Your cart is currently empty!
Dive Locker
One size does not fit all, especially when it comes to dive gear. We come in all shapes and sizes, Small, Large Tall, Petite, whatever, but we want what fits us and the way we dive. Some gear we might want for certain dives but not for others? Some divers have been diving the same equipment setup for 20 years, while other divers might change their setup with the seasons. What works for one diver, simply may not work for another?
What I personally want is gear that is functionally reliable, simple to use, easy to maintain, convenient to carry, and most importantly… it makes me feel good! It gives me justified confidence that it will do what I want it to do, and work when I need it!! I want it rigged for me to carry it in a way that I don’t have to worry about losing it, and it is easy to access and stow. If it is easy to access and stow, I am more likely to use it. This is human nature.
If I carry something that, “I only need in an emergency”, I don’t want to make it difficult to access “in an emergency”!! If it is at the bottom of a pocket with a bunch of other stuff stacked on top of it, I have just added more stress to an already stressful emergency situation. Why carry something I don’t want to, or am afraid to, access? If I have a problem with a particular piece of kit, regardless of what that problem is, then I want to identify the problem, and find a solution. Often this takes time, but finding a solution is important. I will take the time to make sure all my gear works for me, or I fix it. Every dive is an opportunity to fix a problem.
For example, I am Right handed, and I carry a Dive Knife on the outside of my Right thigh. The handle is where my hand naturally rests at my side. I have a simple bungee attachment to hold the knife in place in the sheath, and the bungees to hold the sheath in place are above and below the pocket on the front of my thigh. This keeps the Knife sheath in place my leg, preventing it from sliding down my leg to my ankle, as we have all seen at one time or another. I can deploy and stow the knife with great ease, even on the fly. Because it is easy for me to use, I tend to use it often. I know to keep it sharp, because I use it often. I am more inclined to cut entanglements, instead of trying to skirt them, because I have made using my knife easy.
My point is not that everyone should carry their Dive Knife as I do, however everyone should use a similar critical thought process. Everyone should go through the process of making sure their gear is going to be there, they can access it, and it will be operational when they need it.
In addition to all this, some issues are just personal preference. You might like Black, where I like Orange? Can we intelligently argue about color, when there is not a right, or wrong? Probably not, so we want to realize that despite the fact that we have invested incredible time and personal energy in figuring out the absolutely perfect Goldy Locks way to carry my SMB…. it might not be perfect for everyone? Be tolerant, see how other divers have solved problems that you are working to solve. Be willing to share your ideas. If you have a problem with your gear, change it.
Most importantly, have fun with all this! This is some of the dive gear in my Dive Locker, right now.
Dive Rite Tech Buttplate
I like to segregate equipment, so I can locate it easily, in places that makes sense to me. I use my reel with my left hand, so I keep it on my left side. I will carry wet notes, Jon Line, small items, and spare masks in my pockets, but I don’t want to have big pockets full of crap where I can’t get to what I want. I want my lights in one spot, my Strobes in another, SMB’s in another, and reels & spools by themselves. Now, if I am carrying side slung cylinders, I want them clipped off separate from the rest of my stuff. I don’t want a D-ring with 6 clips on it, with a mixture of everything I own. If I am in a hurry, I can’t find anything that way. So, how do I find space for all that gear? Dive Rite makes a Tech Buttplate that I really, really like. It gives me two wide “Rings”, just below the D-Rings on the harness waist strap. On my crotch strap, I have added a Butterfly clip, just below the Tech Buttplate pad. That gives me 6 places to clip stuff off to, 3 on each side. For me, this works.
Shearwater Perdix AI (Air Integration)
I cannot say enough good stuff about the new Shearwater Perdix AI (Air Integrated) Dive Computer. Not only is this the best dive computer made today, but Shearwater is a company that is dedicated to diving, and the dive community. I have been diving Shearwater computers since they made their first model, the Pursuit.
