Our new shipment of dry suits are in with more improvements. Suits have the big pockets on both sides with a line leash inside for stowing gear. The new boots are an incredible fit, a combination of neoprene and rubber coated neoprene, they are warm and form fitting so you don’t need to go up a fin size for a good fit. The outer seam tape is gone and the cut of the suit has changed slightly for a better fit. I have put a number of dives on mine over the past few weeks and the changes are noticeable.

Lamar

After a weekend of diving caves with visibility on average of only 20 feet, we compared the HID 1000 and LED 700. To our surprise the LED 700 was more effective in the low visibility situations. Apparently the LED throws more light out close to the source. This is a great benefit in low visibility situations.  It was bright with no backscatter from the lower visibility conditions.

The HID 1000 is better in the clear waters where its focal length punches thru. We compared the two a few weekends before in some deep caves with large rooms.  I guess the best light is dependent on diving conditions.  I have both so I will pick and chose based on the dive plan.

Lamar

When traveling it is not always easy to get a set of doubles, especially in remote places or where the diving is largely recreational. So what are your options? You can sidemount, but sometimes it is not the right solution. When I travel I want the ability to rig a set of independent doubles. The Remora setup was designed for this: two of these in your luggage lets you quickly make a set of doubles. They have a mounting hole for the bolts to slide onto a backplate or TransPac. This is an inexpensive way to always have the option for diving doubles when needed. The most expensive part of the system is the four cam straps. If you have extra cam straps or can use cam straps from the dive shop on location, this is the economical solution. I take two Remoras and a bolt kit with me when I travel to Mexico so I can set up my own doubles. I then carry two aluminum 80s sidemount for the ease of carrying four cylinders on a long dive.

Lamar

People ask me which light to get: the HID 1000 or LED 700? The adjustable focus of the HID 1000 has always been popular wih cave divers. The HID adjustable focus lets the light punch through the water in dark caves so you can get a feel for how big a room is rather than feeling you are all alone.  The HID 1000 has more light output than any other light of its size and can double as a video light if you add a reflector.

The LED 700 is the answer to a robust, compact light that can handle being on a boat in rough seas or jostled around during travel. In my opinion, the Sun Spot MR11 was not robust enough for the wreck diver, so now we have a light that can handle being banged around. The LED 700 is the replacement for the previous 10W HID lights, with more light output and increased durability.

Of course, I have both lights. I use the HID 1000 for cave diving at home and the LED 700 for travel, which includes wreck diving as well as destination cave diving.

Lamar 

This light has been a major success for us and we have listened to customer feedback. We’re delayed in production right now in order to make some improvements you have asked for. The next shipment is scheduled for release in a few weeks.

Any alkaline battery will work. The driver will compensate for low grade batteries and operate without overheating (don’t use expensive long lasting batteries for high tech devices). Granted performance will not be as optimal as it would with the recommended Duracell batteries, but the light will perform.

Rechargeable batteries available at your local department store will also work. We are testing them with success, but performance is still questionable because these batteries don’t like to be deep discharged. I don’t recommend trying to run the light until it burns out with these because it could damage a battery cell. Moderate use of six hours on Energizer 245ma rechargeable batteries appear to function just fine.

Lamar

Which light should you buy: the LED 500 or the new LED 700? For any active tech diver, the answer is both. The difference is a lot more than 200 lumens.

The LED 500 needs 700 milliamps of current to operate. This is easy to maintain with good, quality alkaline batteries. The LED 500 gets a minimum of 12 hours of burn time; which is achieved with this style of light by utilizing a voltage driver. The result is 500 lumen output with fresh batteries. The reason the LED 500 can burn so long is because the driver tapers the power consumption, which in turn decreases the load on the batteries in order to maintain a usable light output for a long period of time. There is a decrease in light as the batteries are discharged, but it is slow and not significantly noticeable. This rate is so slow the eye doesn’t notice an appreciable change. Your eyes adjust to the surrounding light and it appears to stay the same intensity. There is a noticeable drop as the driver reduces the voltage requirement after the first 8 hours. This is why the LED 500 can burn for so long.

