World Class Outdoor Gear

With winter finally starting to rear its frosty tendrils here in VA, the traditional wetsuit season is beginning to wind down.  Not being one to let a little thing like chilly water keep from my bliss, I’ve already broken out my 7mm EXO Body Glove suit.  It’s been my constant cold water companion for some time now and has kept me warm in some truly bone chilling dives.  As much as I love it, there are some serious draw backs to any 7mm suit.  It’s on the heavy side, stiff in the joints, and frankly, it’s got a nasty buoyant streak.  All of this can get a guy looking longingly at his thinner suits, his 3 and 5mms, wishing for warmer waters.  That’s where I was a few weeks ago until I met my Lavacore.

Lavacore is actually a brand of exposure suits that are designed to fit under your wetsuit or, in warmer waters, function as a stand-alone insulated dive skin.  There are a number of great cuts in the line including short and long sleeved shirts, hooded vests, full suits, pants, socks and gloves; essentially if it isn’t your face, Lavacore has something to cover it.  What makes Lavacore really special though is its warmth (2mm worth) without the buoyancy, all while maintaining the flexibility of a dive skin.  They have effectively moved exposure protection into the tried and true layering paradigm of other outdoor sports.  This shift is long overdue as a layering method provides improved temperature control while still maintaining flexibility and keeping overall encumbrance down.

I had heard all of this in one form or another before I tried out my full suit Lavacore for the first time and I was excited but a little skeptical.  The Lavacore suit just seemed too light to really provide all the warmth that it claimed.  So I figured I would start off with it in the pool.  The pool we tend to use most often checks in at a pleasant 72 degrees and I usually end up wearing my comfy full 3mm.  This time, though, I left the 3mm on the pool side and wore just my new Lavacore.  It was phenomenal.  The Lavacore had even more flexibility than my 3mm but still kept me just as comfortable in the warm pool waters.  Having passed its tests in the pool, I decided the next trial would be in our local quarry.  Water temp was about 62 degrees and so I slide into my Lavacore and pulled my 5mm on top of it.  Three dives later I was still toasty warm (even warmer than I had been in my 7mm in similar conditions) and I had none of the mobility issues that come along with rigidity imposed by 7mm suits.  Plus, when I finally got out of the water, I had no fear of stripping off my wetsuit as the Lavacore kept we warm and dried quickly even in the open air.  I didn’t so much as shiver once.  I was sold.  My Lavacore has become a staple of my dive gear, fit for use on any dive. 

Still, I started to wonder: Lavacore markets these suits to all sorts of sports.  Would the warmth of the suit hold up in some truly frigid non-aquatic conditions?  To test this out, I grabbed my eldest son and headed into Shenandoah National Park for a quick overnighter.  The day we arrived was brisk without being frigid; however, as night fell, that all changed.  With the sun down, what little heat it had brought quickly disappeared into the dark and soon our breath was freezing to the side of the tent.  In similar sleeping bags, my son and I stretched out to sleep away the cold.  Despite being clad in thermal underwear and sweats, he shivered away much of the night, never quite warm.  My Lavacore was up to the challenge though and I slept comfortably and soundly through the dark hours.  It even protected me from the biting wind and chill of the next day (which reached a whopping 22 degrees).

The Lavacore line is everything it claims to be and more.  As such, I would recommend it to every single diver and non-diver out there, pretty much anyone who finds themselves outside in the cold from time to time.  It’s a world-class garment and perfect for whatever nature throws at you.

What’s New for 2013?

Editor's Note:  Sorry for the delay in getting this posted but I just woke up from my Thanksgiving food coma.  I appreciate the patience.

Last week was DEMA (the Dive Equipment and Marketing Association trade show) in Las Vegas, the largest trade show in the diving community. It’s really a proverbial “Candy Land” for professional divers, dive stores, and resorts.  It’s the kind of thing hardcore divers look forward to all year.  All the new and in development gear is unveiled there by the who’s who of equipment vendors, wetting our appetites for the cool toys and breakthroughs in diving technology.  On top of that, all the most fantastic dive locations highlight their specials for the year and let out a siren’s call to anyone looking for that next great dive (which is pretty much all of us).  Finally, there is also a lot of learning going on as there is training galore offered in almost every facet of the industry.  It was a very busy week. 

