If you don't have the luxury of a large gear bag when you travel, saving space might be important to you. In that case, you might want to consider a folding mask. Although they don't feature a hinge that really "folds" them in half, folding masks are masks that lay down flat for easy packing. Sherwood's Mako mask is an example of a folding mask.
The Mako features a subframe, which means that rather than attaching the mask strap to the flexible silicone skirt, the strap is attached to a small piece of rigid material (called a subframe) that's attached to ...
On a recent dive trip with my wife, she asked why most divers wear dark-colored BCs and wetsuits. It's the traditional color?, I answered lamely. The boat captain spoke up, claiming it was because there was limited light underwater, and so there was no need for colorful underwater gear. I think that answer is almost as lame. It turns out, TUSA also thinks blah-colored dive gear is lame.
Consequently, TUSA is planning to launch a new line of colorful dive gear for summer, including masks, fins, and snorkels in Pearlescent Pink, White, Black/Red, and a limited Lavender. Although the gear, itself, isn't presented ...
Brand new dive masks often have an oily film on the inside of the lens(es). Usually silicone-based, the oils are used during the manufacturing process as a mold release agent and to make the masks appear bright and shiny in the store. However, after the mask is molded (and sold), the oils attract dirt and lead to mask fog. And nobody likes mask fog. So what's the best way to prevent it? Well, here are two suggestions:
Wikihow has a nice tutorial describing mask prep. Basically, the process involves washing the mask thoroughly with soapy water, and then scrubbing ...
Despite your initial elbows-and-as*holes mask prep work, it still happens occasionally: your mask fogs. To remedy this, of course, you have several options:
You can spit in your mask. You can use commercially available anti-fog products. You can use Wide-i's magnetic fog wipers.Wide-i's wipers, sold in pairs, allow divers to slide a magnet along the outside of the lens, causing an inside magnet to move in unison to remove fog. Claiming chemical antifogs are not re-apply-able while diving (which is true), and arguing that rinsing a mask underwater ...
In light of our recent post concerning how to prepare a new dive mask, I was interested to discover this article in Scuba Diving, in which the testers pitted 8 commercial mask defogging products against each other:
Aquaseal Sea Gold Absolutely Clear 500 PSI 200 Ft. Viz Aquaseal Sea Drops Aquaseal Sea Ice Trident Instructor's Choice Aquaseal Sea Quick(Hey, where's the Wide-i magnetic fog wipers?)
In the end, they determined that Johnson's baby shampoo performed almost as ...
Halcyon Manufacturing has identified a very small number of Halcyon Explorer-40 BC's sold after July 2005 that could develop problems over time. In these few units it is possible that the over pressure valve (OPV) could ...
X-Ray Magazine has provided excellent scuba, photo, and marine news in their downloadable magazines since February of 2004. This weekend, they released their 10th issue. As usual, it’s completely free. Also as usual, it’s completely great: X-Ray is quickly proving itself to be among the best dive-related resources out ...
Do you scuba dive with a bunch of shady characters? Do you feel uncomfortable leaving cash or other important documents on the boat when you get wet? If so, maybe the Aqua Roo is for you. Fashioned from abrasion-resistant ripstop double-coated nylon, the Aqua Roo is a fully submersible waistbelt ...
Most wetsuits are made from a few large pieces of rubber that are cut to resemble the human form. They are then stretched to fit a "person" and stitched together. Wetsuits made in this fashion often lack durability: the seams are stressed from holding together the large pieces of material that are stretched over a person's body. However, if ...
Olympus released their 7.5 megapixel Live View digital E-330 SLR this year to much hoopla. The first SLR camera to offer the ability for users to see an image on the LCD before the shutter is depressed, the E-330 is, well, revolutionary. Recently, Jeff Mullins, owner of Tulamben's Reef Wreck ...