FLICK AWAY These new fins from expert injection-moulder Cressi-sub use three distinctive materials to make a sleek low-profile design. The blades impart energy from your legs to the water with a flicking motion that promises to be highly effective. The soft foot-pocket is designed for comfort and a newly designed strap and buckle is there to add security and quick-release ability when you need it. Cressi-sub Rondine A Fins are available in sizes XS, SM, ML and XL, for £77.

SAINTLY SAVINGS Diving packages for beginners and experienced divers alike seem to offer good value this summer in St Lucia, one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean, especially if you book with Hayes & Jarvis before the end of March. That's because there are savings of up to £600 per couple if you book on a 14-night holiday at the Rex St Lucian hotel, for arrivals between April and mid-November.

SOUTH PACIFIC Romantic islands, humpback whales and all the sharks you could want to encounter. Sounds good? French Polynesia is the place and the recently commissioned Tahiti Aggressor is a modern twin-hulled liveaboard dive boat that offers the most luxurious platform from which to dive it. Passengers embark in Rangiroa and travel around the Tuamotos, diving the channels and reefs where the big animal action is found. Fakarava, Tikehau, Rangiroa, Kaukura, Apataki - these are the shark capitals, and the Tahiti Aggressor visits all of them. All this in the surroundings made famous by Paul Gauguin and the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein. A seven-day trip costs around £1500 plus flights.

DOWNWARD GLANCE The Mares X Vision mask is the Italian manufacturer's answer to rivals offering masks that promise you an enhanced view of your own chest, and the equipment that might be adorning it. A low-volume design, it has a large glass area, a snazzy lightweight frame and strap buckles that allow for easy adjustment at any time. It costs £41.

COLD CALLING Scubapro's quest to establish its brand with coldwater divers includes the all-new MK25 AF/S600 regulator. Enlarged holes increase the flow of water through the moving parts and fins have been added to the body of the classic turret-design first stage, the idea being to reduce the chance of a free-flow from freeze-up. The MK25 AF/S600 costs £349.

ITALIAN HEAVYWEIGHT Top of the Seacsub range, the new Seacsub Pro 3000 BC promises to be tough enough to cope with anything to which a diver might subject it. Strong materials are combined with a design that incorporates the back-flotation-to-conventional-BC features of the award-winning Pro 2000, plus additional maximum buoyancy and many other details and features. These include a built-in Jon-line, an integrated weights system, an elasticated lanyard and more. Available in sizes XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, it costs £449.

MANTA MADNESS Fancy seeing a manta? How about 20 or 30 at one time? The Maldives is the place to go and the passengers on mv Sea Spirit and mv Sea Queen regularly visit a new manta site that has yet to be discovered by the massed ranks of Maldivian liveaboards. Departures for manta specials run weekly throughout June and July and cost £1199. Extended trips (12 days) cost £1695, and that includes scheduled flights on Emirates, full-board accommodation and all of your diving.

AIR STYLE The new J115 BC is loaded with features such as an improved integrated-weight system that's optional, and the promise of bags of lift. It also replaces the conventional corrugated hose with Cressi's innovative "Flight Control System". This enables filling or dumping air from the BC through a single fingertip control, which works mechanically to operate a special dump valve. Conventional dump valves are included, too. Available in five sizes, XS-XL, for £449.

DO YOU READ ME? The Silva S15DSC is a rugged, waterproof, fixed VHF radio that operates on all current marine channels including M1 and M2. When interfaced with a suitable GPS and NAVTEX receiver, it also functions as a DSC VHF receiver, GPS navigator with routeing and waypoint capability, and a dual-frequency NAVTEX unit. The large LCD shows up eight lines of text or single items in a large easy-to-read format. It costs £399 with NAVTEX receiver.

WARM AND FLUFFY Ideal for standing out in an English sea breeze, this fluffy ensemble from Fourth Element should keep your vitals warm. Made from Polartec 300 series Thermal Pro fleece fabric, which is said to be thick, warm and water-resistant, these jackets are available with either quarter zip (£75) or round neck (£65) in both men's and women's sizes. Matching fleece beanie hats are good for keeping your head warm in an open boat.

BIKINI AND CHUUK Outdo all your wrekkie friends by doing consecutive trips to dive the wrecks of Chuuk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll. There are still places left on this combined trip departing 20 April. Truk is famous for the wrecks of Japanese freighters caught by Operation Hailstone, and lucky participants will stay on the Truk Aggressor. The many assorted warships of Bikini, including the 888ft aircraft-carrier Saratoga, the world's largest diveable shipwreck, were sunk by the famous Bravo atomic test. Bikini Atoll accommodates only 10 divers. The 24-day trip costs £4800. Shorter itineraries and other dates are available.

BUCEO TECHNICO An English-owned technical diving centre, Deco-Stop Diver Centre in Costa Teguise, Lanzarote, offers nitrox to advanced trimix courses from all the major agencies, including TDI, PSA, IANTD, SDI and PADI. It tells us that it organises technical dives daily and can supply twinsets, stages, wings, rebreathers, CO2 absorbent and Inspiration cylinders for rent. It also offers a digital nitrox and trimix blending service. And it's all in Canary Islands sunshine.

GOLDEN BREATHE The Tigullio T52 Airtrak regulator is so-called to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Italian manufacturer. Its compact first stage is a simple piston design and it has a well-constructed second stage with a wide exhaust T. There is also a more complex swivelling-turret version (£189) with BRA and venturi± controls to the second stage. The T52 Airtrak costs £165 and an Airtrak Octopus is available at £79.