So what does that mean to you?  There is so much to tell, but here are some of the highlights.

Atomic Aquatics unveiled a new regulator for divers on a budget. The Z3 will replace the Z2x and the eventually the Z2 regulators and retail for under $500, according to the scuttle-butt.  

• Z3′s first stage will be seven-point fixed as opposed to a swivel, and will sport a no-front-cover ring, which is unique to the T3, the T2x, and now the Z3, but this was only something that was on their top-of-the-line regs.  So it’s a big deal that they have started including this feature on their entry-level regulators. The Z3 will be sold in black, with other color kits available in grey, red, blue, purple, pink and green. It should roll out onto the open market early 2013, so keep any eye out for it.  It’s going to pack a lot of bang for the buck.

During their storied 60 year history, Sherwood Scuba has never strayed from its simple credo: produce the most durable, reliably engineered products in the diving industry. And for the most part, with products like their Brute regulators, they’ve pulled off that surprisingly difficult goal.  So, what’s new from this powerhouse supplier in 2013?  

• The Amphos is poised to be a new favorite in computers.  With its easy to read display and 4-button set up, this sleek new toy will come in both stand-alone and Bluetooth/air integrated models.  To top it all off, this handy gadget should fall in the $400 - $500 price range, making it a lot of computer for very little cash.
• The SR-2 is set to take over the SR-1’s throne as the new standard in Sherwood regs.  
• The Blizzard regulator has a brand new look keeping it stylish while maintaining its status as cold water  workhorse. 
• The AXIS and LUNA BCDs will be sporting some brand new colors this year, keeping you diving in the designs you love with the features you can’t be without.

Lavacore has really stepped up their game with a set of new colors and designs for their tried and true apparel.  Plus, they have added a few new outfits that will keep you warm and going all day no matter what your sport is!  This is apparel for anyone who likes the outdoors, not just the diver.

GoPro, the maker of what may be the world’s most versatile HD cameras, announced the launch of their new Hero 3 with dive rated casing.  It features a large, flat glass lens that allows for maximum photo and video sharpness underwater in all resolutions and is waterproof to 197ft / 60m.  I’m calling it now: this is going to be the next must have for anyone who is serious about underwater photography. Get this:  Patriot just became an official GoPro dealer.  So pre-order your GoPro gear from them now.  It’s going to be hard keeping them on the shelves.  Seriously, don’t wait!  The number is 703-490-1175.  It’s cool.  I’ll wait while you make the call…  Oh and ask about the Underwater Photography specialty.  It will be worth it with your new toys, trust me.

And we’re back… Okay so we’ve hit on some of the big names but what about the really innovative stuff, the stuff that is decidedly out of the box?  Well, here are some highlights:

• The Watershot for IPhone 4/4S will let you dive to 130ft with phone, allowing you to take photos and video at depth.  Plus (just to prove that there is still an app for that) they are looking at unveiling in 2013 an optional sensor that will allow you to use your IPhone as a rudimentary dive computer.  Pretty impressive.  We are looking forward to seeing the Watershot in action.
• The Computer Controlled BCD is here and represents a step through the looking glass as far as a new era of BCD technology is concerned. The integrated computer system for this BCD allows you to program your dive with everything from max depth to max accent rate to neutral buoyancy.  They are heralding it as “cruise control for your dive”.  It’s not quite ready for primetime but should be up and coming in the next few years.  Of course, the down side is that the system is looking at opening with a retail price around $3000.  If it works it could do great things for HSA divers.  We’ll see…
• Here is one that we are really excited to see back, the Omega Amphibian Fin!  So essentially it’s a dive fin that that can be folded up around the boot pocket in order to make beach/dock/boat/rock crag/anything-that-involves-walking-in-dive-gear entries worlds easier.  No more flopping around in the shallows on one foot while you try to get your fins on (we’ve all been there)!  We love beautifully simple designs like this.