When I teach technical dive classes, in the classroom we download our dives from my Perdix AI to the Shearwater Dive Log, and look at the particulars of dive. This makes the Perdix AI an incredibly valuable learning tool, not just in my classroom, but for any diver with a laptop or desktop computer. This is also why I strongly recommend that students use a Shearwater computer, at least for class.
The limiting factors we have to deal with while planning or executing any dive are the decompression, oxygen, and gas supply. With the Perdix AI, all of this data is available for post dive review, in detail.
As far as the Shearwater company itself, they are dedicated to helping divers better understand diving. On their website, they regularly post informative cutting edge articles written by knowledgeable experts. New articles are announced in the Newsletter, and I strongly recommend that you sign up, even if you are not diving a Shearwater. They also have YouTube videos, to help you get the most out of your dive computer.
These are a few of the Shearwater articles, and a video that I personally like.
Shearwater and the CNS Oxygen Clock
Oxygen Seizures at PO2 less than 1.6
Flexible Control of Decompression Stress
Eliminating the Helium Penalty
Video of Petrel 2 Compass Features
Dyneema Gloves
If the water is cold, then I will use neoprene, or dry gloves appropriate to the degree of coldness. Manual dexterity is important, and cold hands are not conducive to getting the job done.
However, I do a lot of warm water diving these days and I am a glove guy, regardless of how cold the water is, unless the wearing of gloves is prohibited by the Law. IMHO gloves are necessary protection for wreck divers and hunters, but some reef watchers do not use, or need gloves,
Regular old neoprene gloves, for warm water diving, do not protect me very well, they don’t hold up very well, and they are expensive. For me, that is not such a good combination? What usually happens to me, is that the neoprene wears through at the fingertips, and that means you have hand protection, except where you need it. Nice. For this reason, they do not last long, and they don’t offer much protection against cuts or punctures.
The latest thing in dive glove tech is gloves made from dyneema. Dyneema is a fabric similar to kevlar, but at least for diving, it is better. It is light weight, puncture resistant, and cut resistant. Dyneema has several uses for spearos, but dyneema gloves rock!! They work extremely well for wreck divers, for all the reasons they work for spearos. They protect your hands, but they are very tactile.
There are a bunch of manufacturers, like Hammerhead, Hatch, and Omer, that you can find at your dive shop, but there are also generic “cut resistant” gloves at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. I am not sure which brand is “best”, but trust me, dyneema gloves will protect your hands like nothing else out there, and they last!!
Olde Style Jon Line
When it comes to spending money on dive gear, I try not to look at prices, because it might keep me from buying something I really want. However, I don’t want to spend money on something that does not work as well, as something less expensive. I am all about function and utility.
This is the case with Jon Lines. There are expensive Jon Lines out there, they are always made of synthetic straps and metal hardware. I do not like that stuff! I have a 50 foot coil of 1/4″ sisal line from Home Depot in my garage, and I cut off a 6′-8′ piece, and I splice an eye in each end. When I coil it around my hand, and put a double end clip on it, I can stow it anywhere.
Anchor lines are synthetic fiber, like Dacon or Nylon, and they are slippery when wet. If I use a strap made of Nylon or Dacron, and attach it to an anchor line made of similar stuff, it wants to slip. Sisal is a natural fiber, it grips the anchor line well, it is easy to carry, it is biodegradable, and it is cheap. It is also the way Jon Hulburt first envisioned it!! If I lose it, loan it out, or I gift it to someone, it is no big deal.
If you want to make your own eye splices, below are some links. If you still need help, come find me and I will help you. It is easy.
Dive Rite LX20 Dive Light
I remember a time when my old Darrell Allan light was the wreck diving standard. All it gave you was a faint intermittent yellow light, but you could also use it as a hammer, so it was perfect for wreck diving. It was a big can that used like 12 D Cell alkaline batteries, and sometimes the Radio Shack puny little bulb in the reflector would fall out of the socket deep in the wreck. It was nicknamed “The Prince of Darkness”. If you carried a Darrel Allen light, everyone knew you were a serious wreck diver. It was status. That was also probably the limiting factor on most wreck penetrations.
