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Big ideas & one-show wonders
The DEMA show is where the characters of the professional diving world – gurus, experts and the up-and-coming – choose to meet up every year. It was once all about product launches – now, not so much. Undeterred, JOHN BANTIN goes trend-hunting
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The right stuff
Setting off to dive somewhere far away from home, it’s crucial that you arrive at your destination with the right equipment for the conditions you’ll encounter under water. Five divers choose five very different destinations, and we feature the suits and other kit that they select to go with them
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A skipper’s point of view
After his recent review of electronic diver-location devices, NIGEL WADE turns his attention to those lo-tech items every diver should consider carrying for self-protection. And who better to consult than the man who is always on the look-out for ascending divers?
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Where's Wally?
Emergency diver-location devices will soon become familiar, especially for southern Red Sea safari divers. We may even start taking the type of installation into account when selecting a boat – or taking the initiative by investing in our own personal unit. Nigel Wade investigates more...
The kit in America
The apparel may be brash, but it was a comparatively quiet year for new dive-gear announcements at the latest big international trade show in Las Vegas. John Bantin was there more...
The Stylish Diver
Style, élan, flair - whatever you call it, some have it and some don't. It may not matter a jot to you, but it may be all-important to your buddy.
Usually it costs money, but not inevitably.
John Bantin considers the kit that makes a diver look cool more...
A place for everything
A popular feature of the UK's two Dive Shows are the kit-configuration workshops, and this month's London event will be no exception. In the meantime, John Liddiard looks at the vexed question of how best to stow your bits and pieces on a dive
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Q&A: KIT February 2010
Q&A: KIT February 2010
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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
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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...
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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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BC TUSA Voyager
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A BC THAT WON’T PLAY HAVOC with your all-up packing weight, the TUSA BCJ 1800 Voyager should be in the frame.
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Computer Oceanic BUD
THE OCEANIC BACK-UP DEVICE or BUD fulfills a need for something that I have always advocated – a second computer in case your primary ceases to function.
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Drysuit Typhoon Fathom
THE TYPHOON FATHOM is a membrane-style suit, so its material offers little or no insulation against the cold, serving merely to keep your undersuit dry.
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Undersuit Fourth Element HALO 3D
THE “WOOLLY BEAR” used to be standard issue for use with drysuits. It was an open-weave garment that provided insulation when encased in the suit, but I can affirm that the wind whistled through it when it was worn alone between dives.
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Regulator DIVEX 960 MIL
THIS REGULATOR IS NOT INTENDED FOR YOU. Divex in Sweden makes professional diving equipment, and this unit is intended for working divers who may be on scuba. more...
Light UK LIGHT CANNON eLED
The Californian diving lamp manufacturer headed up by Alan Ukay and known as Underwater Kinetics or UK (geddit?) has always eschewed the use of metal in its products...
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Light Mares EOS 3
It’s often better to be a developer than an innovator. The latest EOS 3 lamp is unambitious, in that it uses what has become fairly standard technology.
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My favourite kit – Martyn Farr
Renowned Welsh cave-diver MARTYN FARR has discovered many miles of cave passage in many countries in the course of his career. He started caving at the age of 10, and cave-diving in 1971. By 1981 he had set a world record for underwater cave penetration, in the Bahamas. In the UK he made his name exploring Wookey Hole in 1977 and 1982. He has taken part in expeditions all over the world and is a leading cave-diving photographer, as well as the author of the classic book The Darkness Beckons. A PSA Cavern, Nitrox and Cave Instructor-Trainer, he has taken many celebrities underground, including the royal princes, and his cavern and cave-diving courses have provided a gateway to the sport for hundreds of today’s cave-divers.
