I’ve logged about 40 dives on my O’Neill 7000x drysuit thus far, and its treated me well despite a few annoyances among the many reasons I think this is a terrific suit for the money. Lets start off with the vitals. The O’Neill 7000x drysuit is a 7mm neoprene suit with neoprene seals. The suit has been overhauled for 2005 and sports an impressive set of features for a very reasonable price. It also looks sporty, as most O’Neill products do. Read on for the in-depth review.
Continue Reading December 13th, 2005
I’ve been quiet lately and I have a little explaining to do. There are two real reasons I haven’t had time to write any posts lately. One, I’ve been diving a bunch of new gear and some friends and I have found a group of seals who apparently like to dive with us, using our torches for finding food. Two, the company I co-founded has just been released on a limited basis to the public. More on the seals later but for now I’m going to take a departure from diving and tell you a little about Newsvine.
Continue Reading December 6th, 2005
Atomic Aquatics has quickly become known for superbly crafted diving equipment. The Atomic SS1 is the Ferrari of combination Octopus/Power Inflators. Coming in Ruby Red and Stark Yellow, this baby delivers more air than most primary regulators. If you’re looking to eliminate another hose from your setup and have the cashflow to spring for the best in class, then look no further.
Continue Reading November 14th, 2005
My buddy Tom, who I met while diving the Philippines, recently emailed me and told me he moved from the beautiful island of Bohol to Donsol, in the Bicol region of the Philippines. Tom is a jovial German guy who I had the pleasure of having as my guide while diving off of Alona Beach, to the islands of Balicasag and Panglao. He describes Donsol as “one of the world’s foremost locations to view whale sharks“, and the fact that he’s a PADI IDC Staff Instructor, I tend to take his word for it. He sent me some great photos, that I’ve included along with his contact info. I really had a great time diving with him off of Alona Beach, so I know he’ll take good care of anyone I send his way.
Continue Reading November 3rd, 2005
Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time tracking down the best products at the best prices. I’ve done the whole internet thing, which was great at first. I saved a few bucks here, a few bucks here, and didn’t mind waiting a week for my stuff to get there. However, all it took was one bad buy on the net for me to erase all those savings. Also, over time I discovered that buying from a real dive shop has benefits beyond the dollars and cents, and that in many cases the shop could match or beat the e-tailer if I bought multiple items.
Continue Reading October 24th, 2005
The SeaQuest Balance has proven to be my most trusted BCD while traveling abroad. With its streamlined fit and durability, it shows hardly any signs of wear 100 dives and 10 countries later. With integrated weights, back buoyancy and pull dumps, this is a mean little package despite its small frame and good looks. ScubaLab has rated it the top performer among all travel BCDs and I have to agree from my experience. There is not an inch of material wasted on this quality product, and very few features that can be improved, which is why I’ve used it for longer than any other BCD.
Continue Reading October 20th, 2005
A handful of fat, seven foot white-tip sharks lay dormant at the foot of the rock pinnacle, digesting their last meal. An unfortunate adolescent hawksbill turtle was probably the latest fare for these menacing beasts. As I quietly approached the biggest one I thought of all the things I’d miss being able to do without my right arm, as I extended it out toward the shark’s nose and prepared to shoot it. The turned its gaze upon me, as if daring me to pull the trigger.
Continue Reading October 9th, 2005
The 7.1 megapixel Canon SD500 digital Elph is a great camera with quick and accurate image processing. Its loaded with features and takes vibrant sharp photos. The interface is easy enough to use and is an evolving model used by all previous Elph/Ixus cameras. The biggest complaint I have with the unit is that its very heavy, weighing in at 200g. This results in it being a pretty dense brick in your pocket and lessens the likelihood that I’ll bring it out to the bar with me to catch that killer shot of my buddy falling flat on his ass. As an underwater camera, I think this thing takes incredibly clear photos and has an terrific variable flash. There are several serious shortcomings though I must admit. One is battery life. The SD500 has good batter life, however….
Continue Reading October 9th, 2005
The Pentax Optio S5i comes on the heels of what has been one of my favorite lines of digital cameras for underwater photography. The S5i is the third Optio I’ve had in a row, and that’s saying a lot since I am a fair weather fan when it comes to digital technology. At an impressive 5 megapixels, the camera is still small enough to fit in a tin of altoids, is very light and all of its controls are amazingly intuitive and easy to use. Its only weakness is in low light situations when shooting a subject at distance, its internal flash has its limits. However, this minor shortcoming is more than made up for by the fact that the Pentax Optio S5i is superb at imaging small subjects using its macro setting at 6mm.
Continue Reading October 9th, 2005
A few of us did a dive off of Alki last night, we were looking for the same pipeline I did a couple of months ago, but instead we ended up on a smaller line that goes out from shore tangentially. It was an average-ish sort of dive on the way out, with a huge current at the end of the pipe, followed by some jewels in the rough on the way back in. We saw some skates, lots of crab, some shrimp and what I can only guess is called a mousefish. I’ve added a few new photos.
Continue Reading October 6th, 2005
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