The LED 700 is a true replacement for the 10W HID primary light. The 10W HID has 450 lumens of light output, but the Kelvin temperature (6500K) makes it appear brighter than it really is. In order to achieve a brighter light with LED technology, we designed the LED 700 differently from the LED 500. First, in order to achieve 700 lumens of light output we are using 1000 milliamps of current. Since we want this to be a true primary light, we selected a driver that gives consistent light that does not taper. This gives the LED 700 the punch needed to surpass 10W HID lights.  The higher milliamp draw coupled with the driver renders the same burn time and color temperature as a 10W HID light.

Beyond lumens, there are also differences in design application. The LED 500 is the perfect light for travel or anywhere charging batteries is an issue. It’s also the perfect back up light for any tech diver. The LED 700 is truly the new age of primary lighting with longer bulb life and more robust design than HID lighting for technical diving environments.

Lamar

The single, biggest complaint about the Poseidon side exhaust regulators in the US market is the custom hose with the built-in over pressure mechanism to handle the second stage servo valve. Technical divers like to experiment with hose lengths to find the perfect hose orientation and this can change depending on backmount, sidemount or stage bottles. The specialized Poseidon hose made it difficult for experimentation, not to mention spare parts when traveling. At Dive Rite, we now have a standard hose on our new Jetstream “DR” that just launched in July.

Prior to the release of the Jetstream DR, the original Jetstream got a good review in Scuba Diving magazine.

Lamar

Our LED light has received a greater response than we ever expected. Our proprietary design has exceptional burn time and high color output. LED technology is a fast moving field with increasing efficiency and performance of the LED and drivers. Our vendor for the LED has implemented new QC/QA methodology to keep up with the changes resulting in a slowdown in deliveries until all the new procedures are in place. We have received a few LED modules but hope to be in full production by the end of June.

Lamar

For years the Rec wing has been our top selling wing. Divers enjoy the versatile design that allows them to dive both double and single tanks. Same with the Trek wing. Occasionally we hear from divers that the Rec and Trek wings “taco” or wrap around the tank when dived with a single tank.

To remedy this, we’ve created Wing Retainer Hook and Loops that affix to the wing and the harness waist belt. For the past 45 days, our Rec and Trek wings have been shipping with the necessary wing tabs and if you are interested, we can send you the rest of the hardware you’ll need to set up this system. Just send an email to us at support@diverite.com along with your full address. Shipping is free in the US. Standard shipping rates apply overseas.

A copy of Wing Retainer Hook and Loop instructions are located in our online library at http://www.diverite.com/products/library/productmanuals/

Kathleen

While test diving our new Classic 360 Wing the other night I experienced some roll and immediately thought I was having air shift in the bladder. Then I realized I needed to make some adjustments. The TransPac I was wearing was last worn with a single tank, plus I am used to diving the O2ptima or sidemount. I hadn’t had a set of heavy, steel doubles on my back for over a year. All I needed to do was tighten up my harness to support the gear I was now wearing.

As I thought about the roll issue I thought about what my ski instructor had told me over the holidays. You adjust the boots and bindings for the type of skiing you do; the more aggressive you ski the tighter the boots and bindings should be. Technical divers need to look at adjustments the same way. Variations in drysuit and wetsuit selection can change the way your harness fits, changing cylinder sizes like heavy steels at home to aluminum 80s in Mexico changes the way your wing handles the cylinder weight and your trim.

I see more and more divers these days wearing loose waist belts and shoulder straps on their harnesses. If you ever see experienced cave divers doing long swims they wear their harness with a tight fit at the beginning of the dive and sometimes will tighten it more as they get to depth. The diver is suspended by a harness with a wing sandwiched between him and the doubles. It’s like you are a sky diver; how many sky divers would jump from a plane with a loose harness? You want to make sure the harness is tight when diving doubles so any change in buoyancy or body movement happen together and not a cascade event, when you point your body down to swim under a ledge and the cylinders join you a second later. This may not seem like a big deal, but it can cause you to get out of trim quickly and the moments it takes to recover can mean loss of control. A skier needs to know that when he moves his feet inside the boots that the boots attached to the bindings and skis react immediately or he may fall or loss control.

I have watched divers very loosely fasten the waist belt on the harness. I even had one person tell me he didn’t like any pressure on his stomach. Control is having your equipment move when you do and not a few seconds later. Look at your adjustments and check them again underwater and make sure your equipment is secure. I am confident you will have a more enjoyable dive.

Lamar