Scuba Gear Reviews by Scott Michael

Hey, I needed a tag and these are tough and cheap

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6 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

I bought this light for a black water dive on the Cooper River in SC looking for fossils. I was amazed how much this light helped examine the river bottom. When I laid my primary light down on the river bottom to adjust some equipment, I could still easily see what I was doing. I dont think of this as a backup light, but rather as an extra light Another even more useful point about this light is how easy it makes checking checking my computer. On my previous dives in the Cooper river (viz 2-4 feet max) I had to use the edge of my primary lights beam to check it. With the K2, I just had to glance at my wrist as I normally would. Since every ascent was an ascent without visual reference, I could let my big light remain hooked to my BCD and have my left hand on the inflator and my right hand free. If you buy generic batteries in bulk you can get them for about $1.70 apiece. A set of batteries will last a least 2 hours and probably 2.5 hours. Two caveats - 1) Dont try to use rechargeable CR123A lithium batteries. They only last 30 min in a flashlight 2) If you are wearing the light on your head, be sure and hold onto the light when you enter the water. If you dont it may come off when you giant stride in. I make sure the strap is nice and tight and pull it over on top of my mask strap.

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21 out of 40 people found this review helpful.

I never dive in open ocean without a dive alert. I needed another one so I bought it. Just make sure not to test it without covering the horn with your hand unless you want to hack off everyone in the dive boat. The output is LOUD and can damage your hearing. If you have to use it in the water I would suggest covering the ear nearest to it.

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27 out of 59 people found this review helpful.

Its a BCD hanger, It works. What else can i say.

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21 out of 42 people found this review helpful.

I needed a simple backup gauge for my Tech class to supplement my wireless computer. Also good to use as a SPG in the pool to keep my computer from getting banged up.

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19 out of 40 people found this review helpful.

I got this idea from a friend of mine whom had a Sherwood Maximus Regulator. It has a 120 angle that allowed him to loop the LP hose from his 2nd stage to his 1st stage under his right arm. I hooked up the Omniswivel in a similar fashion to my S600 The Omniswivel is even better than a fixed bend like my friends Maximus, as the hose is free too move in any direction, thus decreasing strain on my jaw. Since the hose runs under my right arm, it is harder for my hose to snag. Since I have an alternate Inflator/Regulator instead of a separate Octo, the swivel lets me spin my primary regulator around so that the recipient can use it w/o kinking or putting a bend in the regulator hose. One important caveat, you need to use a 40" hose as your standard regulator hose will be too short.

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29 out of 55 people found this review helpful.

Bought it to store my tank pressure checker in

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57 out of 111 people found this review helpful.

At least with my gauge, it agrees with both of my dive computers as to tank pressure. The other advantage is that its a DIN pressure checker with a DIN to Yoke adapter thrown in. Handy if you ever need to convert a DIN reg to a yoke. Ive taken several tanks back to ask for a full 3000 psi. On the dive boat, you can make sure youre not the one with the 2400 psi tank prior to hooking everything up. I bought an padded AERIS instrument sleeve to keep it in My only complaint is that you have to be careful to shut the valve of prior to turning the tank valve on. I used the paint pen that I mark my SCUBA equipment with to mark highly visible "O" and "C" so I remember which way to twist the ring to close it off. I always leave the ring in a neutral position between uses.

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52 out of 106 people found this review helpful.

If you have a large diameter tank and you want a sticker that will go around it with a bit of overlap, this is your sticker. If your have a standard 80 cf tank you can use this sticker as well, so why not buy this sticker as well. A quick tip to get your tank sticker centered. Spray "Windex" on the adhesive and over the area of the tank that you want to put the sticker on. The sticker will slip and slide. After you squeeze out all of the air bubbles and get it where you want...LEAVE IT ALONE TO DRY COMPLETELY. The result will be a perfectly positioned sticker with no hassle.

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32 out of 66 people found this review helpful.

The charger is easy to pack, easy to use, will charge both AA and AAA batteries and best of all comes with its own 120/240v converter with a multitude of adapter plugs. The prongs on the back fold flush for easy storage and you can leave your batteries in the charger until the last moment in a "trickle" charge mode. The only downside to the Sealife charger are the 4 batteries that come with it. The first two sets had at least one DOA battery. Sealife made good but needless to say, I went to my local "big-box" discount store and bought 4 extra NiMH batteries for my 2nd set.

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26 out of 53 people found this review helpful.

