GLOWING COLOURS Pressure-tested to 100m, this high-intensity, multi-purpose light source with a 1000-hour life uses a replaceable 12V alkaline battery with a burntime of around 30 hours. Some 6cm long and available in red, blue and green, the Glo-Toob might prove useful as a marker for a diver or buoy-line during a night dive, and provides an alternative to a use-once-only chemical glo-stick. £25

JUMP OFF JAMBO Diving the Indian Ocean from Jambo, a 23m sailing vessel, offers a unique liveaboard experience on the reefs around Pemba Island (right), and with a high standard of comfort - so says operator Tony Backhurst. Choose from seven-day itineraries departing from Shimoni in Tanzania to dive either the east or west coasts of Pemba. Prices starting from £1295 include flights by Kenya Airways to Mombasa, transfers, one night in Shimoni Reef Lodge, meals and diving.

LONG SHOT Normally over-length fins suitable for free-diving are supplied exclusively in a slipper style. If you want super-long fins for scuba-diving, the French company Beuchat can help. This Goldfin Evolution fin is an open-heel design, suitable for use with boots, but the blade measures an impressive 56cm from the point of the toe. Les fins grandes promise to make you trés vite in the water, so if you want to chase pelagics out in the blue, they might prove ideal for you. £49 per pair in sizes S,M and L.

KEEP IT SIMPLE Some underwater lights are getting unnecessarily complicated, but not, it seems, the Green Force GII Eco. You unscrew the main anodised aluminium barrel to charge its 12V battery pack then, ensuring that the protective O-ring is properly lubricated with grease and free of foreign bodies, screw it back together. The on/off switch is a simple rotating knob of over-sized dimensions with a sprung detent. It has a standard 30W bulb as used in modern household low-voltage light-fittings, with a claimed burntime of 70 minutes. Price £245.
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BAG PLUS This dive bag expands outwards to accommodate all your dive gear, or clips tight to stay compact if you are carrying less stuff. There's a briefcase-type section within a small rucksack that unzips and detaches when needed. It has wheels for airport floors and the whole thing can be carried by its concealed rucksack-type straps, aided by a padded back section, when the going gets tough. Made of tough 800 denier cloth, the Oceanic Excursion Plus costs £99.50.

GPS IN DEPTH The Lowrance LMS-240 combined echo-sounder and GPS chart-plotter accepts multi-media cards which, used with Navionics charting software, can be used to display detailed chart information. A high-contrast monochrome LCD screen offers 10 levels of grey, while a split-screen option allows simultaneous viewing of both chart and sounding information. The depth-sounder is good for up to 300m and features Grayline and FishTrack to help with distinguishing underwater targets. £790 including antennae and transducer.

WHILE STOCKS LAST With so many sharks killed every year to satisfy the Far Eastern fin market, it's nice to know you can still go somewhere that protects these magnificent creatures. New Providence (Nassau) in the Bahamas retains a healthy population of Caribbean reef sharks and regular feeding by dive centres has made them a feature on nearly every dive. Stuart and Michelle Cove (pictured) run an efficient dive operation and welcome you to dive their reefs and 13 intentionally sunk wrecks.

FREE TO DIVE Bonaire, that sunny island in the southern Caribbean, not far from Venezuela, is promoting itself with a dive magazine that reflects the island's own miniature dimensions. Compact it might be, but Bonaire's marine park boasts 86 official diving spots, including 51 which are shore dives. It's one of the few places where you can take a tank and head off independently of any dive centre. The reef wall is only a few metres from the shore and it's the place where the term "diving freedom" was coined. Flights are daily and direct by KLM from Amsterdam.

ADDED ATTRACTIONS Cozumel, an island off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, is another of those numerous places rated among the world's Top Five dive sites by certain US commentators. And it does offer history, culture and Mayan ruins as attractions alongside the excellent diving - you might even stumble across the remains of a Spanish galleon. A seven-night break, including flights on American Airlines or Mexicana, room-only twinshare accommodation at the Villablanca Garden Beach hotel and five two-tank boat dives costs from £1186.

BETWEEN THE CHEEKS This revolutionary Manta-Bite mouthpiece uses your cheeks rather than your teeth to hold the regulator, and is claimed to be the most comfortable mouthpiece on the market. Developed by a Chicago dentist, the maker claims it will stay in place even if the diver becomes unconscious. In fact diving fatalities due to drowning usually prove that an unconscious diver was still breathing. "The further a diver opens his mouth, the wider the wings spread and lock into the cheeks," is the claim. The Manta-Bite mouthpiece costs US $45 including shipping and is available direct from the maker.

FUNKTION MIT KOMFORT The Deep Mission semi-dry suit is made from a mixture of 5mm neoprene and Microskin, with a titanium-alloy plush lining. Features include a Microskin insert in the back to give flexibility of movement, an asymmetrical front zipper and a smoothskin-trimmed collar for comfort. Titanium-coated double cuffs on arms and legs, each with its own zip, and pre-shaped rubber knee-pads are intended to add even more comfort to an item available in a range of off-the-peg sizes, or supplied custom-built on request. It's just one of a vast range of suits made in Austria by Camaro.
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ON THE RUN Elsewhere this month you can read about South Africa's annual epic, the Sardine Run. Divequest says it is the first European travel operator to offer packages to witness the phenomenon. The trip runs to and from Durban from 2-9 June 2003, and £995 buys you twinshare accommodation to enjoy four days on the Run and two days' shark diving. Flights are not included. Other new Divequest destinations for 2003 include Dominica, Cozumel, Mexico's Yucatan, Malpelo, Bikini, French Polynesia, South Africa, West Papua and Antarctica!

WARM TIDDLERS Now that the age for scuba-diving is being reduced, how long can it be before we see toddlers doing it? Kids love water and these wetsuits will go a long way to keeping them warm when they're in it. The TUSA Chico is a mini-replica of a grown-up's shortie in 3mm neoprene and costs £31. The TUSA Kid's Vest has velcro adjusting straps at the waist, costs £18 and will suit those putting a first toe in the water.