Nick Reviews his Dive Equipment
Nick, one of our full-time diving instructors has written a review on his diving equipment and why he likes to use it:
Aqua Lung Axiom BCD
Originally purchased in Thailand in 2014, my Axiom has been my everyday bcd for both the pool and open water, both teaching and fun diving for the past 3.5 years. This bcd has survived the harsh reality of being an instructor in Thailand and diving in salt water every day for 1.5years and 1000 dives before being travelled all over Asia and now residing in the UK.
The axiom sizing and adjustable wrapture system fits perfectly whether im wearing boardshorts and a rash top, wetsuit or a dry suit. The intergrated weights are feature I couldn’t live without, as it allows easy clip in and clip out of up to 6kg in each pocket and makes every dive painless having to not wear a weight belt.
With well over 1000 dives and only showing minimal wear and tear, the axiom will remain a part of my every day kit for the foreseeable future.
Aqua Lung Legend LX Regulators
Having always used aqualung regulators, upgrading from the Titan (now Core) LX with approximately 3000 faultless dives, it was given that the Legend LX was one of the choices. Having tried several different regulators, the legends not only breathed well but are a good looking and fairly compact regulator that is cold water rated and has yet to fail on me even in 4 degree water. I will be taking these regs with me to Iceland in March to give them a proper cold water work out as I dive the Silfra fissure and the two tectonic plates.
Aqua Lung Fusion Sports Drysuit
This dry suit changed my perception on dry suit diving. Having tried several different trilaminate suits my enjoyment of dry suit wasn’t at an all time high. Leaking seals, immobility and inability to find the correct size had severely deterred me from cold water diving. The problem being wetuists are not suitable for year round teaching in the UK. So I was offered a chance to try the aqualung fusion sports dry suit, a membrane dry suit that at first I wasn’t sure about, but after doning my undersuit and dry suit, the mobility this suit offered over a typical trilaminate was markedly increased. I have always struggled to get my fins on wearing a trilaminate. Once on these dry suits feel completely different and are light and fit quite snug up against the body with out the squeeze other dry suits give. The outer layer compresses the membrane to the body so there is no excess overhanging parts and reduces the amount of trapped air in the dry suit.
Diving in these types of suits is amazing, they don’t require much air on decent to prevent a squeeze and make neutral buoyancy and proper trim a breeze. They are amazingly comfortable and easy to dive in and make teaching in the cooler months so much more enjoyable.
The above equipment is on sale via our online dive store www.oysterdivingshop.com