The Buddy Trimix stab jacket may take up more than its fair share of luggage space, but John Bantin found it very comfortable. Our picture shows its double mask pocket (front), buoyancy bag (rear) and weight pouch (behind diver's elbow).
I've just been trying the new Buddy Trimix BC from A.P. Valves. It is one of the most comfortable stab jackets of all time!
True, with its 400ml emergency air cylinder, it took up the greater part of my luggage space on the way over the Atlantic, but then that's been my complaint about every BC from this most popular of British manufacturers.
In the emerging tradition of the technical diver, the Buddy Trimix's buoyancy is "wings-style", with a maximum lift of 22kg. The bag is attached to Buddy's traditional hard back pack, which has a separate wrap-around waistcoat-style harness, a wide, Velcroed cummerbund and an adjustable strap with a quick-release buckle. The shoulder straps are adjusted with standard A.P. Valves buckles and clips. Six stainless steel 'D' rings are attached to the harness webbing, and two more are attached to the buoyancy bag.
The double-lined buoyancy bag has quick-dump valves mounted at both the highest and lowest points. The upper one is controlled by a pull-cord which has an oversized, negatively buoyant toggle. The direct feed connects to a long corrugated hose which feeds into the highest point of the bag and, consequently, dumps just as easily under water if you are happy to raise it above shoulder height.
The corrugated hose is kept tidy by clipping it to the left shoulder strap with the direct feed hose attached to it. There are several other Velcroed hose retainers which also serve to make the diver neat in the water.
If you're into integrated weights, there are two pouches either side of the back part of the waistcoat, which are Velcroed shut at the top. A doubled-over lower section secured with Fastex-style clips allows for reasonably quick weight-dumping. This does, however, mean that in an emergency one has to dump the weights from each side separately.
I opted to keep my weights on a belt because when trying to walk fully-equipped through surf the position of the weights in the jacket tended to make me less stable under the onslaught of vigorous waves.
Under water, though, weights attached in this way certainly added to my comfort. The pouches took up to 8kg in lead each. Since the technical diver would not think of going diving without a spare mask, a pouch is provided in what Americans like to call a 'fanny-bag'. This has two spacious sections - one closes with a zip, and the other by means of a Velcroed flap. The zippered section has a small whistle attached to it, but mine fell off the first time I undid the zip underwater. I found the flapped section ideal for storing the business end of my octopus rig.
You've probably guessed by now that I was using this gear in my normal role of 'very un-technical' diver. I used a single 12-litre aluminium cylinder and went on scenic reef dives. Even used in this manner, there was absolutely no tendency to tip me forward while floating at the surface. Maybe a vertically challenged person would find things different. After my frolics in the Caribbean, I went to that famous flooded slate quarry in Leicestershire to try the jacket with twin 12-litre steel cylinders. A.P. Valves supplies cylinder twinning blocks for this purpose.
Strolling around with twin cylinders on shore was no problem, and in the water the balance seemed impeccable, both at the surface and when submerged. My dive buddy, a man not known for his love of stab jackets when diving with a drysuit, reflected that it was so comfortable, even he was considering buying one!
Between us, our only criticism was that the extended cord on the lower dump valve allowed the toggle to become lodged between a cylinder boot and the bag. This meant that when attempting to inflate the bag fully at the surface, air escaped from the open dump valve. I blamed this on a poor buddy check (mine), and I'm sure that this can easily be eliminated once "in the know".
So it's an item which received our approval. But at the price, so it should!
AFTER we had completed our regulator comparison test , Aqua-Lung (UK) sent us the new Spiro Supra S with its redesigned XR2 second stage. During the test, our main reservation regarding the Supra XP had been the massive size of the XP second stage. The new XR2 addresses this.
It's neatly designed with a smart front concealing the soft panel for the purge button. It has a wide spaced exhaust deflector and a sleekly-integrated hose protector.
Unlike the XP, it has a venturi lever to prevent free-flowing when first entering the water, or for de-tuning when using it as an octopus rig. It also has a chunky inhalation resistance adjustment knob (with a range available almost within one full turn) for those who think it breathes too easily!
As with most regulators emanating from Spiro or US Divers, it comes with a Comfobite mouthpiece (love it or hate it), but above all, the Spiro XR2 second stage is small and compact. It is also completely left/right interchangeable. This takes only a few minutes to do (by your service agent) and involves no adjustments. The main working part of the XR2 is encased in a brass monobloc. This optimises heat exchange between the very cold air passing through the first stage and the warmer water, and helps to resist freezing.
The Spiro Supra S first stage is a diaphragm design. In this case, it is environmentally-sealed against the elements by an oil chamber which insulates the spring and diaphragm. Consequently, it is ideal for use in dirty water and in the cold. It has four medium pressure ports (one over-sized for the large bore hose of the primary second stage) and two h.p. ports, which, as we said in our main feature, route the hoses around the diver in the most convenient manner possible.
Anyone who'd seen me on a wintry morning earlier this year, emptying a generous quantity of Stoney Cove's icy water from the drysuit I was trying, could be assured that this job is often far from luxurious.
And which was the suit I was trying? It was the DMS Waterware Orion, made in Scotland. And why did I get wet? Because water poured in through the cuff dump, a faulty component which was easily replaced. It was unfortunate for me that the fault wasn't spotted before I plunged into the icy water of that famous flooded quarry. But I'm not going to damn an otherwise fine product just for one uncomfortable experience.
The DMS Orion is an extremely lightweight suit, made from two-ply butyl-coated polyester. It has reinforced knee and shoulder areas. The seams are double glued and neatly taped on both sides. It comes with latex neck and wrist seals.
The version I tried had a 36in cross-shoulder zip, although it is available with a front entry diagonal zipper as an option. In the event, I found it easy to get on and (fortunately) off. Its latex seals made entry and exit particularly undramatic. The waist at the back is elasticated, which ruches the material nicely and gives a good fit. There are attached latex boots with which I wore woolly socks.
The inflation valve is mounted on a heavily reinforced area on the centre of the chest and you can opt for either a cuff dump or shoulder-mounted constant volume dump. I wouldn't give a cuff dump house-room, but others may think otherwise. The prototype suit sent to me did not have DMS Waterware's own valves, unlike production models.
I'm not able to testify to the suit's longevity, but I suppose that any owner would have to be careful with its lightweight fabric in the environs of rusting underwater wreckage. The fabric dried out on both the outside and the inside very quickly, as did the thinsulate undergarment I wore with it!
If you've ever been on a warm weather diving holiday, you'll be familiar with the problem of what to wear on your feet between dives. It needs to be lightweight, water resistant, and easy to put on and off. Not 'flip-flops': they are positively dangerous on the wet decks of boats. Trainers adopt a disgusting odour when subjected to hot, damp conditions. Decent deck-shoes get ruined in dive boats.
Reef Brazil d-Tours are substantially made and held securely in place on the foot by three Velcro-covered straps. These are instantly adjustable for comfort, and I found that even though the pair sent for me to try were not exactly my size, I was able to walk large distances in the Caribbean without my feet suffering.
They pack away tidily in the dive bag and aren't affected by the wet. Their soles are thick enough to cope with uneven surfaces without the wearer incurring any pain, and they are secure enough to allow you to jump down from the quay on to the deck of a boat.
or