Okay so we’ve given you some of the highlights and shown off a lot of pretty awesome gear that is about to explode onto the market.  Just remember that this isn’t even a drop in the proverbial bucket as far as what is new and on its way.  This is just a taster, a delicious morsel of the kickass buffet of new diver gear.  Is your mouth watering yet?  Mine is!  Then keep checking back for updates as the new products roll out and test them out.  We’ll let you know what’s worth your buck and what’s not.  Stay tuned!

We prefer our sharks with fins, thank you very much!!!

Real talk for a second, the sharks we share our dive sites with need our help.  Each year roughly 100 million sharks around the globe are killed via a process called finning.  That is to say, commercial fishermen catch sharks and saw off their fins (I mean all of their fins, tail, dorsal, lateral, pretty much anything that sticks out off of the animal’s otherwise sleek body).  Then, said fishermen boot these still alive newly made amputees back into the ocean.  Now, I don’t know if any of you have ever tried to swim without using your arms or legs but it is not what one might describe as easy.  In fact, swimming after the removal of all of their fins proves impossible to the poor creatures and they sink to the bottom where they are eaten alive by scavengers.  That’s a pretty messed up way to go, isn’t it?  I mean it’s the kind of thing one might see if they made an undersea version of the Saw films. 

It is exactly that kind of imagery that might prompt a thoughtful sort of person to exclaim, “Why aren’t these people being arrested?!?!?!” (and if you are a Simpsons fan you might follow that up with a “*SOB* Won’t someone think of the children… I mean sharks!!!”)  It’s a good question with an unfortunate answer.  Shark finning isn’t illegal, or even regulated, the world round.  Even in the places where it is regulated, the legislation isn’t enough.  In fact, the regulations imposed by organizations like the EU are full of loopholes and the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) regulations only cover Whale Sharks, Great Whites, and Basking Sharks.  I mean they are awesome species but not the only fish in the sea, if you will excuse the bad pun.  Especially when anywhere between a fifth and third of all shark species are threatened with extinction. 

So there might be a few among you who might ask, “Okay, I mean sharks are cool and all but is it really a problem if we cut back on the population a bit?”  It is to this person among us that I say, yes.  It is a problem of colossal proportions.  See, the oceans are an ecosystem, like the rainforests or the deserts, and ecosystems are really just a web of interactions between living things and their environment.  All of the life in these ecosystems rely on one another to create a balance that allows them all to thrive.  Sharks play a crucial role in marine ecosystems as they are what is known as an apex predator, i.e. they are the top predator.  They keep populations of their prey animals healthy by thinning the herds (or in this case schools) which prevents overexpansion of prey populations (which would cause the whole school to starve) and weeds out the sick and weak prey so that they don’t reproduce and make sick and weak offspring.  Furthermore, we aren’t just cutting back shark populations a bit.  We are killing them off in the tens of millions, much much more than their reproductive rates can keep up with.  Bottom line is the oceans need sharks.

Okay so shark finning sucks.  And Patriot Scuba in conjunction with Project Aware is trying to put an end to this kind of douche baggery.  That is why throughout the month of November we will be running our own Finathon.  This is an event aimed at raising money to lobby worldwide for stricter and more comprehensive regulations on fishing for shark and consequently stop finning.  It works like this, throughout the month you can raise money for the cause by getting your friends, family, coworkers, random strangers to donate based on the distance you swim or walk through the water.  Then send us that cash either through our CrowdRise page (http://www.crowdrise.com/patriotscubafinathon/fundraiser/patriotscuba/updated) or via in store donation.  Alternately, you can always skip the swimming/walking part and just make a straight donation.  It’s the thought that counts. 

Still not sure where to start?  Patriot is hosting a Finathon event on Sunday, November 11^th at George Washington Rec Center from 10am to 1pm.  We are hoping to collectively swim 30 miles (the distance from the shop to the Rappahannock Quarry) and raise at least $300 (the sale price of a pound of shark fins) to donate to the cause.  So come out, show your support, and help us put an end to this truly disgusting practice. 

