My first purchase of a SOLA 1200 was back in 2011 (I believe). As a dive instructor and leading dives in Truk Lagoon at the time, the focus and spot option was perfect for pointing out features inside the wrecks while still showing the divers the overall (wide angle) compartment or space. The light never died on me during dives because it gave me enough warning about when it needed to be charged. Almost all my dives were close to an hour with 30 minutes of the dive being in dark spaces. Although I've used three of the handle configurations (t-handle, hand strap, and pistol grip), I prefer the T-handle by far. The T-handle fit perfectly in between my fingers and NEVER came off (for security, I always wore the lanyard around my wrist). It also allowed me the flexibility to motion my hand gently to use it as an underwater pointer. I put well over 2000 dives under dives on my first SOLA 1200. In the last couple of months, I ran into an issue with my 1200 where the button would not activate the spot function. I contacted L&M and got immediate instructions on how to further troubleshoot the light. They also mentioned that if I could not get it to work properly, they could help me in sourcing a replacement at a fair fee. Although I also own a SOLA 800, and 500, I went ahead with sourcing a new 1200 (the repair S&M suggested did not work) and also just purchased a Dive 2000. As a result of the pandemic, I also recently got into mountain biking. I had faith in L&M and after reading some reviews, I decided to pay just a little more for L&M lights versus getting something cheap on Amazon. Just yesterday, I used my SECA Comp 1500 along with my VIS Pro 1000 on my helmet and LOVED them. I can't say enough about the quality of the lights and what I consider to be a fair price for a quality product.
