What are you doing gear-wise 2014?

[Mr. X]

I've been reviewing my gear of late and make some tweaks and changes. I expect others are doing likewise - I thought it might be interesting to find out what folk are doing. I'll start things off...

Painting Fins Camo:
One of the things I've done is re-paint my fins. They were blue but have been painted several times over the years, most recently sprayed matt-black with enamel paint. That worked well but was wearing off and I couldn't find the spray can, so I mixed up some Winsor & Newton Artisan oil paints that I bought for another project and dabbed that on as a DIY camo pattern:


Oil based exterior house paint has proved to be the most tenacious paint I have tried thus far - I am hoping the Artisan oil paints might share some of those characteristics. One very useful feature of these modern "Artisan" oil paints is that they can be cleaned off brushes, hands, etc. with just tap water (& perhaps soap) until set. The downside of artists oil paints is they take a long time to fully dry (often more than 6 months) - so these will be used before fully dry. Can't be helped.

BTW you don't need many colours - just use the primary colours to mix what you need.

 

[Pointandhope]

Only started to spear this year down on the purbecks. Opted to pick between the extensive catalogue at scubastore in Spain, hopefully choosing modest gear, anyway as follows
Cressi cameolonte 2 piece 5mm
Cressi gara 2000 fins
Omer Blackmon snorkel and mask
Cressi Comanche 75
3mm gloves and 5mm booties.
Sourced a rubber freedive belt and a substantial volume of lead(in weight and price)
Started off with a sporadic sub float but just got annoyed with it up ending and tipping all the time, so built one from a body board and loved its maiden voyage last week.intially used a bungee float line but got tangled too frequent and found it a pest to pull away from a submerged rock or weed etc. so now have 4 metres from the gun then cheap poly washing line to a home made winder then to the board. Hopefully this little lot should see me for year round dives from shore, but fettling with gear is maybe half the fun.

 

[Will Read]

I have been getting a few extra bits of kit over winter . Nothing groundbreaking really . I would however like to recommend the fins 4 you pure evolution DP carbon fins. I never really used to buy into the carbon fins thing as I am not looking to go super deep or compete in freediving , but I had the chance to try some of these at a pool session and I did my first dynamic I was actually quite gobsmacked how light they felt on my feet and how I built up speed instantly . Havent had these fins deep yet and I doubt I will ever. But as a spearo who dives shallow , I can really say they feel great on and are very light and responsive.
My second piece of kit are these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LIQUID-GL...tersportsClothing_CA&var=&hash=item3f20597807

I must have tried 6 pairs of gloves and was always disappointed with them leaking at the wrist by being loose or not long enough up the arm or splitting and leaking at the seams and if they were nylon lined in and out they take forever to dry and you end up having to turn them inside out then back the right way for a few days each to dry.
The typhoon gloves are unbelievably good. They are very tight and stretchy and if you roll your open cell wetsuit over them it will not let any water in whatsoever. Secondly the seams wont split as they are all coated . These gloves are very durable and grippy , they dry quite quickly when inside out as this drys the nylon inner and the rubber exterior will dry itself very quickly even on the inside . The price is also very reasonable and if you nick one they repair very well with a wetsuit glue. Don't be put off by these gloves being 2mm , they are warmer than any leaky 5mm glove I have ever tried and I have worn them for a couple of hours in 9 deg water.
If I could recommend one piece of kit as a game changer then these gloves would be it!

Good idea about the painting fins . Might stay on for a while as long as it doesn't scratch off on rocks

 

[Pointandhope]

Damn auto correct should say sporasub float. Interesting about the gloves, my 5mm were great first couple of outings but a couple of spines and they leak only just enough to chill my hand. Might treat myself, you're not an agent for typhoon are you Will?

 

[Will Read]

ha ha ! No not affiliated atal ! Trust me you will not have worn a better dryer pair .

 

[subseasniper]

I've just had a small spree and ordered for this year

- Salvimar N.A.T (Natural Advanced Texture) 7mm wetsuit
- Salvimar 5.5mm Drop Cell Socks
- Best Hunter Flat Double Buoy
- Beuchat Fish Stringer
- Cressi Fin Holders
- Salvimar Waistcoat

 

[charlie.]

same here i spent alot of money over the winter lull: Oceanos 5mm suit, Omer Spider 5mm socks, Alga stereo fins, Nemrod Classic 90cm gun, Mares Liquid Skin mask and a B-Square Inshore sit on top kayak.

 

[Mr. X]

Only started to spear this year ...
Started off with a sporasub float but just got annoyed with it up ending and tipping all the time, so built one from a body board and loved its maiden voyage last week. Intially used a bungee float line but got tangled too frequent and found it a pest to pull away from a submerged rock or weed etc. so now have 4 metres from the gun then cheap poly washing line to a home made winder then to the board. Hopefully this little lot should see me for year round dives from shore, but fettling with gear is maybe half the fun.