For more information about Shark Finning check out the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLmS4J_Gd40&feature=related

http://www.sharkwater.com/education.htm

http://www.projectaware.org/project/sharks-peril

Tales from the Tank: Warm thoughts for the winter 1: Diving In Mouse Ears

Hey folks!  Each week we want to bring you stories from our (and your) favorite dives!  So to kick things off we’re going to start Tales from the Tank with our Warm thoughts for the winter series.  So, send in those dive stories that make you feel warm when your dry suit leaks to diving@patriotscuba.com.  The best ones each month will win some kick ass Patriot Swag, just make sure you put “Tales from the Tank” in the subject line to enter.  Good luck and happy diving!

Diving in Mouse Ears: 

Okay, full disclosure: the mouse ears were metaphorical.  That said, they do call Disney World the happiest place on earth and the fact that you can log a dive there that you can do nowhere else in the world certainly adds credence to that claim.  I am, of course, talking about The Living Seas Aquarium at Epcot.  Now, I know what you are saying to yourselves right now, “An aquarium dive?  I can do those all over the place!”  And while that is technically true, calling this just an aquarium would be like calling a Porsche just a car, a moniker that were you to assert those who know would roll their eyes. 

This aquarium is special.  It’s a 25 foot dive with water so warm that you wouldn’t be surprised if you sweat in your shorty.  The visibility is the gold standard in clarity; you can float at the back of the tank and still see the restaurant voyeurs waving back at you through the 5.7 million gallons of water between you.  Plus it’s a great time to try out some different toys as the staff provide all of your gear for the dive, partly to maintain the health of the tank and partly to make sure you look good with all of those mouseketeers smooshing their faces against the glass. 

But none of those numbers and measurements are what really make a dive epic.  It’s the feel of the water slipping around you, the fluttering of your heart when nature reminds you that you aren’t alone, and the sheer and utter awe of experiencing something incredible for the first time.  I was 18 when I first dove this aquarium and it was a dive of a lot of firsts for me.  I had only been diving for about two years at this point and in that time had really only logged maybe ten dives.  I had cut my teeth diving in the Long Island Sound and, consequently, I thought Millbrook Quarry felt warm.  So you will understand my meaning when I tell you that the feeling of sliding my fins into that hot water defies description.  I could feel the heat enter my body seeping into my bones and joints, shattering the clenching that had been part of my preparation to slide into what I had never believed could be truly warm.  The decent was beyond compare as the salty wetness swattled me, depositing me gently on the bottom.

I had never dove with sharks before but now they glided past us, looping in lazy figure eights.  We had known this would happen; we had been briefed on it. The sharks swam the same route all day, every day.  You could get close, really, really close.  I’ll never forget the saucers staring out of my brother’s mask as a 10 foot sand tiger finned though the currentless water maybe six inches from our faces.  We could have blown bubbles in its face.  The deadly elegance with which it coursed through the brine around us cast an almost ominous presence.  Its eyes weren’t the dull stupid orbs that straddle the sides of shark heads during shark week but rather they were steely and aware.  They gave the hulking fish a look of powerful consciousness as though it were some ancient, timeless intelligence biding its time in this holding pattern.  Simply waiting.  But for what?

The sharks renewed my deepest respects for the power behind nature; however, they were not what grabbed me and consumed me with awe.  The laurels for that achievement could only go to the 400 pound green sea turtle that ruled that tank.  It was a reptile of monstrous proportions, boasting the kind of armored mass that made sea monsters plausible.  Watching this green hulk sail though the water with complete ease awakened a deep and primal awe in me, the likes of which are so rare these days.  In world where a picture and a caption of everything known to man is only seconds away on the internet, this feeling was foreign and captivating.  It bleed down from somewhere behind my eyes and filled me like a torrent.  All I wanted to do was follow that turtle, to drift along with it and watch it float its bulk though the salt.  Infinite grace in such an unlikely form.

With about 40 minutes of bottom time, the dive was over too soon and the world cold again even in the humid air above the water.  A towel is poor substitute for a warm sea’s gentle embrace.  Unfortunately, all priceless dives must end and necessarily we are once again thrust into the world.  Yet, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t endeavor to seek out the bliss of that perfect dive wherever we can.  So, if any of you are planning on diving the Florida Springs anytime soon then check out the The Living Seas Aquarium dive at Epcot.  You won’t regret it.

-Rob C.