My only complaint is that I wish it had the option of changing the pistol grip to a top grip handle as the divers needs change. Other than that its a great light that is actually brighter underwater when it has water cooling.

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35 out of 70 people found this review helpful.

The 13oz weight is perfect IMHO if your DC800 has one or two external flashes. It offsets the extra buoyancy very nicely. The problem is that the knob that comes with your camera isnt long enough to hold the weight on. In the same greedy fashion that most dive computers make you shell out an extra $60 for a proprietary data cable, SeaLife makes you buy this Extra Long Attachment Knob instead of including it with the purchase of the 13oz weight.

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35 out of 71 people found this review helpful.

I love my DC800, but with an external flash attached, the extra airspace in the flash-head makes it wants to float to the surface. Besides being annoying when you are trying to stay neutral to take a picture, its one more irritation at the end of a dive when your tank is empty and youre trying to hold at 15" for your safety stop. One caveat, you must buy the optional Extra Long Attachment Knob, as the regular knob isnt long enough to attach the weight to the camera.

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40 out of 76 people found this review helpful.

I stepped up from an 80 cf aluminum tank. Not only do I have a lot more air, but I find that Im not having the excess buoyancy problems at the end of the dive. You will have to reposition where the tank hangs on your BCD and shed a considerable amount of lead.

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41 out of 78 people found this review helpful.

This is so much easier than hauling it by the tank valve. I just wish it had Velcro fasteners rater than the double rings. The handle is very well designed.

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39 out of 80 people found this review helpful.

I usually love Pinnacle exposure equipment but this item was the exception. The Velcro closure was not as comfortable as the Henderson that I ended up buying.

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52 out of 108 people found this review helpful.

I have an Akona attached to my BCD and this strapped to my calf. Several others in my club are planning to by them. The straight edge on mine came fairly dull so I took it to my local knifesmith who put a working edge on it (not razor-sharp) so that it now cuts much easier. The scissors function is extremely useful and the locking sheath is very secure.

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57 out of 110 people found this review helpful.

Only wish it came in a bigger bottle for use at home. This one stays in my save a dive kit. Great for straps, hoses, lubricating fin pockets for easier doffing and donning, mask skirts, etc. One use that I try to remember to do at least one every 10 dives or so is to lube the 3 air dump valves on my BCD to keep them from sticking or leaking.

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47 out of 92 people found this review helpful.

i gave it a neutral rating because the idea is great but sealife didnt bother to the diffuser to fit their sl961 digital flash. this sl968 diffuser is only compatible with sealife flash models sl960 and sl960d, not with the sl961 digital pro flash. seems to me they should have a redesigned diffuser by now. in all fairness to scuba.com they do have a note that it is for the 960 series only but i guess i missed it.

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40 out of 82 people found this review helpful.

More comfortable than a hood and just right for diving in water thats a bit too cool for a bare head. I tried and returned my pinnacle beanie as this one feels a lot more comfortable to me. Just the thing for diving in a spring at any time of year as even in summer 68 is a little cool but you can doff and don it easily at the waters edge.

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31 out of 61 people found this review helpful.

I always keep an extra supply of this with me. Despite the "use by" date, if you keep them in a small ziplock freezer bag as well as their original small ziplock bag and only open them in cool dry environments, they seem to last forever. I stick one inside my strobe housing as well as the DC800 underwater camera shell.

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50 out of 92 people found this review helpful.

My son got an Aeris BCD and needed a small retractor. Ive always used Akonas on my Sherwood BCDs. I found that the Aeris brand worked better on his Aeris BCD and returned this one for an Aeris retractor. This is no fault of the retractor and I have always had excellent service with my Akona retractors.

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66 out of 132 people found this review helpful.

I like the clip on the Akona retractor better but I have no real problems with it. I bought it for my sons Aeris BCD as it fits better than the Akona did.

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40 out of 85 people found this review helpful.

Our group dives a lot of NITROX and half of us have ScubaPro Air2 alternate air regulator on our power inflators. Its much easier, to say nothing of less wasteful of air to connect the analyzer to a BC restrictor hose but the standard hose only fits a type I connector. This adapter allows those of us with Type III connectors to convert our female Type IIIs to Type Is thus allowing use to use the BC restrictor hose.

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41 out of 80 people found this review helpful.

