Scuba Purchases
In preparation for my trip to Florida, during which I will be taking an Advanced Open Water class, I am contemplating two additional scuba purchases. The first is a dive light. Since we'll be doing a night dive, a dive light is mandatory equipment. I could probably rent a light somewhere but I would very much like to buy one. After some research there appear to be two contenders. The Princeton Tec Shockwave LED sells for around $80 with discounts, is very durable, has long burn life, and outputs an impressive amount of light. Since it uses three LED bulbs there is little need for replacing them (5000 hour life on the bulbs).
The UK Light Cannon 100 is a HID light with the greatest light output of the handheld lights I looked at. It is a bit more expensive than the Shockwave but not dramatically so. The big problem I have with the Light Cannon is that since it's a HID the bulbs are extremely expensive, fragile, and prone to burning out in about 1/5 the time of the LED. Based on this, I think I'm going for the Shockwave. I'm feeling good about the Shockwave and the Light Cannon in part due to the review at Scuba Diving Magazine which included a handy test score chart. I'll be checking with my LDS tomorrow to see if they carry the light. If they carry it, and they recommend it, and they can give me a reasonable price, it's a done deal.
The second purchase I'll be making is a 3mm wetsuit. I'm planning on getting the Bare Velocity 3/2 Full Suit. Bare makes their suits in a variety of sizes, one of which is perfectly suited to me. The big question I need to answer now is, what color should I buy. The blue/blue/black suit is nice looking and not too flashy. The yellow/blue/black suit is quite a bit more flashy but I'm thinking that the yellow could be handy for increased visibility by other divers. The only question is, what do I think of the yellow? I've heard yellow really helps others pick you out. I've heard that yellow looks "unprofessional" or "gaudy". I've heard that yellow attracts sharks. That last one kinda sounded like BS but it's hard to tell. I don't believe there are any hard statistics on increased shark activity around divers wearing yellow accented wetsuits. The Internet knows much but even it seems confounded by this question. So dear readers, I need your opinion. Which color looks the best? What do you think I should do?
The UK Light Cannon 100 is a HID light with the greatest light output of the handheld lights I looked at. It is a bit more expensive than the Shockwave but not dramatically so. The big problem I have with the Light Cannon is that since it's a HID the bulbs are extremely expensive, fragile, and prone to burning out in about 1/5 the time of the LED. Based on this, I think I'm going for the Shockwave. I'm feeling good about the Shockwave and the Light Cannon in part due to the review at Scuba Diving Magazine which included a handy test score chart. I'll be checking with my LDS tomorrow to see if they carry the light. If they carry it, and they recommend it, and they can give me a reasonable price, it's a done deal.
The second purchase I'll be making is a 3mm wetsuit. I'm planning on getting the Bare Velocity 3/2 Full Suit. Bare makes their suits in a variety of sizes, one of which is perfectly suited to me. The big question I need to answer now is, what color should I buy. The blue/blue/black suit is nice looking and not too flashy. The yellow/blue/black suit is quite a bit more flashy but I'm thinking that the yellow could be handy for increased visibility by other divers. The only question is, what do I think of the yellow? I've heard yellow really helps others pick you out. I've heard that yellow looks "unprofessional" or "gaudy". I've heard that yellow attracts sharks. That last one kinda sounded like BS but it's hard to tell. I don't believe there are any hard statistics on increased shark activity around divers wearing yellow accented wetsuits. The Internet knows much but even it seems confounded by this question. So dear readers, I need your opinion. Which color looks the best? What do you think I should do?
posted by KzooJason at 8:03 PM
4 Comments:
I vote for the yellow. It shows that you are not afraid to stand out.
Also, when you pull on your wetsuit on you can say, "Wet Suit up!"
I know it wasn't one of the options you picked, but I like the one with red accents! It says, "stylish but with a hint of danger," which to me really sums up scuba diving.
I agree with Anne, get the red. It's not as likely to be seen as gaudy, but still has some flash.
Stylish but with a hint of danger... I like it. Of course now I have another option to tug at my mind :)
Post a Comment
<< Home