ENTRY LEVEL The new Seamaster neoprene drysuit from Typhoon has a latex neck seal, 3mm-thick neoprene arms for best flexibility and a body of 5mm high-density neoprene. It offers exceedingly good value at only £399 complete with inflation valve and constant-volume auto dump, comes in a wide range of off-the-peg sizes (XS - XXL), and carries Typhoon's three year warranty.

CONFUSED? WE WERE! Don't believe everything you read. The Joy of Gadgets feature in the December issue of Diver got some facts about budget-priced cameras confused. Putting the record straight: if you want an Epoque ET-100 camera it costs £119 and comes from Cameras Underwater (08700 660384) and if you want a Bonica Handy Snapper, it costs £76 and is distributed by Hydrotech (01455 274106). Sorry!

MALTESE JEWELS Recently established travel company Location Malta is keen to remind us that Malta is "known throughout the international diving community as the Jewel of the Mediterranean". The three islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino make up the archipelago and offer a variety of natural harbours, bays and sheltered creeks, with reefs and drop-offs ranging in depth from 5-50m. Whether you have the expertise to penetrate the bowels of a wrecked oil-tanker or are looking for the best conditions for your first foray under water, it says the Maltese islands present a great destination.

A WATERTIGHT CASE The New Sea Marshall PLB (personal locator beacon) takes this otherwise wonderful idea to new depths. The latest version is oil-filled to make it viable for divers going as deep as 100m, while a military version is said to be good for 300m plus. Not only does the 121.5Mhz radio beacon have a claimed expected range of more than 35 miles for fixed-wing search-aircraft, but the antenna also flashes visibly to aid positive location of a person at the surface within the last few metres. The PLB8-LD Diver's Beacon costs £189.

D-DAY FOR REGULATORS The Dacor Eagle Pro DPD regulator is new but it uses the unique swivel-turret first stage of its sibling side-exhaust Dacor Viper Metal. The Eagle second stage is a compact design with a conventional exhaust port layout. There will be two of four versions available in the UK and at these prices we anticipate them becoming very popular. The Eagle with a basic piston first stage costs £126 and the Eagle Pro DPD £269.

DREAM PLANS New brochures just released by travel operators selling diving vacations for 2003 include these three from Oonasdivers, Regaldive and DiveQuest. Lushly illustrated with destinations as far apart as the Red Sea, Rangiroa and Revillagigedo or Truk, Thailand and Tobago, there must be something for everyone, whether it's a trip of a lifetime or even your first foray abroad.

DO IT WHILE YOU CAN The boys at Blandford Sub-Aqua suggest that this might be a good time of year to take your regulator for a service, rather than waiting until just before you need it. Shown is the collection of O-rings, valve-seats, membranes and filters routinely replaced on a well-used Mares regulator. It's more or less the same with other makes, too. You wouldn't expect your car to run forever without a service, would you? Why not take your regulator down to your local dealer now.

BOOK FIRST Fancy a few dives while you're on holiday in Majorca this summer? Scuba Activa is based at Sant Telm is the south-west corner of the island, close to Porto Andratx. Run by a multi-national European group of divers, the centre's fast RIB goes out three times each day to dive nearby wrecks and reefs under the dramatic cliffs of the main island and nearby Dragonera. They get very busy and have a limited capacity, so it makes good sense to book your dives before you go.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST The Dacor Darwin computer is the latest evolution in the line of Rapallo-made computers and can be used for air, nitrox or in gauge mode. It runs on two AAA batteries and has an illuminated display and a strap long enough to go round the bulkiest drysuit wrist. It uses the latest 11-tissue algorithm which incorporates the work of Rogers & Powell, and displays a 3 minute safety stop requirement after all mandatory deco-stops have cleared. It costs £235 or £250 in a console.

THE PLOT THICKENS The 2003 Tide Plotter from Belfield Software can be downloaded by going to www.tideplotter.co.uk - or you can get this handy CD-Rom for £9.99. Suitable for use with PCs and the increasingly popular pocket PCs, it shows monthly tables, daily graphs, monthly tables of times of the users' input of height above chart datum, a tide-log and many other useful tide calculations.

SAUSAGE OR FLAG? Can't make up your mind which is the best form of attention-grabbing device at the surface? Well now you can have both with this delayed surface marker buoy. It's an orange sausage with a yellow flag attached. That should settle a few arguments! This one is tailored to fit the DelayedAid SMB device but you can also buy a similar standard deployment buoy for the same price of £25.

CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO? Prop Guard is a polypropylene propeller guard which is said to have been designed to funnel water and enhance performance. Of course, its primary function is to provide a degree of safety by keeping that spinning prop and a diver's head well away from each other. It comes in sizes from 25-40cm and costs from £115 to £144.

LIFE AFTER MICHELLE Andros is the biggest island in the Bahamas archipelago yet has among the fewest inhabitants. It features the famous Blue Holes and, in common with most Bahamas diving destinations, spectacular shark feeds every week. Diving provided by Small Hope Bay Lodge suits everyone from new divers up so you don't have to be an expert cave- or shark-diver to enjoy a visit. Hurricane Michelle paid a less happy visit in 2001 but that has given the all-inclusive resort the opportunity to build a new jetty alongside its beach, ready for the 2003 season.