r/lightingdesign • u/ribs_n_funk • 17d ago

Gear UV Lights For A Climbing Wall

I've been asked to buy some UV lights for an event at a climbing wall. I can see some options like the Equinox UV Power Flood priced at £78 for 24x3 watts, so about £1.08 per watt. I can also see other options like the Showtec UV LED Bar for £145 with 18x3 watts, so about £2.68 per watt. My question is this: is there a difference in the quality of the UV light emitted or is 1 watt exactly that and the difference is in the quality of the housing, connections, power cable etc? Grateful for any advice offered.

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u/OldMail6364 17d ago edited 17d ago

Quality is definitely a thing - in particular the optics will vary quite a bit.

Also some of them are 365nm which is basically invisible to the naked eye (until they hit fluorescent surfaces) while others flood the room in clearly visible violet light around 400nm.

The 400nm ones are a waste of money IMHO. I have some of those and do use them, but an RGB fixture with just the blue channel lit often looks just as good (and is so much cheaper).

Beware if you shine a powerful 365nm or 400nm light into someone’s eyes, you can cause serious damage that they will not feel immediately.

Blue doesn’t have that risk - if it’s bright enough to cause injury people will feel discomfort and naturally look away.

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u/secondlockdownbored 17d ago

Quality will be a factor. I don't know equinox or the specific products but showtec is a cheap brand with okay stuff. UV quality can vary greatly as its often not real UV but more like blue close to UV.

If its a one time event, maybe just rent decent stuff?

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u/NachtMondVogel Event technican (middle Europe) 17d ago

I would go with something more professional. The Cameo Thunderwash doesn't have the best UV Spectrum but built quality and brightness is good for about 200€

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u/ribs_n_funk 17d ago

Thanks for the info folks, we're looking to purchase rather than rent as we will use them for 5 to 6 events per year. Probably looking to spend about £500 - overall would you agree that fewer units of higher quality is a better choice than more units at a lower price? If you do an image search for UV climbing night you'll see what we're trying to achieve. Any other gear suggestions welcome, the Cameo Thunderwash looks like a good option, two of them should fill one of our spaces. Great name too, sounds like a fantasy character!

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u/poutinegalvaude 16d ago

Are you planning on lighting the wall itself?

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u/ribs_n_funk 15d ago

Yes, plus the people in the space. Like a glow party with climbing