Gear Check

Gear Check
Every month, Sterner Editorial Services looks over the
newest tools and toys for sport divers with an eye for
who could use them the most. Many have been field
tested. Quality claims of those that have not will be
attributed to the manufacturer. Go to the Gear Locker
to read about products by category.

MANUFACTURERS
Have your new products considered for a review on this
page, which is also published in Northeast Dive News
and Northwest Dive News magazines as well as other
venues. Click Contact Bob and send it to the mailing
address. Press releases are welcome by e-mail, but the
most honest way to evaluate dive gear is to get it wet. In
addition to print media, these items are posted at
DiversOnly.Com and at X-ray mag.

READERS
Tell us about the toys you would like reviewed or your
experiences with gear: e-mail i n fo@sternereditorial.com

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GEAR LOCKER

House a new Rebel
Divers who have purchased Canon’s new EOS Rebel T2i can
take their digital single lens reflex diving in Nauticam’s NA-
550D housing. The 18-megapixel DSLR is known as the EOS-
550D in markets outside of North America. The anodized
aluminum housing builds on features popular with earlier ones,
such as a port-locking system and ergonomic rubberized
handles that put controls for adjusting all camera features at
the user’s fingertips. Handles can be adjusted to fit different
hand sizes and to accommodate for heavy gloves used in
coldwater diving. New features include locking housing
latches, a lens release lever and a handy fingertip paddle to
adjust the ISO sensitivity and f-stop. The lens release lever
allows lenses to be changed through the port between dives
without opening the back of the housing. A two-stage shutter-
release button takes advantage of the features activated by
Rebel’s two-stage button. The housing is compatible with
Nauticam’s earlier housings, so it can accept ports, port
adapters, lens gears and viewfinders. Adapters are available for
ports made by most popular gear makers. Viewing windows
are scratch-resistant acrylic. Through-the-lens automatic
exposure control with TTL-compatible flashes can be
hardwired with optional optical flash connectors. The housing
is depth rated to 100 meters. www.nauticamusa.com.

Viking's new orange is black
Divers can get the protection of a Viking drysuit without the
Hazmat orange color in the company's new ProVSN suit.
Available in front- and back-entry models, the ProVSN has
Viking's vulcanized rubber core that is coated on both sides
with black Armatex Nylon. While the coatings are intended to
improve durability and comfort, they are more difficult to
decontaminate than rubber so the company does not
recommend this suit as protection from hazardous materials.
Viking seals the seams with glue and tape before the suits are
vulcanized to ensure that seams are thoroughly sealed. Black
rubber reinforcements cover the knees for added durability.
Rubber-coated neoprene boots attached to the legs have
fin-strap retainers to keep fins from coming off during dives.
Internal suspenders help with crotch adjustment. The shoulder
inflation valve and chest deflation valve swivel to the best
positions for the diver's kit. Beyond front- and back-entry
options divers have several ways to customize the suits. A
latex or neoprene hood can be permanently affixed to the suit.
Either latex or neoprene neck and wrist seals are available.
Wrists also can be fitted with permanent or changeable cuff
rings for use with dry gloves. Cargo pockets can be added as
well. Suits come with an inflator hose, repair kit, suspenders,
zipper care tools and a user's manual. www.vikingdiving.com.

Tusa takes Zen to higher level
Tusa has upgraded its popular IQ-900 with its new IQ-950
Zen computer. The new wrist-mounted unit features hoseless
air integration with the ability to program and monitor up to
three gas mixes from 21 to 100 percent oxygen. Critical dive
data displayed in large numbers on the backlit display include
tank pressure(s), air-time, no-decompression time remaining,
current and maximum depth, and safety and deep stop times.
The IQ-950 is based on the Buhlmann ZHL-16c algorithm and
users can adjust the unit for personal preferences such as
conservative factors, audible or flashing alarms and deep
stops. It automatically senses and takes into account altitudes
from sea level to 14,000 feet. After dives the computer
displays a no-fly icon and projects the discharge of residual
nitrogen. One touch provides access to up to 9,999 logged
dives. Dive data can be downloaded to a personal computer
and settings can be uploaded to the IQ-950 using the Tusa
Datalog Interface. Batteries are user replaceable in the rugged
case, which is available in brushed stainless or black chrome /
polished models. Units are shipped with one transmitter with
optional transmitters available at Tusa shops. www.tusa.com.

