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REGULATOR
THE ATOMIC BRAND HAD BEEN VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN this side of the Atlantic until recently. In fact it was DIVER that brought the Atomic regulator to the attention of British customers. Now things are set to change for the brand in the UK.
The story behind Atomic is one of two designers from Scubapro who went their own way to make products up to a standard they wanted. As a consequence, Atomic products have been anything but cheap, but the falling dollar and rising pound have now made them more attainable.
The Atomic T2 is part of a range of similarly designed regulators, made from varying metals. The T of T2 denotes titanium. Titanium is light, strong, expensive and, ironically, does not make a good bedfellow with the elevated levels of oxygen found in nitrox. Until now, that is.
The Atomic T2 is supplied, fresh from the manufacturer-supplied box, already oxygen-clean for use with nitrox up to 40% at 230 bar, even though the T2 features an all-titanium construction on both its first and second stages.
If you want to use richer mixes, buy the M1. The M denotes an alternative metal, Monel.
On the outside, the T2 looks superficially "old Scubapro". I bet the guys from Atomic are as fed up with reading this as I am writing it. It's the engineering that makes the difference, and I suppose the fine way in which the A-clamp and the tall turret first stage are machined gives a clue.
The T2 uses a balanced flow-through piston design with a unique self-lubricating piston seal system that gives the manufacturer the confidence to offer in the USA a limited-lifetime guarantee. Two-year service intervals are recommended.
There are two high-pressure and five mp ports on the revolving turret. The balanced second stage is finished like a piece of jewellery. It's compact, with a soft front that gives easy access to its purge control. This is retained by a titanium ring that also acts as a heat-sink.
Undoing the front and taking a peep inside reveals a high standard of craftsmanship. Some manufacturers don't like consumers doing this, and I can understand why.
Some regulators have mechanisms bordering on the crude, but no fears here.
There's a titanium lever with a Kevlar-reinforced polymer insert at its pivot point. The valve-seat's life is dramatically extended by inclusion of a unique adjustable orifice that contacts the rubber seat only when the regulator is pressurised.
Titanium is used for the valve spring and the valve body, so performance is never affected by corrosion. Atomic regulators perform well when new but they are also designed to continue to perform well throughout their lives.
Another unique design feature is the depth-sensitive automatic flow control, which adjusts the venturi-effect disruption vane without the diver having to do a thing.
A rapid adjustment knob also allows quick and temporary detuning of the regulator for either surf or coldwater entries, or if you wish to use an Atomic second stage as an octopus.
An over-sized exhaust valve reduces the work of breathing, and a reasonably wide exhaust-T directs exhaled bubbles away from the diver's face. You can opt for an extended exhaust-T if required.
Frontal current effects are taken care of by a specially designed front cover.
A big robust universal joint at the point where the hose meets the second stage takes care of comfortable hose routeing, and the most comfortable mouthpiece I have ever used completes the effect.
The Atomic T2 is the same as the Atomic B2, another regulator that has many titanium parts, but only in the second stage. I have been using one extensively since an early version was sent to me to try about a year ago. At last I feel that I can send the B2 back!
I was content to experiment to see if the different metal of the Atomic T2 made any difference to the performance of the regulator in use. My findings were that it seemed to breathe like a dream.
The breathing-gas supply was always just as I would like it - never too much, never too little. It diffused into my mouth without gushing or causing concern at even the greatest depth at which one should breathe air.
However, it's not really suitable for the hardy cold/ freshwater diver, because it has a piston design first stage without concession to much in the way of a heat-sink, and it's not cheap. Launched in November, the Atomic T2 regulator will cost £799.
Typhoon International 01642 486104, www.atomicaquatics.com
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+ Engineered to the highest standards
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- Not really suitable for cold fresh water
- Not cheap
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DRY BAG
WATER HAS A FUNNY HABIT OF CREEPING AND SEEPING IN everywhere, as so many drysuit-wearers can attest. But it isn't only beneath the surface that things can get decidedly wet. On boats, even in calm conditions, unwanted dampness is a continual hazard.
I usually want to take things on dive boats that I would prefer to keep dry. It might be a towel, or the clothes I took off before suiting-up, or spare film for my camera, my car keys, my phone, a packet of Kleenex, even a Mars bar. Some people like to keep their wallets to hand.
It is usually other divers who find a way to dampen my enthusiasm. There are those who seem to enjoy doing impressions of a retriever fresh out of a lake, and shake their wetness over everything.
They're just animals - the retrievers, I mean. But some divers are not much better.
