BORELLI CONSULTING: Recreational Equipment Reviews

Each year the industry changes… although the water never seems to. The biggest challenge for most scuba divers is to find enough time to get in the water! Still, once you’ve found the time, and reviewed your budget for new gear, what do you get? First and foremost you get what you NEED. What’s worn out? What are you missing? What did you lose to the Manatee in the Keys last year? This week’s review is going to look at some of the new products on the market. Think of it as a diver’s wish list to fill that dream gear bag.

Let's start out with the Cressi-sub Edy wrist worn computer. It's not often my wife sees gadgetry and says, "I want one of those," but the Edy caught her eye because of its size. THEN she looked at its features and THEN she told me what I'd be trying to get her sometime this season. According to the information released about this new wrist-top, its compact size makes it perfect for everyday use as a watch as well as more than useful as a dive computer. The computer itself is capable of bottom time remaining and oxygen / nitrogen loading for both air and nitrox dives. It's depth gauge and timer function down to 200 meters - and with a depth gauge that reflects such depths it's obvious Cressi-sub meant for this wrist-top to also be used by technical divers. In the SCUBA DIVING UNDERWATER COMPUTER mode it is possible to choose to use air or enriched air mixes with up to 50% oxygen, where the diver can select partial pressure of this gas from between 1.0 and 1.6 bars. It has some three Safety Factors:

Next on the list is a new kind of fin from AquaLung: the Slingshot. Pictured to the left you can see how the Slingshot has a couple of tension bands that connect the main body of the fin to the foot cup at a hinge. The "Power Bands" are made of silicone and allegedly help build more power into and out of every stroke of the fin. The Power Bands' energy output is adjustable by way of the "Gear Shift" built in. You can adjust how much speed you get from your effort - and the published material says you can do this even with gloves on during your dive. Where the hinge is between the blade body and the foot cup is what AquaLung calls the Mid-foot Flex Joint. This joint, according to AquaLung, puts less stress on the toes and top of the ankle during kick cycles making diving more comfortable. Finally, the Power Bands allow the range of motion to be "up to five times that of a conventional fin." The thing I like most about them is that if you have to walk to the water, you can fold up the blade body and be walking on your boot in the foot cup without having to manage the blade slapping the ground. Then once you're IN the water you can fold the blade down and be on your way. Interesting features that I'll fully report on once I've had a chance to test them out.

Since I've worn corrective lenses most of my life I'm always acutely aware of the performance of any mask I try. What I've found is that I either need one with more interior room so I can have corrective lenses molded into the mask lens, or I need a low volume mask so that I can wear my contacts and see better with them. (For some reason, for me, contacts plus high volume mask equals less clear vision) So I was interested when I saw the Mares Sporasub Samurai Mask. Advertised as "The lowest volume mask on the market", the mask was originally designed for free diving and spearfishing. I don't know what the advantage is, but the Elite model has mirrored lenses so the fish can't see your eyes. The published material says that the mask is designed for small to large faces, but that the mask itself is small and on faces with wide-set eyes the skirt may not be comfortable. It might be too close and inhibit peripheral vision. With a recommended retail price of only $45, this might be a good option for you if you're in need of a spare mask or want to replace your current one with a low volume model.

Next on the list is the Octopus regulator from AquaLung called the Kronos. Although I found this regulator listed as a spare (Octopus) regulator in my research, and that's how I would use it, the other information I've gathered leads me to believe that it could be a good primary regulator too. One challenge for regulators across the board is to exhaust air bubbles so that they don't flow

up in front of the diver's face. None of us wants our vision obscured by bubbles as we try to take in the sights. The Kronos has a new (patent pending) side exhaust system that supposedly keeps bubbles out of the diver's viewing area. Somehow AquaLung has managed to do this without moving the exhaust port itself from the traditional position. Additionally, AquaLung designed the Kronos so that the diver's exhaled breath flows over the second stage valve, helping minimize any chances of it freezing in cold water dives. The first stage of the regulator is a balanced diaphragm design with two high pressure ports and four low pressure ports. What caught my eye - although it's becoming more and more common as the popularity of Nitrox continues to grow - is that it's O2 compatible - EAN 40 clean - right out of the box.

New from ScubaPro is the Everflex 5/4mm mono. This one piece dive suit offers 5mm protection in the torso and upper thighs with the rest of your extremities receiving 4mm of insulation. Reportedly one of the easiest to get on and most comfortable to wear single piece wetsuits available. The lining is apparently the key to the ease of donning the suit as it feels "slick" wet or dry. The neoprene of the body is reportedly fairly abuse resistant with integrated knee pads (even though we like to say away from the bottom, right?) and shoulder pads (because none of us likes running into a rusty edge entering anything underwater). The seams are double-stitched outer and single-stitched inner for additional protection against water leakage which transalates into longer wear life and more comfort while diving. The seals at the neck, wrist and ankles are snug to prevent water movement as you move. This, of course, keeps you warmer during your dive. The published material all goes out of its way to remind us that a hood is not included. Maybe it's just me, but if all you're wearing is a 5/4mm wetsuit, is it cold enough to require a hood?

The last item on today's list is the Dive-n-Roll Deluxe from ScubaPro. Since travel is such an intricate part of diving, and because dive gear can have significant weight to it, proper luggage is important. As we all know, the luggage needs to be fairly customized if it's going to suit the traveling diver's needs. The Dive-n-Roll Deluxe is actually three components put together (although you can take them apart) to form a single piece of dive travel luggage. The main body of the bag is a nylon covered PVC hard shell mounted with a drag handle and wheels. Of course, as with all rolling luggage, much is made in the printed material about the ergonomic friendliness of the handle shape and the wheel placement. The hard-shell main case stands as the base for attaching the daypack and the travel gear bag. Each item can be used seperately or they can be put all together for ease of trasnport. With a retail price running around $300, it's an item that you need to see and play with before making the decision to write that check. That said, ScubaPro has been making excellent dive equipment for a long time and I can't imagine that their travel luggage would be junk.

So, that's my list this season. All the rest of my gear is still stored waiting for me to go through it. My regulator needs servicing. I just had my tanks visually inspected and one of them needed hydro-testing; got that done. All that is REALLY necessary now is for me to find the time to go get wet!

DIVE SAFE!

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