Yes, if you get a basic inflatable torpedo-shaped float you'll usually need to add some ballast/weight underneath to keep the flag upright. Although a few come with sand ballast or a water-fillable chamber underneath. I added lead tyre-weights & folded lead sheet around loops at both ends of my float. I saw an older chap at a spearing competition in S. Devon with a huge torpedo float and he had a small SCUBA lead weight strapped to the bottom of his float for ballast (I wasn't competing: turned up just as they were finishing).

A couple of things to look for in a float-line (this is my opinion, others may disagree):
1. It should float - not all cords/washing lines do.
2. It should be fairly stiff, as that helps reduce tangles.
I like the Rob Allen polyester rope float-line, it is more expensive now that it used to be but still affordable (cheap generic versions of this line are sometimes referred to as "Thai curry green" - I was lucky to find some old English-made washing lines which are similar but thinner). I use the olive colour but they also do an orange version, which may have safety benefits (e.g. might helps boats see where you are -- and make kayakers less likely to try to "salvage" your dive float!). Other use aquarium air-tube sealed at both ends - that's enough for the UK (for big foreign fish, it is normal to thread strong monofilament through the tube before sealing it).

 

[Mr. X]

Will Read, interesting about the carbon fins, I would be interested to hear more about these once you've used them a little more. I too did not buy into "the carbon thing" but now have 2 lightweight carbon barreled spearguns and really like them - quite a difference compared to the heavy duty Rob Allen railgun that I started with. It makes the walk-in easier/more tolerable

By the way, I've only ever owned Beuchat gloves (3rd pair now) and I really rate them highly. Their anatomical fit has always been excellent - although probably easier for all manufacturers to achieve now with stretchy 2mm neoprene.

 

[Pointandhope]

Happy with the polyester washing line for , seems to float nice and is fairly stiff and is 6mm I think. It was obvious to me I needed a larger float to take a water bottle etc and be able to lay on for a rest

 

[Mr. X]

I've lost several pieces of gear over the last few years and it was quite interesting to see which ones I missed and which ones I didn't.

Those I haven't missed:
- Homemade iki-jimi spikes - they worked great but too easy to lose & they cluttered up my already full weight belt.
- Omer mini-laser USA spearo dagger: loved the price, the blade & the handle but the sheath was too big and just didn't fit anywhere sensible for me.

Also you don't need 2 knives - it's just clutter. I love my RA limpet sheath too much not to wear it - and that only works with flat knives, so I still carry my cheap old flat spearo dagger, which is now very sharp & fitted with a pull toggle, like the expensive RA knives.

Those I missed too much and replaced:
- My RA float stringer (plastic coated steel cable/"shark proof"). Somehow mislaid that last year. Could not bare to be without it, the spike is the sharpest I have come across and is good for dispatching fish and it has the longest pin and strongest construction for this style of stringer I have seen. Overkill for the UK perhaps but it is best I have come across (price has more than doubled since I bought my first one though ).

- My RA crab bag. Dropped during a difficult, thorny walk-out while carry fish a few years ago. I've tried a couple of other bags since (which I still have) which were fine and which would be better if you were specifically going after crabs/lobster/scallops (as they have easy-open plastic/metal supported openings and slippery entry material in one case) but otherwise are rather bulky for "every dive carry".

 

[Mr. X]

Happy with the polyester washing line for , seems to float nice and is fairly stiff and is 6mm I think. It was obvious to me I needed a larger float to take a water bottle etc and be able to lay on for a rest

Float-line sounds good - I tried a few different washing lines before I found something usable. I used to carry a cycling-style waterbottle in a canvas bottle holder (originally bought for climbing in hot climates) clipped to my float but rarely bother now as I "hydrate" the day before and drink more water on the day including shortly before diving. I did slip a small water bottle into my crab bag this weekend though, just in case, but didn't use it.

I don't get laying on the float to rest - is that for choppy conditions (to help barfing perhaps - a particular weakness of mine)? I just lay in the water face down (snorkel in) to breath up - could rest like that all day if necessary (I think that's why SCUBA divers often carry snorkels) - and that way you can keep your eyes open for fish. Full marks for making your own float - boogie board floats seem to be well liked.

I lost quite a bit of weight over the last year or so (2 stone!), and now find my weight belt a little heavy: it is easier to dive down and stay on the bottom but more effort to get back up again afterwards. Fortunately I'm still positively buoyant at the surface but I may look at taking a couple of pounds of lead off my belt later in the season.