I had one of these for my old inflator. When I switched to a ScubaPro Air2, I decided to upgrade to a Dive Alert Plus with a Type III connector. You can read my negative review of that device elsewhere. I returned it and purchased a standard Dive Alert with a type III connector. Just remember to always rinse it out after using it in salt water and when you blow the water out of it after rinsing, PLEASE for the sake of your ears and those around you, keep your palm over the bell of the horn. I accidentally hit it before a dive in St. Lucia last month and my ears are still ringing.

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58 out of 112 people found this review helpful.

ill preface this by saying that the split fin technology used in these fins is licensed by natures wing to apollo, scubapro, atomic, tusa, oceanic, dacor, sherwood, beuchat and genesis. any of these manufacturers that claims to have a "secret" design that the other dont, is referring only to details such as materials, fins strap design, batten and rib design. the basic principles and operation of these fins is identical for all of them. potentially each of these fins will work about the same for you. the key is to determine which manufacturers products fits your foot and swimming style the best. my reasons for picking apollo fins was simple: - they are 100% rubber and as such weigh about twice as much as most fins. they keep my legs down and help stop my tendency toward bicycling when im tired. i also was able to shed a few pounds from my bc and id rather have the weight on my feet than my waist while standing on a dive boat. - being rubber they are very comfortable and feel like bedroom slippers. - apollo gives you a choice of stiffness (see their website for recommendations on ion). stiffer is not always the best choice. i chose an intermediate stiffness. - price: the price for apollos has tumbled about $45 recently to ~$155 atomics are considerably more expensive. - im not convinced that for the average diver, a small change in rib or batten design means that much...sort of along the line of the average golfer paying $350 or $1200 for a putter. it might might a difference for tiger woods but not for me. - the option for factory installed spring straps. ive always installed these as an after market item on my fins. the factory installed apollo straps are literally bonded into the fin. if you go for a regular adjustable fin strap the atomic strap is about the best ive ever seen, but once youve tried spring straps youll never go back. next, you must change your kick style to use any split fin effectively. you need a high frequency, low amplitude kick that stays within the slipstream of your body and tank. at first the decreased effort will make you feel as if your not going to be going very fast but youll soon realize that increased effort with your old slab fins doesnt always mean more speed. the first time i used them i was able for the first to keep up with my old instructor and his scubapro splits w/o any problem for the first time. for short all-out sprints, you feel as if youre flying over the reef. i also found that my air consumption and fatigue decreased, while my speed and comfort increased with split fins. remember, dont get pre-sold on any one brand before trying them on. i love my apollos and wouldnt give you 2 cents for my dive buddys atomics, but she feels the same way about her atomics and my apollos. finally, by their very nature split fins are a bit less maneuverable than slab sided fins. however the different kick style means that you disturb the bottom a lot less so i personally fell that its an excellent trade off.

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67 out of 133 people found this review helpful.

The strobe itself is bright and the twist on switch with its double O-rings is great. The battery life is superb. I keep mine in the pocket of my BCD for emergencies but it would also work perfectly for a line or shore marker for a night dive. It misses 5 stars for 2 reasons. - 10 years ago I had a a teklite strobe for jogging and it had a spring loaded clip on the Velcro band that would expand as much as a cm as you moved. I wish they had retained that. - All of the 90 plastic edges are sharp. I used a dremel tool to smooth them over. Sandpaper or a small file would also work, but a better solution would be to change the mold and eliminate them.

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47 out of 93 people found this review helpful.

My old dye packet from my military days finally dry rotted and this is a decent replacement. Its in a handy plastic tube that fits in my BC pocket.

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49 out of 95 people found this review helpful.

I like all of the McNett products. I tried this spray and I think that Spit spay works a little better but the difference is pretty insignificant. My personal opinion is that no anti-fog really works for more than one dive and if it works well for that one dive its OK in my book.

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37 out of 83 people found this review helpful.

You can tie knots and push buttons with these or their 5mm brothers. There is almost no water transfer and the grip is great. The only warning is that these are light to medium duty gloves and if you use them for heavy work you WILL have to replace them frequently. As long as you are the average recreational diver these gloves are really nice

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66 out of 133 people found this review helpful.

When you put your camera inside the housing stick a moisture muncher inside as well. As long as it is blue to start with and you load the camera and the moisture muncher into the underwater shell in a cool dry place, your camera will remain fog free. Just be sure to store the extra ones in a ziplock bag that you have sucked the air out of and then store that bag in a cool dry place or the other ones will go bad (pink) on you.