Try a little illumination
Videographers and still photographers who prefer steady
lighting to strobes may want to check out Light and Motion's
new Sola 600. At 2.25 inches in diameter and 4 inches long,
the Sola is one of the most compact lights on the market. Yet
its array of light emitting diodes can kick out 600 lumens of
for up to 75 minutes on its high setting. Lower settings of 300
lumens and 150 lumens can stretch the burn time to 300
minutes. The light is disbursed evenly in a 75-degree angle
field. A magnetic bump switch changes the 6,000-kelvin light
from the LEDs to red for focusing on skittish critters or
close-up lighting that doesn't draw swarms of sea bugs on
night dives. The LEDs, with a projected 30,000-hour life, and
7.4-volt 16-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are
completely sealed, so the Sola never needs to be opened. A full
recharge takes two and a half hours and is accomplished by
plugging a charger cord into exposed gold-plated plugs in the
rear of the light. A charge status indicator helps divers monitor
battery life during multiple dives. www.lightandmotion.com.

Fin design's a new switcheroo
Ultimate Innovative Designs just unveiled an interesting option
for travel and shore divers in its new Switchblade fin. Blades
tuck in compactly under the foot pocket for travel or walking
on the beach. Drag your foot backward and the jointed
polycarbonate blades splay out in front of the foot pocket,
ready for kicking action. Interchangeable blades allow divers
to choose the flexibility for the diving conditions. Plus different
color combinations are available for the fin blades, allowing
divers to match the color to different sets of gear. When
collapsed, the fins are 17 inches long, 7.5 inches wide and 1.5
inches thick. Stacked in a gear bag they're only 3 inches thick.
Yet they open to 29 inches long, 10.5 inches wide and as thick
as your bootie expands the flexible rubber foot pocket. Quick
release fittings ease doffing the fins at the end of a dive.
Polycarbonate was chosen for its light weight and near
indestructibility, allowing Ultimate to extend a limited lifetime
warranty on the product. www.SwitchbladeFin.com.

Turbo charge your kick
ScubaMax has updated its fin design in the FN-320 Mach II
Turbo fin. The fin's main design nuance is a trap door near the
foot pocket that directs water along the top and bottom of the
end of the fin with each kick stroke. This design is said by the
manufacturer to more efficiently direct the water along the fin
to the tip of the blade instead of allowing it to roll off the sides
of the fin, where it simply creates turbulence and drag. The fin
is molded from neoprene rubber for flexibility, which can be
adjusted to personal preference in stiffness by snipping up to
three power tabs between the trap door and the fin blade. The
more tabs that are snipped, the more flexible with a caveat:
once snipped they cannot be restored to provide additional
stiffness. Fins are available in three sizes: small, for men's shoe
6 to 8 sizes; medium, 8 to 10 shoes; and large, 10 to 12 shoes.
Straps are attached with quick release connections to ease
removal to climb boat ladders or to walk through the surf zone
at the end of a dive. The fins are negatively buoyant and
available only in black. www.ScubaMax.us.

GEO updates into the future
Oceanic has redesigned its GEO dive computer with a 2.0
model that will allow users to keep updating the instrument as
algorithms are refined. With an optional cable, the PC interface
can download new software from the company as it is made
available. Users can choose between Pelagic DSAT or the
more conservative Pelagic Z+ algorithm, with an option to
switch on or off deep stop computations. Divers also can
switch between two different nitrox mixes – each up to 100
percent – during dives. Four modes allow operation as a
watch, normal operation with air / nitrox, gauge with a run
timer and free, which tracks calculations when switching
between normal and free. It can be programmed for deco and
non-deco diving and features audible or vibrating alarms. The
control interface allows users to step back to earlier screens
while programming the unit. Up to 24 dives are stored in the
GEO 2.0's memory and uploaded to a digital logbook using an
optional cable. Details of the most recent dive are available at
the touch of one button. Backlighting the display eases night
diving. Its commonly used battery is user changeable. The
GEO has a new look too, with a stainless steel accent ring.
www.OceanicWorldwide.com.

Eliminate bad air days
Chances are slim that a tank fill will contain carbon monoxide,
but CO is definitely a gas no diver wants to deal with at depth,
especially in the special mixes that enable deep diving. The
potentially lethal gas can get pumped into tanks filled with a
faulty air compressor or if the compressor is downwind from
a CO source and its CO filter has been overwhelmed. KWJ
Engineering has a handy portable sensor called the Pocket CO
Scuba 300 that's designed to allow divers to check tanks for
this deadly gas before they jump in the water. Put the
key-sized sensor in a leak-proof bag, and then fill it with air
from the tank. Within three minutes it will sense if CO is
present in concentrations as low as 2 parts per million. While
the Compressed Gas Association allows for CO concentrations
up to 10 ppm, the National Association of Underwater
Instructors recommends limiting CO to 2 ppm in nitrox
mixtures. The gauge is shipped with a leak-proof test bag,
laminated instruction card, a storage case and a cylinder of
calibration gas that is good for up to three tests in one year. A
dive master kit is available that holds all of these items in a
sturdy carrying case. www.kwjengineering.com.