Jay Lagare

When it comes to a cutting tool for diving, simple is the operative word. Face it, you won’t be fighting off a hungry great white. Heck, you’re lucky if you see one. More often than not, you will be using it for cutting lines and ropes. So a simple one will do the job. In fact, experienced divers sometimes use a simple kitchen knife. But kitchen knives can’t usually be used for prying.

This is where the Gerber River Shorty comes in. It can do everything a kitchen knife can. Plus the blade is also thick enough to be usable for prying. There is actually a version with a flat tip designed for prying. The blade is sharp and is 50% serrated/50% straight. The spine has ribbing for control with your thumb. The handle is molded plastic with ribbing and cut-outs for grip. It also has a no nonsense solid plastic sheath with a clip for attaching to your flotation vest or belt.

It’s light and small. Unobtrusive but there when you need it. I’ve dived quite a few times with it and it has held up well for a knife originally designed for river rafting. Saltwater can cause some rusting but nothing a good washing and oiling can prevent.

Rating: 4/5

The Zeagle Scout is a back inflation bouyance compensator (BC). With back inflation BCs, the inflating part of the BC is located only at the back. Because of this, you won’t experience squeeze as in jacket-style BCs when you fully inflate. As an added advantage, this configuration allows you to more easily keep a horizontal orientation underwater. This is the best position for minimizing drag when moving along.

In terms of features, the Scout has minimal padding at the back, simple quick release straps, two what could be called pockets along each hip, a dump valve, and the requisite inflator/deflator hose which also acts as a dump valve. The only “extras” would be the retractor bungees (which you can remove) and the integrated weight pockets (which are supposedly just trim weight pockets). It’s a minimalist BC. And guess what? It’s great!

The Scout is definitely not for everyone. Because of its light weight and compact size, it is probably good as a travel BC or as a BC for the minimalist diver. Probably the only more minimalist BC would be a backplate with wing system. Incidentally, the wing is removable and, I suspect, used with a backplate. Now that’s a future project :)

Rating: 4/5

The Apeks ATX50 is the descendant of the famous AT50 regulator favored by many advanced divers. But it is smaller and lighter. It has a pressure balanced system which reduces breathing effort at depth. It also has venturi control and cracking resistance control to adjust breathing performance to your taste. I tend to just put them all at the max setting, though. The only less-than-good thing about the ATX50 is the exhaust which is rather small and if you’re upright, delivers exhaust bubbles straight up your face. But then you won’t be staying upright most of the time, will you? ;)

Again, I haven’t used too many 2nd stage so I can’t say much except that it works and it works well :P I’m pretty happy with the it but I know of someone who isn’t. Your mileage may vary.

Rating: 5/5

Since I seem to be on a scuba phase of my preoccupation cycle, I’ll post some scuba related reviews. I’ll start with the Apeks DS4. This 1st stage regulator is a no-nonsense device. It has a dry-sealed (DS) system which means it has a sealing outer diaphragm which transmits pressure over the primary diaphragm. The water doesn’t get in contact with internals and freeze things in cold water. It is also overbalanced. This means the deeper you get, slightly more pressure is delivered to the 2nd stage regulator. It has 4 medium-pressure ports, and 1 high-pressure port. It came with a DIN fitting so I needed a yoke adapter for using it with the tanks that are commonly available locally.

I haven’t really used too many other 1st stages so all I can say is that it works and it works well. The fact that many advanced divers recommend it is testament to its capabilities.

Rating: 5/5