Sure, you have a dive light, as well as a backup light. But, do you really need to add a water-activated marker light to your collection of equipment? The answer depends on the type of dive you plan to do. If you’re going for a quick dip with a friend in clear water during the day, you probably don’t need this type of light. However, if you’re diving at night, exploring a cave, or working underwater, water-activated dive light markers are a must-have. They clip easily to your tank so your diving buddies can keep track of you (and you can keep track of them), clip to lines so you can easily find your way back to the ship or boat, and allow you to highlight pathways when working underwater.

Some of the benefits of these lights include:

• You don’t have to worry about the battery dying. Many of these have up to 500 hours of use, so you don’t have to worry about the light giving out on you.
• They aren’t heavy, so they won’t weigh you down. A single stick is light, and you just bring it with you on your dive to activate it.
• It activates in water, and will deactivate when dry (so it doesn’t run at all times).
• They are bright, usually offering 500 lumens of brightness or more, depending on the make and model.
• These lights are also extremely easy to test in the event you don’t know if they will be bright enough for your diving trip. Simply drop it in a glass of water, and it will activate.

You never know what you might encounter during a dark dive or in a new location. Because these lights are so affordable and lightweight, it doesn’t hurt to keep one with you no matter when or where you’re diving.