Modern lights are unbelievably awesome! LED’s give us lots of light in a small package, with rechargeable batteries, and lots of burn time. Everyone and their brother makes an LED light for diving.
I dive with one really good light, a Dive Rite LX20. It throws an amazing amount of light, it is relatively small, great switching, great burn time, and it is rugged. On the highest power setting, it is 20,000 lux!!!! It has a Goodman handle setup, that I don’t use, but some people like? If you want one really good light, this is a good one. This is my Primary light.
For my Secondary and Backup, I use 1000 lumen rechargeable lithium ion lights. There are a bunch of manufacturers, pick one or two. Big Blue is good. When I jump in the water, I essentially have a bouquet of very bright, small, reliable, inexpensive 1000 lights, and one really good 20,000 lux killer light!!!
Please rig your lights with clips, so you can clip them off quickly. Do not use metal split rings, and do not rely on a knot that has not been “glued” or otherwise secured.
I do not use canister lights, because I am a wreck diver. Mounting the can, all the O-rings, and the wire are just way too much, and unnecessary.
Dive Rite Slide Lock 2 Primary 200′ Reel
I liked the Dive Rite Side Lock Reel, and dived it for years and ditched all my other reels. It was my Go To reel. Now, they have the Dive Rite Side Lock 2 Reel, and it is the same reel, just better. It is very compact, and simple. It is smaller than most reels with the same amount of line, and very low profile, which makes it a pleasure to carry. The new clip on the handle is very cool, low profile, not some piece of crap. It uses a spring loaded lock on the reel that you can open and manually hold open, lock it open, or lock it closed. It is easy to work, and it beats the hell out of locking screws, IMHO, which just eat up too much of my time to operate.
The Slide Lock 2 for me is faster with greater reliability, regardless if I am blowing a bag, or running a line inside a wreck. If I am on a reel, time is really of the essence. It comes in two flavors, 200′ and 400′. For me, 200′ of line is fine for 99% of my dives.
Dive Rite is a first class manufacturer with a strong base of loyal fans.
I would also recommend a different Line Stop that works better for clipping in an SMB, or any clip actually.
Apeks Lifeline Spools
I use spools far more than I use reels just because I like their simplicity, especially on ascents with an SMG. For me, stainless spools are robust and slick, but they are too heavy and slippery when in the water, which makes them easy to drop? If you fumble and drop them, they are headed to the bottom. Plastic spools are almost neutrally buoyant, which is cool, but they break too easily. This means I lose them, or they are just another piece of broken crap in my garage. I found one on the bottom just yesterday.
The Apeks Lifeline Spools are the Mercedes Benz of spools!! They are lighter than the stainless spools, but heavier than the plastic ones, if you drop it, it is going to the bottom, but slower than stainless so you have a chance to catch it. They have little grooves on the edges, like milled coins, which makes them feel good in a gloved hand, and easy to control. The finger hole is big, and smooth, and the spool does not come with so much line on it that you can’t clip into the reel. It is easy to clip to this reel. I also love the line that comes with them, which is a strong, lightweight line that feels very slick. The line is unique to Apeks. I have the 150′, and 100′ versions. They are color coded, with green being 100′, and blue 150′.
On the down side, these things are expensive, like the price of a reel! I focus on how sexy they are and try not to dwell on the price, but you can easily find Cheap(er) Knock Offs that are the same basic design and aluminum, but may not have the same metal finish or line. In addition, I don’t care for the end of the line, which has some kind of sewn connection? On my reals, I cut the sewn connection, slip on a 3/4″ solid ring, and close it with an Overhand Knot with a Loop, leaving a loop big enough to pass the spool through.
Tektite Strobes
I love to use strobe lights on wrecks!!! They are a fantastic navigation tool, and the brighter they are the better they do what it is I want them to do. I use them to mark the anchor line or stage bottles, as well as for navigation inside or outside the wreck. I regularly use more than one at a time. Deep inside a dark wreck, nothing gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling on the way out, like seeing the strobe in the distance.