 

[Pointandhope]

I only seem to use the float occasionally to lay both forearms and the gun on to fin along to travel distance. I also like the fact that I can strap all the gear to it and don the rucksack straps and walk in modest comfort hands free

 

[Jon]

I just bought a Freediver's Recovery Vest this spring. Best piece of kit to date and used up all of my funds for the rest of the year. I'd like to get another dive kayak at some point.

 

[Kuya]

For my birthday later this year it will either be a decent dive watch or an underwater camera.

 

[MozSpearer]

I finally got to get a wetsuit this year after some very cold experiences! Such an improvement even though it's just a 3mm surf wetsuit. Also got a weightbelt, this made a drastic improvement on my bottomtimes as I spend less energy holding onto rocks trying to stay down.

I like the idea of painting the fins!! I'll see what paint I can dig up. I hope to get myself some proper spearo fins(using scuba ones now).

What do you guys think, would plastic spearo fins or carbon ones be better? The deepest water I have access to is 22m(in marine reserve). And deepest water in which I can spearfish is +-8m(outside the marine reserve but in screaming current when tide's comin in or out except neap tides) and of course the odd shoredive whenever I can but in a ripping current. What do you guys reckon??? Shoot off any ideas at me. Really appreciated..

 

[charlie.]

i went mid-range and got some fiber glass fins. im not a fan of plastic and too tight fisted to splash out for carbon.

 

[Mr. X]

Fibre glass, I forgot about that. Several forum members use/used fibre glass fins, supposed to be good. Probably cheaper & harder wearing but heavier than carbon.

I only seem to use the float occasionally to lay both forearms and the gun on to fin along to travel distance. ...

Good point. I used to use an aluminium RA90 and carrying that in strong currents could become quite a strain after a while - seemed to aggravate an old shoulder injury (or perhaps created a new one?).

Dive watches with computers/depth info. seem quite popular. I usually just leave my everyday Seiko 5 watch on - it's self-winding so no need to break the factory seal for new batteries. I bought a new Seiko dive watch a couple of years (007K2 of course ), retro '70s design, self-winding. I like it but it cost so much more than the others that I don't like to wear it diving! I also find it a little bulky/heavy/showy for everyday wear - but it has a nice big clear face than I can read w/o reading glasses & nice big luminous hands for early morning. I hindsight, I think one of Seiko's more modern designs (made in Japan, the older models are now made elsewhere) might be a better choice for me, for daily use & diving - a bit smaller/lighter, probably improved mechanisms. I like my 007K2 watch though - really should use it more.

I bought a new pair of dive socks this week, as my current pair have holes worn through in a couple of places. I normally buy cheap but good socks from Mike's Diving but they don't currently have my size, so I bought some of these off Amazon:
£4.99 + £1.99 shipping (incs. a small re-usable net bag)
They look better in real life (no seam over the foot), good shape & fit snuggly (I got XL for my feet, Euro 45/UK10-11) and came in a neat little re-usable net bag with draw closure & spring-toggle - a welcome unexpected bonus.

BTW I've started using my 40 year old (English made) Typhoon snorkel again recently, it's still the best design I have used (and we own 6 snorkels between us, including a couple of modern spearo snorkels).

 

[Mr. X]

...
What do you guys think, would plastic spearo fins or carbon ones be better? The deepest water I have access to is 22m(in marine reserve). And deepest water in which I can spearfish is +-8m(outside the marine reserve but in screaming current when tide's comin in or out except neap tides) and of course the odd shoredive whenever I can but in a ripping current. What do you guys reckon??? Shoot off any ideas at me. Really appreciated..

I've not used carbon fins but they are supposed to be very good, they'll also be lighter to carry in & wear. However, I've found my inexpensive Beuchat spearo fins excellent - the plastic fins are surprisingly robust* and may be better choice when diving from shore for that reason (depending on the conditions you encounter). If you are using cheap, regular size SCUBA fins, you should notice a significant improvement moving to big, long spearo/freediving fins. I like the footpockets on my Beuchat fins & you can replace the blades later (I think with fibre glass - another option for spearos - or carbon blades) but I have not felt the need so far.

* There is one well known exception to this: the wonderful transparent Omer Ice fins' blades had a habit of breaking. Pity, what a great idea: camouflage against any background! Hopefully they will one day sort out the problem & bring them back. Looks like you still buy the blades:

Seacsub sell some good looking but inexpensive spearo fins (starting from about £22). I've not tried them but I have some Seacsub gear, it is made in Italy and I like it.

 

[charlie.]

i use to have a pair of the seacsub shout range (i think they where 300s) they where good starter fins, cheap as but a bit to stiff for me (old ankle injury)