Then there's the cuddy of the boat, which always looks so weather-tight before we start punching head-on into the sea. The front window seals turn out to be about as effective as a colander at keeping the water out, and that fabulously dry area starts to look as damp as Carlisle last winter.
Bags placed on the front shelf may as well have been left on the open deck.
My friend Colonel Dave sent me a dry bag to try. He is now distributing the brand here in the UK. He sent a selection of different bags with the message that they were for me to do with as I liked. That was smart of him.
I took one that measured 32 x 62cm on an extended trip. I chose it because it seemed about the right size for my own requirements and folded down very small - small enough to fit in the pocket of a BC and be used as an impromptu lifting bag if needed.
Some D-rings were attached, intended for lashing the full bag safely in place. It is made watertight by simply folding over the top flap onto its Velcro and then rolling it down on itself and fastening with a pinch-clip.
This makes it very easy to clip up somewhere out of harm's way, so that the animals have no chance of getting to it.
It's made of sturdy yet lightweight plastic-coated rip-stop nylon material, and the one I chose was bright yellow with a transparent window, so that nobody needed to open it to find out what was inside.
This Seaview drybag comes in a range of sizes, from extra small at £7.95 to large at £10.95. There are other bags in the range, too.
I found it a cheap and simple solution to the problem of keeping personal items dry, and it works.
Aqua Quest, 02392 838773, www.aqua-quest.co.uk
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+ Simple solution
+ Inexpensive
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COMPUTER
I RECENTLY REVIEWED THE ALADIN PRIME, a new entry-level computer, and pointed out that in sharing the same manual with its more impressive brother, it looked a bit of a poor relation.
Almost immediately after publication, an Aladin Tec turned up on my desk. It appears to do everything the Aladin Prime does not, and so in this case the whole of the instruction manual it shares with the Prime applies.
This makes it much easier to follow than when getting to grips with the Prime, even though setting the Tec up does require you to understand the difference between a short push and a long push!
The Tec is a single-gas nitrox (up to 100% O2) computer that can be set for varying levels of micro-bubble suppression. Micro-bubbles are thought to form during traditional safe ascents, and these get added to and become significant during repeat diving.
The Aladin Tec allows you to pre-select five different micro-bubble levels (L1 to L5) or to turn that feature off altogether (L0). I bet a lot of divers will use it straight out of the box on L0 and never realise that they are simply using a straight Buhlmann algorithm with no micro-bubble protection whatsoever.
As I get older, I want things to be safer. I think it's a pity that Scubapro/Uwatec has still allowed for this possibility of excluding micro-bubble suppression. It doesn't realise that we divers are not that clever. Most of us just strap a computer onto our arm and do what it tells us, unquestioningly.
Then, of course, there is the problem of increased micro-bubble prevention increasing stop times. I was often put under pressure to turn off this feature by divers who preferred not to hang around in the shallows after a dive. It's a philosophical difference. Do you want more safety or more convenience?
I started using the computer set at L2, but was soon forced to change to L1. I refused to abandon the micro-bubble suppression altogether, but we had to balance the safety of long hangs with the risk of getting lost at the surface because of the strong currents in which we found ourselves.
The Aladin Tec defaults to 1.4 bar ppO2 but can be variously set from 1.2 to a 1.6 bar limit, and provides both a visual and audible warning. It can also be used in Gauge mode as a straight depth-gauge and dive-timer.
Other useful features available with the Tec are the depth and dive-time alarm (up to 195 minutes). Sea or fresh water can be pre-selected and you can vary the illumination of the screen from two to 12 seconds.
As with the Prime, after diving the data can be downloaded, with the aid of software included, to any PC with a built-in infra-red interface.
The Aladin Tec costs £299 including PC software.
Scubapro UK 01256 812636, www.scubapro.co.uk
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+ Extra levels of caution over basic Prime
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- Will most divers ignore the micro-bubble feature?
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LIGHTS
JAMES DYSON MAY BE A FAMOUS NAME associated with vacuum cleaners but the Dyson of JMD Technologies makes underwater lamps. Up to now, the company has fought its corner with a lamp-head and battery-pack connected by an umbilical. It has proved popular with loyal Buy-British divers and is a little less expensive than some of its more exotic rivals.
But the bigger part of the underwater lamp market is actually for more straightforward hand lanterns, so JMD is addressing that demand with two new products.
They look outwardly similar, except that one is powered by a 12V ni-mh battery-pack while the other, smaller, model uses only a 6V battery. Naturally, the larger version has a brighter light output from its 50W xenon bulb, but the 6V version is no shrinking violet, even if its user has to be content with only 20W of consumption.