Doc Edgerton invented the strobe light in 1931, but the strobe lights themselves for use underwater have been kind of disappointing until recent history. If you watch my Andrea Doria video from 1991, you will notice that the strobe light I drop at the beginning of the dive to mark my entrance/exit from the stairwell, is not working by the time I am ready to leave. At the other end of the stairwell, I use a flashlight instead of a strobe, simply because I did not own another strobe that was working that day. Reliability is important if you are using it for navigation, and reliability used to be a tall order.
The latest strobe lights from Tektite are the best I have ever used. They are rugged, bright, and reliable. They have a few models that work for me. The Strobe 200 uses 2 C-cell alkaline batteries. The multi function Strobe 3500., runs on 3 C-cell alkaline batteries. My favorite is the Tekna Lite 6 Strobe, which runs on 2- CR123A Lithium batteries. I think so much of the Tekna Lite 6, and I think that strobes are so important for wreck divers, that I give one to each of my Advanced Wreck, and Combo Advanced Wreck/Deco students.
Dive Rite Rec XT 45# Wing
I will try to not make this sound like a rant.
The problem with Wing BCD’s is that most of them are just poorly designed. The Old Horseshoe design is terrible, because gas can only move around when you are in a head up position, and big slugs of gas moving around mess with your trim. With the doughnut design, the wing gas moves around better, and the wing can be designed a little narrower for the same amount of lift, and narrow is good. A big, wide Taco Wing, with two big pontoons of gas inflated Wing wrapped around both sides of your double cylinders, makes navigating restrictions difficult, adversely impacts your hydrodynamics, causes you to expend more energy, and use more gas than necessary. All this increases your exposure to DCS, oxygen toxicity, and CO2 narcosis, among other bad things. The more the lift, the wider the wing, for any given design.
IMHO, I do not need 60# of lift, and I do not need the big, wide 60# Taco associated with the big, wide 60# wing!! If I were properly weighted for the dive (as I should be), and diving my big twin Blue Steel 120’s, with two AL80’s for deco gas, that is a lot of gas by any standard you may apply. If I was to breath all of that gas on the dive, my weight differential would only be (400 cf of Air/Nitrox x 0.08 lbs/cf of gas = 32 lbs) 32 lbs. That is a pretty big dive from a gas usage standpoint, and it would be significantly less than 32# if we were to use Trimix, which is of course lighter than air. So, with some extra lift for poor initial weighting contingency, I like something like 45# of lift, as a max, for the kind of open circuit diving I do.
When it comes to deeper diving, I don’t need more lift, but I might need a Dual Bladder? A Dual Bladder Wing is not simply a good idea, it is essential for deep deco dives. Simply put, on deep dives we do not have the time to screw around with alternate ascent plans involving Lift Bags and SMB’s, in the event of a torn corrugated hose or broken elbow, nut, whatever. So, a Dual Bladder Wing is good, but most Dual Bladder Wings are huge, and wide, and heavy, and 60#!!!! A corrugated hose over each shoulder is only like the cherry on top of the Crap Sundae.
So, for deeper diving I want to start out being weighted properly, and I want a Dual Bladder Wing that is no more than 45# of lift, but with as small a profile as possible, and because I am a wreck diver, I also need it to be rugged. The Dive Rite Rec XT, which offers the Dual Bladder option, works very well for me. It is a rugged, Dual Bladder Wing with 45# of lift, with a side mount Secondary Bladder corrugated hose that I hardly even notice is there.
When I come out of a wreck, the sides of my Wing are always dirty, simply because I make a lot of wreck contact. The cover on the Rec XT is uber tough!! But the Rec XT also has adjustable bungees to keep the sides trimmed up, close to my sides, however I want them, which allows me to keep my profile narrow. But the bungees are on my side of the Wing, not the edges of the Wing, where they would get all scuffed up.
The bottom line is that the Dive Rite Rec XT 45# Wing is a rugged, low profile, adjustable, Dual Bladder Wing that is intelligently designed, and built to last. Dive Rite is solid company, with great customer service, and a loyal following. Aside from all that, the Rec XT is reasonably priced.