. Easy conditions in fact. That's why we live here, silly. Again, if they can't work here, how can they work elsewhere? It's not like Monty does the 430 ft Trimix dives every month, not yet anyhow.

The solution for the failing Velcro (tm) on both the palm of your hand and the wrist is as follows; The hand strap can be kept together by wrapping duct tape.  At the time of writing, it has been holding up for over a week. This is after six months of daily use. I do not take the light into confined water on a regular basis. If I had tweet this review and you trusted the content above, it would read something like; The Big Blue CF 250 is a good acquisition.  The wrist Velcro can be folded over itself as shown in the picture.

The cost of the light was about $135 back when we bought them. Today September 12, 2012 it is selling for about $89 atLeisurePro. Be warned, there are some crappy reviews on there, which are quite ridonculous. It does not turn on by unscrewing it. Regardless, we promised to keep these honest.

We are gearing up for the Roatan Fishing Tournament this week-end. As of this entry I had son, little William Alexander.  Thanks for reading. Join the blog and let us know if there is any particular set of gear you would like tested and reviewed. Best wishes from Roatan. If you have any questions feel free to contact us at;  Coconut Tree Divers

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