HI-Max Strobe – the perfect companion for every diver – review by Divers24

Strobe in diving is not something new. However, devices available nowadays definitely differ in standards from their prototypes. Widely used in night diving and wreck diving, they quickly attracted the attention of manufacturers from across the water, and we did not have to wait long for the Chinese HI-MAX product to enter our market, distributed by HI-MAX Poland.

Hi-Max, in comparison with the competition, is indeed distinguished by its small size and low weight (only 280 g with the battery), which is certainly essential for people who often travel. Another advantage is the ability to purchase the flash itself, without the need to simultaneously buy a battery (well-known to most 26650), which every diver diving a little longer has in his box together with a dedicated charger. As a result, we will pay only 390 PLN for the flash without “extras”, which makes it currently the cheapest device of this class available on the market. The question is, however, whether it is worth it?

We had the opportunity to make dozens of dives with the Hi-Max flasher in water temperatures of 4-8°C. We dived from the boat, from the shore and as much as we could. The depth range was from 6 to 60 metres, and the water was rather clear and slightly bloomy.

The first thing that emerges from the user’s perspective after conducting a series of dives is the ease of use. Some concerns were – as usual – about dealing with the switch in thick dry suit gloves. Here we greatly appreciated the tab on the ring that turns the flash on and off. Another very useful feature, especially when diving a bit deeper where it is inherently darker, is the constant light function. Something rather unprecedented in this type of equipment.

The flash does not differ from the competition in any way, if we talk about the strength of flashes. The battery is sufficient for 6 hours in flash mode and 2 hours of continuous light. In my opinion, this is completely sufficient. What is important and what we paid attention to is the fact that Hi-Max will not discharge itself lying idle in the box. Ours was left for a month and without prior charging, we made with it more than an hour of diving without noticing any problems with lighting.

As for the workmanship itself, the flash dome is made of very resistant material. Despite the harsh conditions on the boat or underwater during wreck diving and repeated minor or major impacts, nothing has been damaged or even scratched. It is a pleasure to be able to convince ourselves of this using the equipment made available for testing. The only element susceptible to physical damage turned out to be the case made of anodised aluminium. Scratches and abrasions, characteristic of normal use, occur here. The whole does not, of course, have any impact on the usability values.

The only thing the manufacturer could think of to improve their product is some way of personalising the device. In my opinion, engraving doesn’t work and there are problems with sales. Maybe a personalised plaque on the bungie? Maybe a different colour bungie? Or maybe other case colours coming soon? I personally dream of a red flash. After all, it’s supposed to show us the way home, so why not make it the most visible colour possible?

Nevertheless, we rate the Hi-Max diver’s flash very well and we recommend you to see for yourself what this little gem can do. If you feel the need to have such a device during your dives, this is certainly a strong candidate that you should consider.

source: divers24

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