Reviews
Aqualung Balance Comfort ladies One-piece
By Amilda Boshoff
I have been looking for a comfortable wetsuit for ages, and when I laid my eyes on the Aqualung Balance Comfort One- piece, I knew instantly that I had found what I had been looking for. At first (you know how us women can be when it comes to colour schemes), I wondered about the pink as the rest of my gear was blue, but then I noticed the blue writing on the suit and the whole thing fell into place! The one feature that I love
about this suit is that it has a short zip in front that prevents you from choking on the way to the dive site (I can’t stand anything tight around my neck and most semi dry suits seal right around your throat) and it helps when you need to concentrate on other things on the boat other than getting choked by your wetsuit! The new V-Lycra collar also has internal ‘glideskin’ to prevent water entry. The suit is made of ultra
soft 5,5mm neoprene that has flex panels at the arms and at the bust as well as a 3mm neoprene crotch comfort panel. The wrist and ankle zips with secondary ‘glideskin’ seals are very comfortable and keep warmth locked in. One thing that I like about the arm zips is that your dive computer fits snug, without having to worry that it will slip off your arm or having to extend your straps just to fit over your wetsuit. The back zip also has a G-lock closure system with a water flap that also prevents those cool trickles down your spine. The plush lining makes it warm, comfortable and easy to get into. The knee pads also protect your suit, for instance when you need to kneel for training in the swimming pool. The seams are glued and the stitching is of good quality. Having dived with the suit,
one might think that you have to load the kilos again but I was
82 September/October 2011
very surprised that I didn’t need to add anything, as you would with any other new suit. Miracle Waters in spring is any thing from 15˚C at the surface, not to mention the ice cream headache at 30m, yet I wasn’t cold at all – I was comfortable with perfect buoyancy! For those in the Cape, there is a 5,5mm shorty available in this style without a hood or a 7mm shorty with a hood that can be worn over the one-piece for extra warmth. I was impressed by the suit and
know that I will have many more pleasurable dives in a suit fit for a lady. The suit is available from Aqualung stockists from R3 299.
Bladefish 5000
Few divers realise how much underwater scooters/DPVs (Diver Propulsion Vehicles) enhance a dive. Te botom line is that we divers find it hard to swim around underwater. A DPV makes a huge difference as it makes geting from A to B so much easier. You use much less air, and to be honest, it’s a whole lot of fun flying one of these babies. Te problem has always been that the serious DPVs are
seriously expensive and are big and heavy. However, we have good news for you. Te latest batery technology has allowed the design of smaller, more compact and powerful units that are both affordable and easy to travel with. Te Bladefish 5000 is surprisingly powerful for such a small
size and is more than fast enough. Te batery lasted over an hour and depends on which speed you use it on. Price wise it is excellent as it sells for around R5 000. I did have a few small niggles with it though. As it is a British
product, health and safety have given it an instant stop that is quite disconcerting. Tere are three speeds and it’s not always clear which one you have selected – one speed would be simpler. It also has to be operated by pressing down two triggers where one would be beter, but I suppose you could cheat and tie one down with a cable tie. But all in all, it is a fantastic product at a great price. For more information, visit
www.divetek.co.za
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