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64 out of 126 people found this review helpful.

Its strong with straps that support the bottom of the bag and not just the sides. There are large brass grommets to drain water from the bag. Its large enough to carry weight for a number of people. When our dive club goes out for Open Water training, two bags are enough for 6 divers in fresh water. Tyhe handles are comfortable even when the bag is heavy. A couple of our instructors have used their bags for years and except for a little fading due to sun exposure, the bags are no worse for wear.

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73 out of 148 people found this review helpful.

I switched to an alternate air inflator regulator and had to get a new "noisemaker" as my old one, an AquaTech "quacker", would not fit on the new high flow coupling. I decided after reading the glowing reviews on this site, to get the Dive Alert Plus so as to have both surface and underwater capability. The surface horn is great. I cannot immagine any boat crew not hearing that blast. The underwater signal is another story. The underwater horn in my opinion produces a only a stream of bubbles. The volume of the sound is pathetic compared to my old "quacker". My quacker was much more sturdily built and emits no visible bubble stream. In addition, the size of the Dive Alert Plus makes it difficult to use my alternate air inflator regulator. The constuction also seems a bit flimsey and I worry that it would eventually snap off with causual use. I plan to get a tank pinger and an original Dive Alert. I feel that emergency surface signaling is probably more important than underwater signaling. While I respect the opinions of the positive rerviewers, I certainly cannot agree with them. I can only suspect that they have never used an underwater signal device like AquaTechs "quacker."

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91 out of 182 people found this review helpful.

Fin pockets, Large outside pockets, easy to move. Not exactly sure why they put a water bottle on the outside of the bag as I think Id rather have a bigger zippered pocket, but that just nit-picking. Room for my gear and my wifes wetsuit and snorkeling equipment. The fact that you can completely tuck the backpack straps away to prevent the baggage handlers from ripping them off is great. The bag is BIG and it is easy to go over the airlines weight limit if youre not a careful packer especially with cold weather gear. That not a fault of the the bag but of the the airlines. Still you need to be aware of the fact that you you may be hit with extra fees these days, especially with a big bag like this.

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113 out of 224 people found this review helpful.

I love Seacures. When I got my new ScubaPro, I was upset that I couldnt get my old Seacure to fit. Well the stiffness of the material necessitates the 3 different sizes. My Sherwood took a II and my ScubaPro needs a I. Oh well, If I switch back and forth, I wont need to change the mouth piece. Just be sure and READ the directions when you custom fit it. Biting too hard is about the only incurable sin.

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60 out of 122 people found this review helpful.

I bought this for my spare regulator. I have the square style soft Akona bag as well and i actually lie it better as its document pouch is interior but that may be just because I got used to the square one . Nothing wrong with it, Its a good bag and the zippers are of high quality.

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79 out of 164 people found this review helpful.

This is a nice hood. It is almost a warm as a 7mm due to the Merino lining. It fits well and keeps water exchange at the neck seal to a minimum. Like any premium hood its vented

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62 out of 115 people found this review helpful.

If you need a basic depth and pressure console for a reasonable price this is it. The max depth indicator is the only frill but in my opinion very handy for a new diver w/o a computer to help him/her to fill in there log.

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93 out of 183 people found this review helpful.

I sent this back and bought a ScubaPro Octo-Holder

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70 out of 144 people found this review helpful.

I got it as a companion for my XS Scuba roller duffel. For the price the bag is a little to plain for my tastes.

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64 out of 125 people found this review helpful.

It keeps the bag clean but it makes it harder to pick out at baggage claim.

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54 out of 118 people found this review helpful.

This is my 4th bag. (one for each mask It does everything that you want a soft bag to do. - It keeps your mask clean and safe at home in storage and in your travel bag/carry-on - It has room for a bottle of de-fog and your snorkel. - Its sturdy yet inexpensive. - It drains water well. Whats not to like

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72 out of 141 people found this review helpful.

Nifty little LED light for only a few bucks. I replaced the halogen Akona that came with my Akona BC Accessories kit. It fits on the right shoulder retractor of my Sherwood BC. I did have to lubricate the O-Ring with a bit of silicone lubricant as the bezel was a bit stiff at first. All in all, an excellent light for daytime use or backup for night diving.

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60 out of 119 people found this review helpful.

