John Bantin has been a full-time professional diving writer and underwater photographer since 1990. He makes around 300 dives each year testing diving equipment.

I AM SAD. Sometimes I feel embarrassed by the new equipment people see me using. It doesn't always look "professional" enough, it's too shiny, too ostentatious. Surely other divers must think I'm a rich beginner with "posh gear" clearly designed for those with more money than sense.
     When I go on holiday - and yes, I go diving even when I'm on my holidays - I usually take the equipment of my choice. However, when I went to Majorca recently, I took the Mares HUB Avant-Garde along, and that's as posh a bit of gear as you can get.
     The HUB is an integrated BC-and-regulator system. Although its manufacturer would have us believe that HUB stands for Human Underwater Breathing (System), for me it spells "convenience".
     You just plonk the whole thing on a tank and away you go. When you've finished, dunk it in the rinse tank and you're done. Apart from your fins, mask and suit, that's your equipment sorted.
     The only inconvenience comes from fielding the snarls from those with traditional equipment configurations who somehow think you've cheated.
     Under water, the HUB works like traditional scuba gear, with a few exceptions. The most obvious is that buoyancy control is operated by a pneumatic system with a fill and dump control near the front of the BC at the left. There is no corrugated hose.
     It works like a dream. The air comes out as magically as it goes in, whichever angle you happen to be at. A criticism? The graphics for IN and OUT seem to have been positioned at the capricious will of a graphic designer, rather than sensibly beside the appropriate buttons. This could lead to confusion if the wearer needed rescuing by someone who blindly followed the instructions.
     Mares includes a manual dump-valve for those who don't trust the mechanics to work every time! There's a manual bottom dump, too.
     The BC is a two-part dragonfly design, combining a traditional BC with a little wing. Although the importer could lend me an example only in the smallest size, it gave a good horizontal underwater attitude and a secure upright feeling at the surface.
     The octopus rig is stowed in one see-through pocket with a rip-away velcro cover. The high-pressure contents gauge is stowed in another, so you don't need to see it until you want it. In this way there are no bits to dangle.
     The unit's first stage connects to the tank and distributes the air via a manifold concealed in the backpack. The regulator hose appears from another front pocket and I used a unit with an optional swivel-joint where the hose meets the second stage. I found that this added comfort because the hose routeing to my mouth was less tortuous than it might otherwise have been. Like all Mares regulators, it performed well.
     Unlike the original HUB, the Avant-Garde has an integrated-weight system, so no additional weightbelt is needed. We have been inundated with letters from readers complaining about the security of the installation of the lead in the integrated-weight systems of their BCs. I found myself sitting in the dive boat, with the HUB, next to one such letter-writer.
     No one manufacturer stands out for special criticism but it does seem to be an issue that needs addressing. Weights dropped by mistake can cause big problems for the loser, as well as for any divers below at the time.
     Mares has answered these complaints with a new system which I believe it intends to add to all its BCs with integrated weights. It includes a locking-stud system which should ensure that no accidents can happen.
     However, be sure to clip these studs precisely. I failed to do so, and my first dive consisted of a search for the weight-pocket I had dropped as I went over the side of the boat. Most embarrassing!
     There are trim-weight pockets too, at the back of the unit, and these come in handy when using floaty aluminium tanks.
     There has been much discussion on the www.divernet.com forum about the relative merits of dropping a weightbelt or adding air to a BC to facilitate an emergency ascent. Dropping 8kg of lead is the same as adding 8kg of buoyancy in the form of air. The difference is that if you add air, you can control the ascent by dumping on the way up. Dropping weights is a bit final.
     However, Mares' solution is the best I have seen yet.
     Moving on, there are four big D-rings and a tube that pulls out for manually inflating the BC at the surface if you are out of air. The HUB Avant-Garde has everything you need, and more. That's why other divers tend be envious and I got a bit embarrassed using it.
     The most "embarrassing" of the cornucopia of features has to be the power-driven camband. Instead of fighting to lever it tight on the tank, you simply tweak it and the band is tightened pneumatically. Silly? Extravagant? I thought so until I saw other divers climbing back on the boat with their tanks hanging precariously after being inadequately fitted to their BCs.
     The HUB might be convenient when diving, but it's a pity Mares couldn't have made the whole unit a bit lighter, then it would have been just as convenient at the airport check-in. It is, however, supplied in a very nice, semi-rigid case that you can carry as a rucksack, so I was tempted to take it as carry-on baggage. I suppose the next thing will be an all-titanium version for those who can afford it.
     Who will buy the HUB Avant-Garde? People who buy all their kit in one go and don't mind it being from a single manufacturer. People who want to go diving as conveniently as possible. People who are prepared to pay a premium price. It really is for the leisure diver who wants (and has) everything.
The Mares HUB Avant-Garde costs £825 plus the cost of your choice of console. The optional regulator pivot-joint costs £15.

