Aqualung Outlaw (New arrival)
Mark Evans: The new arrival this month is the Aqualung Outlaw, a back-inflation BCD with an interchangable bladder (12lbs or 25lbs capacity) that has to be one of the lightest and most-minimalistic BCDs on the market. The fit can be tailored exactly to your build, and the Modlock connectors allow up to 27 different size configurations using interchangeable shoulder and waist strap components. It has four soft webbed D-rings, a plastic karabiner on the shoulder and a lower right pull dump. The Griplock tank band holds your cylinder secure, and this then forms a rigid ‘back’ to the BCD once it is locked in place. Optional extras include Surelock II integrated weights, and trim weights.
INFORMATION
Suggested retail price: £338
Number of dives: 0
Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins
Thermalution Red Grade Ultra
Mark Evans: The Thermalution Red Grade Ultra got a real work-out recently. So I could test how warm it was really keeping me, I wore only the heated suit under my Otter Britannic II, with no other undersuit – I normally wore a Fourth Element Arctic Expedition over the top. I switched it on while I was setting up all my kit, so by the time I entered the water, I was feeling toasty. And I was amazed when I emerged from the water after an hour and still felt okay.
INFORMATION
Suggested retail price: £1,050
Number of dives: 16
Time in water: 15 hrs 15 mins
Anchor Dive Lights Series 3K
Mark Evans: The Anchor Dive Light will be heading o to Iceland with us in the next week or so, but in the meantime it got pressed into action in Vivian Quarry when we were getting Ross Arnold back into the groove with a drysuit. It was dodgy vis to say the least, but the little Series 3K just sliced through it with no trouble at all – amazing little torch.
INFORMATION
Suggested retail price: £695
Number of dives: 22
Time in water: 21 hrs 30 mins
DeepBlu Cosmiq+ Dive Companion
Mark Evans: The DeepBlu Cosmiq+ Dive Companion has been racking up the dives, both in Vivian Quarry on test days and also on a couple of jaunts o the coast of Anglesey. I am still loving the magnetic attachment for the charging/download cable on the back of the computer – such a simple, elegant design that works perfectly.
INFORMATION
Suggested retail price: £230
Number of dives: 62
Time in water: 60 hrs 55 mins
Aqualung Reveal X2
Mark Evans: Ross Arnold snagged the Reveal X2 again for this month’s testing, opting to go for this tried-and-tested mask which he used for our entire time in Grenada and Carriacou for his first drysuit dives in some seven years. When you are getting reacquainted with a piece of kit like a drysuit, the last thing you want to be worrying about is your mask, and true to form, the Aqualung did not let him down
INFORMATION
Suggested retail price: £46
Number of dives: 48
Time in water: 46 hrs 45 mins
Shearwater Research Perdix AI
Mark Evans: More dives on the Shearwater Perdix AI, this time when I was getting Ross Arnold back into a bit of drysuit action, and when I ventured up to Vivian Quarry for their summer fun weekend. It is just so intuitive, so easy to use, so comfortable on my wrist, it is like I have been using it for years, never mind a few months. I particularly like the logbook and dive profile capabilities.
INFORMATION
Suggested retail price: £870 (comp only)
Number of dives: 44
Time in water: 43 hrs 25 mins
Typhoon DS1
Mark Evans: Ross Arnold had not dived in a drysuit for some seven years, ever since we logged a couple of dives in Cornwall, but this was also the first time he was diving in a trilaminate suit. The Medium sample suit we had was a little snug, and a Large is enroute next month, but he still managed to achieve decent trim and had no real issues on the dive. Safe to say he is now a trilam fan as well, revelling in how easy it was to move in.
INFORMATION
Suggested retail price: £895
Number of dives: 1
Time in water: 0 hrs 35 mins
xDeep NX Zen (End of term)
Mark Evans: The xDeep NX Zen comes to the end of its run in our Long Term Test stable. This robust, durable backplate-and-wing BCD from the Polish tech masters is a really nice unit to dive with, and has several neat features. It is truly a work of art, from the cut-out backplate to the over-engineered harness and bladder, which have an almost-military spec feel to them. It isn’t cheap by any means, but it is extremely well made and would surely last many years of hard use. Take my advice and put a little ‘Zen’ into your dive life.
INFORMATION
Suggested retail price: £535
Number of dives: 24
Time in water: 23 hrs 15 mins
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