I bought this bag based on the glowing recommendations on this web site and my previous experience with XS Scuba products. While there really isnt anything wrong with the bag, there are a number of things that would have lead me to purchase another bag instead of this one. 1. The zippers are not very flexible and take a lot of effort to manipulate even after using zipper lubricant. 2. The back plate and the extension handle rails are visible thru the open duffel. The back plate is a little flimsy and its exposed to water from damp gear. 3. I had a hard time fitting in a 5mm wetsuit, BCD, mask, fins, etc for a temperate water dive. Outside fin pockets would have been nice. 4. I do like the wheels as they travel well even over slightly rough surfaces. The bag is OK and I dont want to convey any shoddy workmanship, but I did expect better from XS Scuba. Ill probably order a larger Akona bag before I travel by air. While the

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86 out of 172 people found this review helpful.

Works well and fastens to my BC inflator hose with a nylon tie. No complaints

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66 out of 129 people found this review helpful.

I wish it were a little stiffer and had a pocket to stick a flashlight in to make it glow at night. A light reflecting strip would also be a nice touch. Still pretty good quality for the price.

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83 out of 176 people found this review helpful.

Better than most. Not as good as my custom molded SeaCure but more comfortable than your usual generic $3 special.

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55 out of 106 people found this review helpful.

This skin replaced an Akona skin. That skin was OK, but the Henderson skin is much slicker and helps me wiggle into the wetsuit. The front zipper is also much more convenient than the Akonas leashed back zipper. On a warm day with the wetsuit top pulled back, the wet Henderson skin allows you to cool off in even a slight breeze while keeping the sun off your skin.

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81 out of 168 people found this review helpful.

Its a tag. It was cheap and I needed one. It looks to be very rugged

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66 out of 131 people found this review helpful.

This is a custom mouth piece. Ive never used one that gave me less jaw fatigue. I feels like it was made for you because...it was. I wont go into it any more because what else can I say. The biggest piece of advice is to READ THE DIRECTIONS about customizing the mouth piece several times prior to actually doing it for the first time. I bit down too hard and needless to say I had to buy a 2nd Seacure. Any other mistake and you can reheat it and re-mold it but not that one.

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62 out of 127 people found this review helpful.

The real reason I use a skin is to help me slip into a wetsuit and to provide sunburn protection between dives. I used an Akona skin which was fine for sunscreen protection but it zips in back which means you need help to don and doff it. The nylon/lycra composition of the Henderson skin is much slicker than the Akona making it easier to wiggle into a wet or dry wetsuit. With the front zipper, you can peel the top of your wetsuit down and unzip the front of the skin. The wet skin retains water and cools you off better than bare skin if there is even a slight breeze. The only difference I can see between this skin and Hendersons more expensive skin is the decoration on the trim, but I may be mistaken. Any way I am sold on this skin which was cheaper than the Akona to boot.

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80 out of 166 people found this review helpful.

I got this free when I bought my XS Scuba mask bag. It works as well as any quality mask anti-fogger. Because its a gel and in a squeeze bottle I can keep it in my BC pocket for touch-ups if needed. Ive yet to find a McNett product that I didnt like.

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118 out of 237 people found this review helpful.

I got this free as a package. It works better than toothpaste and as well as any other quality mask scrub Ive ever used. Works well for cleaning slates which is what most people will use it for I suppose. I mean how many times do you need to scrub out your mask??

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58 out of 116 people found this review helpful.

This thing folds up into a small space yet its stury and has really wide support for your wetsuit

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105 out of 207 people found this review helpful.

Sturdy, and lets you drip dry your fins, mask, snorkel, gloves and boots. I usually hang my hood on the mask hook if I wear one as the mask drys OK by itself. If you remove the mask/snorkel crosspiece you can stick the X5 in your duffel as its pretty tough.

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105 out of 214 people found this review helpful.

I has a set of Akonas that were OK, but decided to try the Pinnacle 5mm Merino lined boots. They are much warmer than the unlined Akona boots. They fit my wide feet very well and I really like the fin retention lug on the heel. The wool lining also seems to stink a little less when wet then my unlined boots. The uppers are reinforced with only a little exposed neoprene so they seem to hold up better to abuse. They run a bit small. I usually wear a Mens 9 and I had to return the 9s for a 10.

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91 out of 179 people found this review helpful.

This Zipper Lubricant works great. Its hard to get excited about zipper lube, but I use this on my wer suit zippers and it works like a charm. As with all zipper lubricants a little bit goes a long way.

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62 out of 129 people found this review helpful.