Second-stages and gauges are neatly stowed in separate pockets


the power-driven camband makes securing your tank easy


integrated-weight system is the best around, but make sure the studs are clipped properly


the first stage distributes air via a manifold in the backpack


buoyancy control is operated pneumatically with a fill and dump control located front left


the octopus is stowed in a see-through pocket

Travelling Bare
We live in a one-world economy. Products with familiar brands are made in far-off, unheard-of countries. Don't buy a Ford Fiesta or a Hoover dishwasher because you think you're buying British! Even many "German" products come from elsewhere.
     My wife used to work in the popular fashion business. She would travel to Paris, Milan and New York to find the best designs and then on to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China to oversee production.
     Most wetsuits available in British dive shops, despite their badges, come from the Far East. Now Suunto, the Finnish dive-computer company, has sent me a couple of Canadian-branded suits made in Malta!
     These Bare Attack suits are nicely stitched in 3mm neoprene with a zip up the back. They have stretchy panels under the arms, pre-formed knees and reinforced shin areas. Gasket seals are built in behind the seams at wrists and ankles.
     We used the Bare Attack suits in the Mediterranean in July, when the water is quite warm near the surface but a bit cooler at 20m and more. We offset the discomfort at depth for extreme comfort during long boat-rides without any shade.
     However, these suits are ideally suited for diving in the warmest waters and, with full-length arms and legs, give total protection from stinging plankton and jellyfish. In that respect, diving in a Bare suit proved better than diving in bare skin. We also liked the cut, which I felt was rather flattering. What do you think?
     Available in a range of sizes to suit both men and women, the Bare Attack suits cost from £75 or £57 as a shortie.

Titanic performance

The Aqualung Titan LX is another of the new generation of regulators that offers a compact second stage combined with a high-performance balanced diaphragm first stage in the mid-price range.
     It has a soft front that covers the purge control, and this has side-slots to discourage free-flows when descending rapidly head-first, or when facing into a strong flow of water.
     It appeals to me because it dispenses with the unnecessary breathing-resistance adjuster seen on many more expensive regulator second stages, providing instead just the venturi ± lever that helps prevent uncontrollable free-flows when you first hit the water.
     This simply positions a vane within the body of the second stage to interrupt the clean flow of air which, ironically, causes this free-flow effect. The vacuum effect behind the front diaphragm can pull the vane, depressing the demand lever, and the effect is exponential. Under water I could detect no difference when the venturi was in the + position, so I soon decided to leave it alone.
     The internal components are made of technopolymer, which is claimed to increase resistance to rust and the ice crystals that might form in very cold conditions.
     The Comfobite mouthpiece is designed to take pressure away from your jaw and lock instead on to your upper front teeth. This is comfortable for those whose front teeth are secure, but I found after prolonged use that it made my upper gums sore, and the flow of air was directed so that it hit the back of my throat in such a way that it tended to make me gag. It seems you either love the Comfobite or hate it. However, the mouthpiece is fixed with a reusable clip so that it can be replaced in a moment without the need for tools.
     The LX has Aqualung patented heat-exchangers positioned where the medium-pressure hose meets the second stage. These are intended to pick up whatever heat there might be in the water and warm the chilled air from the first stage, so resisting freezing.
     The first stage is also available as the LX Supreme, environmentally sealed for coldwater diving , but the first stage of the LX I tried had no such coldwater protection. It has a thoughtfully tapered barrel which positions the hoses neatly. There are two high-pressure and four mp ports arranged around it.
     I found that the octopus supplied (at extra cost) had a hose long enough to allow me to rig it on my left but still end up with the business end on my right.
     If you haven't tried your octopus on the left, do so. You'll be amazed at how it simplifies air-sharing (see below).
     I used the Titan LX for a week's diving in a variety of different conditions and it never proved wanting in the amount of air it delivered, even when I was in strong currents at depth and working extremely hard.
     As tested, it costs £189. In Titan LX Supreme form, with an environmentally sealed first-stage, it costs £200.

Angling for the octopus
Ever run out of air and had to use your buddy's octopus? It's not easy, especially if it's rigged on the same side as the main regulator medium-pressure hose.
     I have always rigged my octopus on the left. No, it's not particularly good for me to use, but why would I want to use it? It is, however, perfect for another diver, and so long as I give him my octopus before he snatches my second stage, surely that's what octopuses are all about. When we undertake regulator comparisons for Diver with routine use of the octopus, the left-sided rig proves its good sense.
     Enough of all that. If you have an Oceanic Swivel 180° Octopus, it matters not a jot which side it's fitted. This is because it does exactly what it says on the box. It swivels through 180°.
     You can use it either way up, left- or right-handed, though for best performance we found that positioning the purge valve on top gave an advantage. If the hose comes from under your arm, it still does nothing to disrupt that moment when things might be at their most fraught.
     Oceanic claims that the Swivel 180° gives one of the highest performances of any second stage it has produced, so you might want to use it yourself! Why do people fit inferior second stages as octopus rigs? A poor performer is hardly what you need in a crisis. I was once offered one so bad I preferred to take my chances with the few bars left in my own tank!
     In keeping with modern thinking, the Swivel 180° has no exhaust tee. That's the rubber bit which catches on something as you jump off the boat and goes missing soon afterwards. If people who need to use it complain later that the exhaled bubbles passed up by their face, tell them to get real.
     We encountered one silly problem when a tank was put down inexpertly on top of the Swivel 180° and the purge panel was pushed in permanently. It proved quicker to swap it for another second stage, so fiddly did removing, straightening and refitting it prove to be.
     Octopus rigs are one of the few examples of altruism at work under water. Or are they? I would be horrified if I had to come up and explain that "my buddy simply disappeared during the ascent". As I used to say when I escorted divers in Spain, "Sorry if you think I'm over-cautious, but if anything happens to you, I go to prison!"
     An easily deployed octopus rig gives confidence to both sides of a buddy pair, and the Oceanic Swivel 180¡ Octopus goes a long way in that (or any) direction.
It costs £77.