Both lamps are built to be tough. Depth-rated to 150m, with 6mm-thick heat-resistant glass and bodies machined from tough aluminium 6082 and anodised, they look as if they could suffer turbulent times in a crowded RIB without letting you down when you need them.
There's no sophisticated switching system to leave you scratching your head while enjoying the sort of thought processes possible at 40m. It's "on" or "off" by means of a large knurled knob that can be easily worked with hands restricted by dry-gloves. Alongside it is a smaller knurled knob that you will never manage to get undone under water, which is lucky. It's the access-bung for the charging lead.
The standard charger takes 12-16 hours to fill a totally flat battery, but there is also the option of an intelligent fast-charger that can reduce this to three. That's more suitable for those on liveaboards and doing little but dive, dive, dive.
The screw-threaded access bung is protected by a single O-ring, and I suppose this is an opportunity for those with less finesse to foul up and flood the unit. If you do damage the O-ring, you can easily replace it with one from a regulator high-pressure port plug.
There is also the chance that you might take out the little bung for charging and put it down somewhere, never to be seen again. Or you just might forget to replace it, with disastrous results. A fluffy pocket is no place to put it for safe-keeping, either. The greased O-ring needs to be kept immaculately clean.
The burntime of the larger, brighter version is around an hour, and remember that with ni-mh batteries you can top up without danger of memory effects. The smaller unit will burn for 15 minutes longer than its bigger brother.
To change the bulb, you have to unscrew the front knurled section from the main body. It's well-engineered and protected from leaks by double O-rings. However, these must be well-lubricated and you must be careful as you screw the front back onto the lamp that you do not displace these O-rings. It's easily done.
The lamps are quite sleek, in that they measure only 6cm in diameter. They are 17 and 23cm long, almost compact. I took the larger one on a diving trip and, for someone who is forever whinging about ever-lengthening arms, this was a vote of confidence.
The unit proved to be nicely balanced in the hand and gave an exceedingly bright hotspot that was not at all mean, together with a large peripheral halo.
In a world where it is possible to spend more than half a grand on a lamp, these both look to be extremely good value. The 6V 20W JMD L2075 costs £165; the 12V 50W JMD L5060 costs £195.
JMD Technologies 01751 476972, www.jmdtechnologies.co.uk
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+ Beautifully engineered
+ Tough
+ Good value
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- The charging access plug and other O-rings require care
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UNDERSUIT
NEVER ONE TO PASS UP AN OPPORTUNITY to get myself photographed in my underwear, I enthusiastically welcomed a set of Icebreaker Bodyfit 260 long-sleeved crew and leggings to try for DIVER Tests.
The packaging was marked with the extravagant claim that this was the most comfortable, best-performing underwear in the world. It also had testimonials from the likes of round-the-world sailor Sir Peter Blake, and Daniel Pringle, an Antarctica-based scientist.
Icebreaker underwear is made in New Zealand from Merino wool. I have extolled the virtues of the fleece of the unique sheep from New Zealand's Southern Alps before, writing about a woolly-lined wetsuit from that chilly part of the world.
Merino wool is soft, has no odour even when wet, dries quickly and is extremely warm by weight when compared to artificial fibres. It is highly breathable, which makes it a good base layer under your drysuit undersuit.
It's biodegradable, so you can feel good about using it, and it's fire-resistant, so you can huddle with your hot chocolate close to the fire without danger of going up in flames.
The other plus I found, when using it with a drysuit that proved less than dry, is that it feels warm when wet. I carried out this experiment on finding that I had a dump-valve that was not watertight.
Pure Merino wool also has good wicking properties - it draws sweat away from your skin so that you feel dry. It's a luxurious base-layer to wear under your C-bear or Weezle undersuit.
Some mountaineers and Antarctic explorers claim to wear their Merino wool underwear continuously, day and night, for three months at a time.
I'm not sure I'd like to test their claims, but I felt slightly reluctant to throw it in the washing machine after only a couple of outings, diving in the cold water.
I can tell you that I wore it without any complaints of the itchy and scratchy kind after a six-hour drive back to London from diving in Capernwray, so there's no question of masochism about it.
So what more do you need to know about my habitual use of underwear? Any more will risk me delving into the area of "too much information".
The Icebreaker Bodyfit 260 is mid-weight in the manufacturer's range and costs around £50 per garment. That's £100 for the set. No wonder those Antarctic guys wear their Icebreakers for three months at a time. They can't afford more than one set! There's also a lighterweight Skin 200 range available.
Icebreaker, www.icebreaker.com
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+ Lightweight.
+ Extremely soft.
+ Very warm.
+ Bio-degradable.
+ Not S&M.
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- More expensive than M&S
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