Archive |
Q&A: KIT February 2010
Q&A: KIT February 2010
more...
Star Trek & iPhones
Non-tear drysuit seals; a hi-def video camera in your mask; a housing that fits some 450 compact cameras; even a dive-computer app for your iPhone! These were just a few of the eye-opening innovations on display at the DEMA show in Florida - John Bantin reports
more...
Bubble-free Poseidon
No-one knows what future dive-gear will look like, but Poseidon is sure it will leave no bubbles. Its closed-circuit rebreather the Discovery VI is the breathing gear the Swedish manufacturer hopes will revolutionise diving. Martin Örnroth reports, with additional images from Jesper Kjøller and Poseidon more...
Kit Q&A August 2009
Kit Q&A August 2009
more...
Semi-dry or dry?
Everyone wears a drysuit in cold water, don't they? Well, most do, but it's not compulsory. For some, a semi-dry suit may offer advantages, including being half the price, says John Bantin.
more...
The £1000 diver
You're just starting to assemble your own collection of dive gear - or maybe you're an experienced diver looking for a bargain. John Bantin outlines some affordable options
more...
Treading water at DEMA
Evolution rather then revolution was the watchword at the latest international diving trade show, but at least manufacturers are now listening, says John Bantin
more...
Kit check
Jackets, suits and accessoriesLast month John Liddiard looked at caring for your regulator - now he moves onto BCs, drysuits and other diving equipment. Don't give kit the chance to fail on you when you least want things to go wrong
more...
Kit Q&A September 2008
Kit Q&A September 2008
more...
Mind your own gear
Everyone should have their diving equipment professionally serviced, but between visits to a reputable shop there's plenty you can do yourself to keep it in good repair. In the first of a two-part feature, John Liddiard guides us through regulator care
more...
25 DESIGN CLASSICS
You voted for your all-time favourite items of dive gear, and most of them are still being made. John Bantin rounds them up
more...
Putting computers in their place
Diving computers still vary on the scale between cautious and carefree, and it's as well to know where your own choice sits on that scale. Diving on the Red Sea wreck Rosalie Moller, John Bantin tests 12 units representing the algorithms 30-plus current models
more...
Dive Torch Survey - Table
Details of the torches surveyed. more...Dive Torch Survey - Results
Report on the torch survey, descriptions and results. more...Kit Q&A December 2006
Kit Q&A December 2006 more...
Want to learn to dive? START HERE |
LIDS 2010 ExCel, London27/28 March Book online NOW …AND SAVE £3 |
BC Mares Icon
The Icon packs up into a small parcel for packing, so it is obviously intended as a BC for the air-travelling diver.
more...
Wetsuit Fourth Element Proteus 3
THE FOURTH ELEMENT PROTEUS 3 looked good on the New Product Showcase at the Dive 2009 show, so I grabbed it for a forthcoming trip to the Maldives.more...
Computer 1 Oceanic OC1
The OC1 is a nitrox-enabled computer-watch that can be wirelessly integrated with up to three different gas supplies according to the number of transmitters employed, and this can include your buddy's main tank.
more...
Computer 2 VR Technology NHeO
The NHeO accommodates the needs of those who are moving slowly in the direction of technical diving, but are not yet ready for the helium in their mix.
more...
Computer 3 Uemis Zurich
The new Uemis Zurich computer is different in many ways from anything else on the market.
more...
My favourite kit - Innes McCartney
Innes McCartney is a deep-wreck diver, a historical consultant specialising in submarines, and a naval history and diving publisher. He has discovered many historic shipwrecks, including the M1 and HK Komet, and HMS Indefatigable and HMS Defence at Jutland; organised the Operation Deadlight expeditions; identified 44 mystery submarine wrecks; and been a key figure in the making of TV documentaries such as Deep Wreck Detectives and Clash of the Dreadnoughts. Innes was also the first diver to visit all three of the greatest diveable liner wrecks: Britannic, Lusitania and Andrea Doria
more...
Life support with the Sentinel
Fatal incidents involving closed-circuit rebreathers can't all be dismissed simply as diver error, says Kevin Gurr - but he reckons that all the life-threatening problems that have arisen in the past can be engineered out. John Bantin spends a week with the CCR designer on a Red Sea liveaboard, to see if his Sentinel 'life-support system' lives up to his claims
more...
My favourite kit - Pete Atkinson
Pete Atkinson, 52, is a professional underwater photographer. For 20 years he sailed and dived all over Polynesia - then, five years ago, he sold his yacht, bought a house in Australia and married another photographer, Darin Limsuansub. He claims not to be a grumpy old man, but his attitude to current dive fashions suggests that he is
more...
How dry is your drysuit?
You might get the outside dry, you might even get the inside dry, but how do you prevent mouldy boot syndrome? John Liddiard offers some sweeter-smelling solutions
more...
My favourite kit - Rich Stevenson
Rich Stevenson, 39, is a professional diver living and working in Plymouth. For 10 years he has owned and run dive-boats and, until recently, a coastal dive centre. His independent company now concentrates on rebreather training, underwater film operations and commercial diving charters on his new 9m RIB Ocean Venture. Involved in technical instruction since 1995, Rich was one of the UK's first IANTD Cave and Trimix Instructors, and is an IANTD and PSAI Instructor-Trainer
more...
A sense of algorithm
Take 10 current diving computers equipped between them with seven different formulas to stop their owners getting bent. How cautious or devil-may-care would they prove to be on ascents from around the 50m mark?
more...
Star Fins
What's makes good fins? Those you find comfortable and that perform the way you want them to! "Bring unto us 16 pairs of your very best fins, for we wish to compare them one against the other!" we demanded of the nation's leading fin suppliers. Which are your dream fins? John Bantin tests them, you decidemore...
Budget Regs
Side-by-side regulator comparisons can be very revealing, and this test of 12 is no exception, proving as it does that surprisingly good performance is available for a low outlay. John Bantin reports
more...
Leading lights
Technical diving lights are the ones deeper divers use and the rest of us want to use.They aren't cheap, so must be chosen with care.
But should you go HID, LED or tungsten? John Bantin tests 20 shining examples more...
The way of the DSLR
You're serious about underwater photography - John Bantin has the answers
more...