Kieron McClintock

There’s nothing more annoying than getting all the way out to a dive site just to have your dive ruined by a broken strap or O-ring. For this reason it is always a good idea to have some sort of spares kit with you that can quickly get you back into the water.

  In order to maintain your regulator correctly you need to get it serviced at regular intervals. This, most importantly, ensures your regulator is performing at its best at all times but it also maintains your warranty from the manufacturer. Many manufacturers offer limited lifetime warranties on their regulators but in order to maintain this, you need to make sure you get your regulators serviced regularly by an authorised technician.

A dive computer allows divers to safely extend their time in the water by constantly adjusting their calculations based on your actual depth rather than the maximum depth reached during the dive. They are considered essential equipment by most dive resorts/centre’s around the world and should be one of the first pieces of kit you consider buying.

A short selection of Christmas gift ideas for Scuba Divers from the staff at Robin Hood Watersports. Our advice should enable you to purchase the perfect gift at a price to suit your budget.

So, the big question which seems to be getting asked more and more often now is do I buy a jacket style or wing BCD?

When it comes to the history of scuba, even though the equipment produced for the sport has been around for less than a century, the practice of diving, whether to find food, as a military tactic, or just for sheer pleasure goes back many millennia.

With the dive season fast approaching, a lot of divers will be starting to pull their dive kit out of storage with the hope of getting wet soon. Before you just sling your gear on and jump into the ocean, it’s a good idea to give it all the once over to make sure everything is in good working order.

Your regulator is probably the most important piece of kit you will buy and if properly maintained, will give you many, many years of service. It is also one of the most expensive pieces of kit you will buy, so it is worth having a think about what you want to achieve with your diving and what sort of things you want to do in the future

Known by several names, BCD (Buoyancy Compensating Device), BC (Buoyancy Compensator) or stab Jacket, modern BCD’s allow the simple addition or release of air during your dive to maintain neutral buoyancy.

Your dive mask is probably the cheapest piece of kit you will buy but if you get it wrong will possibly ruin your diving experience.