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My favourite kit – Mike Rutzen
South African diver MIKE RUTZEN started working with great white sharks 15 years ago, as a skipper on a cage-diving boat. In 2000 he began freediving with the sharks, and is now known worldwide as one of the few people able to interact with the creatures outside the safety of a cage. Dubbed ‘Sharkman’, he has produced documentaries on freediving with great whites for Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Animal Planet, CNN, CBS and the BBC among others, and has appeared at the UK Dive Shows on several occasions
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My favourite kit – Monty Halls
IT’S 13 YEARS SINCE DIVER PUBLISHED MONTY HALLS’ first article, about a dive-site near Plymouth ferryport. He had recently left the Royal Marines to study as a marine biologist. Since then, Monty has dived the world over and over, initially with his ground-breaking Full Circle expeditions, which caught the eye of the TV producers. He has made many television programmes, including the Great Ocean Adventures series, discovered a lost city off India, written several books and won not only Channel 4’s Superhuman title but a Scientific Exploration Society award for services to exploration. Watch out in July for his third BBC series, Monty Hall’s Great Irish Escape – in which he lives and works in Connemara with the Irish Whale & Dolphin Conservation Group – and, in 2012, a major new BBC series called Reef. But what, you ask, about his kit?
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My favourite kit – Andrea Marshall
Few divers put their gear through the rigours to which American Dr Andrea Marshall subjects hers. The Queen of Mantas, who started diving when she was 12, has lived and worked as a researcher in Mozambique for the past eight years. Her PhD at the University of Queensland was the first ever doctoral thesis on manta rays, and she went on to form the Foundation for the Protection of Marine Megafauna. Her research has increased dramatically the level of knowledge on mantas, and she is now building on that work with an ambitious global tagging programme. Andrea discovered a new species, the giant manta, in 2008, and can identify many hundreds of individual rays off Mozambique from their markings
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My favourite kit - Mark Powell
MARK POWELL, one of the speakers at TEK/2011 in March, wrote the book Deco For Divers, which appears to have become firmly established as a DIVER readers’ favourite. Surrey-based Mark, who has been diving since 1987, has been an instructor for the past 17 years, teaching technical diving at all levels up to and including Advanced Trimix.
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My favourite kit - John Kean
JOHN KEAN, author of the popular book SS Thistlegorm, has carried out some 5000 dives as a recreational and technical diving instructor and guide in the Red Sea. It makes him an involuntary guinea pig for the longevity-testing of diving equipment. If it fits, reliably serves its purpose and lasts, it’s OK!
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My favourite kit - Paul Rose
Pro diver and instructor, polar guide, mountaineer and yacht skipper, author, conservationist, TV personality and public speaker (catch him at Dive 2010 this month) - PAUL ROSE is a man of many parts. A former Base Commander and science-support diver for the British Antarctic Survey, he was awarded HM The Queen's Polar Medal, and the US Polar Medal for work with NASA and the Mars Lander project in Antarctica. The Royal Geographical Society added a Ness Award for "popularisation of geography and the wider understanding of our world". He was diving ops adviser to the RGS Shoals of Capricorn project in the Indian Ocean, ran a US Navy diver training programme and has trained many emergency-response dive teams. TV audiences know him from the BBC's Oceans, and he is now filming a new series on British diving. But what about his kit?
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The Rolex of rebreathers?
The JJ-CCR is the latest closed-circuit rebreather to win CE-marking, which allows it to be sold in the UK. JOHN BANTIN tests the newcomer, and compares it with all the other CE-marked rebreathers now available more...
The eCCR MARKETPLACE
ARGUMENTS MAY RAGE among manufacturers and users about the significance of CE-marking, but the fact remains that any unit sold legitimately in Europe must be so certified. more...
BC basics
New to diving and looking to buy your first BC, or more experienced but in need of a no-frills stab that won’t strain the wallet? JOHN BANTIN tests a diver’s dozen of the latest offerings, and considers another six worthy of considerationmore...
Fins that kick
The fin-makers sent us what they considered to be their most efficient fins, and then John Bantin and his test-dive team set about establishing which were the creme de la creme.If you’re looking for a new pair of fins, start here
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Have a Compact Christmas
It’s a gift – the latest in digital camera/housing combinations to suit every pocket, from just under £200 to £850. And some of the 14 combos here now offer additional flood-resistance, says John Bantinmore...
Light breathers
A lightweight regulator can shave enough weight off your baggage to allow you to take a few clothes on holiday, as well as your dive gear! John Bantin tests 10 examples
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The reel test
We all need them, whether to send up a marker buoy or to mark our passage through a wreck or cave. It's simply a line-dispenser, but some definitely work better than others, reports John Bantin
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