E03 Underwater

I'm not sure Diving is the right place for this, but I don't see a "swimming" category, and figure the diving experts will know better than anyone else.

I don't SCUBA, but I occasionally snorkel, boat, and raft. I also often swim in pools and the Pacific, and occasionally in lakes and rivers.
I don't go down more than about a dozen feet, and clearly won't stay at depth long. But I may stay in the water for a couple hours at a time.
I don't expect to need a light for long underwater, but want to have it on me on and off the water, and be able to user it at depth when needed/desired.
I'm looking for a light I can be confident taking with me in any and all of these situations.
I was going to ask about Tektite, Princeton Tek, and Intova "backup" lights, when I noticed that my Xeno E03 is rated down to 10M.

First question: has anyone tried using an E03 as their backup dive light or primary "swim" light? How did it do? Any special considerations?

Second: Can you recommend a small (under 4"L/.75" OD), affordable (under $60) single cell (AA or CR123), reasonably bright (200L on Hi,) long runtime (>10hrs on low) backup dive light that I can depend on in the situations described above?

Thanks for the help!

- Tom

Tusa 300. Thoughts it's only 4.5 hours


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Look at the Intovas as well

A quick update:
I took the E03 to the local pool for an hour 3 weeks ago, to another pool for about 3 hours last weekend (including playing "find the light" with my daughters for about 20 minutes,) and for another hour and a half today. It's a little worse for wear from scraping along the concrete, but working great, and completely dry inside.
At the beach last weekend, the weather was in the upper 70's, the pool darn near 90, but the ocean was in the low 50's. So I didn't get to test it in the salt water.

I bought my Xeno E03 (blue, with neutral XM-L) in January of this year.
With its two o-rings on the tail, I decided to use it for swimming.
I took it in the ocean once, but in several different pools several different times. Last time was probably 2 months ago. Right after, I hit the switch, and it worked. I did not disassemble it to check for interior moisture, or to dry it out.
Yesterday, I clicked it just for the heck of it. Nothing. Opened it up, and the Ulitimate Lithium battery I've been using was discolored, and there's a white residue on the aluminum. I sprayed it with Caig G5, replaced the switch with the spare which came with it, and put in a (tested) new battery. Still no output.
Anyone have any suggestions for getting it working again?
(I've put in an inquiry with my dealer to see if the warranty applies to this sort of thing.)

Update to the update:
I stumbled upon a thread detailing dis-assembly of the E03. So I took out the tailcap, and removed the pill. Sprayed with contact cleaner. After than sat a while, sprayed down with Caig progold. Screwed it all back together - and it works!
So, who knows what went wrong with it, but the E03 just may be a successful swimming/backup dive light after all!

Been a while - thought I'd share yet another update.
After putting it back together and seing that it worked, I discovered you actually could remove the bezel. So I did. Noticed that the O-ring under the lens was not properly aligned in the groove.
Took it apart - but chipped the lens.
Got a new lens and O-Ring from (very helpful) EDC+.
Buttoned it all back together, making sure to get the O-ring in there straight.

Still worked.

Took it swimming a couple times a month since April. No longer any condensation on the reflector under the lens!

Took it to Hawaii last month - probably spent 20 hours in the pool or ocean (max depth about 15 feet - I don't SCUBA) with this in my pocket. Used occasionally. No Condensation! Works like a dream.

Very successful swimming light. Xeno just need to stay on top of the QC - make sure the O-rings are mounted properly.
For about $30, I am very impressed.

What mode did you usually use?

I wonder if the E15, with the type III anodizing would be better? (if you are okay with the higher price)

MichaelW said:

What mode did you usually use?

I wonder if the E15, with the type III anodizing would be better? (if you are okay with the higher price)

Click to expand...

I usually use the medium mode it turns on in. Low isn't a super low, and with the XM-L high still doesn't offer much throw.
This one's working, so I'm not looking to try anything else right now. But if you have experience, it's always good to share.