Spectacular customer service!

I wanted to comment on the spectacular customer service I received at Underwater Kinetics in Poway last week.  I took in one of my old flooded back up lights (as stated above, I'm missing a bunch) and they couldn't of been any more accommodating.  Thanks for the rapid repair/replacement.  On top of that, I got a factory tour.  They injection mold the cases, lights, etc all right on sight.  Awesome.  I also got the chance to try out one of their new back up lights, the SL3.  The nice thing about this light was the size.  It holds 3 C batteries with a durable aluminum core that appears to be crush proof.  No SWITCHES, THE BIGGEST FAILURE POINT I OFTEN FIND ON LIGHTS.  Just turn the light head.  Double O-rings on the head is a tried and true method to seal lights.  I only found one potential downfall, and maybe they have started to address this issue.  If you unscrew the head, Clean Off the threads.  Looked like there were a lot of burs from machining and I definitely would not want any of those compromising the integrity of the seals.  Flooded lights means short miserable dive.

Over the weekend I dove the Yukon and did some very long penetrations.  I entered with my Light Canon HID monster with the backup SL3 in tow.  after 20 feet of penetration, I switched over to the SL3 eLED.  Of course manufacturers want to tell you about how great the new technology is and how bright and enhanced the LED is, but until you try it, I think you should be skeptical.  When I first turned on the SL3, I noticed a very strong focused beam that was equal in intensity leaving the housing as my state of the art $300 Light Canon purchased all those years ago.  As far as penetration of the light, it sent a focused bright white beam the same distance as my light canon.  However, it definetely did not light up the entire room.  For a backup or something to poke around into nooks and crannies during the day int he kelp or canon, I would say it is an ideal light to always carry.  It will become my permanent daily light instead of lugging my big C8 lights around to light up under rocks to find those Octopus.  However, would i recommend it as a primary light as a night dive, maybe not unless you like to light up small areas very brightly.  When it comes to night dive, I still recommend a light that can light up a larger area, but is still just as rugged and uses LEDs.  My light canon is very bright as most of you have seen, but dropping it will cost me $100 for a new bulb.  Also, it requires 8 new batteries after every dive.  Drop my LED light and it likely will not break, but if it does, send it in for warranty.  I'm actually curious to try out UKs AquaSun eLED as a New Primary Light for night dives.  Twice as bright as my light canon, and way more friendly to batteries. .....

-Aaron T.