By John Brumm

Photography by Joseph Byrd

Mares Cruise Backpack Pro Dive Bag

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| | Mares Cruise Backpack Pro Dive Bag| The Backpack Pro is the flagship dive bag in Mares' new Cruise Collection of cargo carriers. Our test bag was the She Dives version, which is the same as the standard bag except with brighter color accents and the She Dives logo. Both versions come with a protective nylon cover and removable toiletry case with a mirror inside.

The Backpack Pro is designed for travel, with dimensions (31 inches high by 17 inches wide by 14 inches deep) that meet airline size requirements for checked baggage. The bag weighs just under 12.5 pounds empty, so it can accommodate about 38 pounds of gear without exceeding weight limits.

How does this translate into real-world dive travel? We put together a typical woman's dive ensemble, including a Mares Aliikai travel BC, a pair of Quattro Excel fins, a reg/console/computer combo, booties, mask and snorkel, and a 3mm fullsuit. We also threw in a pistol-grip night diving light, a heavy-duty mesh hotel-to-boat bag and a micro-fiber towel, for a total (bag and gear) weight of 35 pounds, still 15 pounds shy of airline weight limits.

The gear--minus the fins--easily fit in the main compartment, which has a three-sided zipper hinged at the bottom of the bag rather than on the side. This allows you to fold the lid completely out of the way for easy loading. The Quattro Excel kickers fit into a pair of roomy fin compartments, leaving two large lid compartments and a zippered sleeve for street clothes, sandals and swimsuits.

A fully loaded bag stands upright on its all-terrain wheels, and although the wheelbase is relatively narrow (about 10.25 inches), our test bag negotiated a series of twists and turns without tipping. Handles on top and on the reinforced base provide good lift points, and the telescoping handle locks in the extended position so you can both pull and push the bag, a feature you'll appreciate when you're in a crowded airport check-in line.

Price: $230. Contact: mares.com.

Scubapro Orbit Mask

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| | Scubapro Orbit Mask| One of the lowest-priced masks in Scubapro's '08 line, the Orbit is a frameless, single-lens design with just a sliver of a silicone skirt (about half the width of the skirts on other Scubapro masks). This enables the wide-shaped lens to sit close to your eyes, reducing volume while allowing for an expansive field of view--85 degrees horizontally and 75 degrees vertically, two-thirds of which can be found in the lower portion of the lens where you need it most. However, the narrow skirt also minimizes the cushion against the face, especially in the cheekbone area, which can create a comfort issue on some face shapes. The mask strap is a bit thicker than average, but still stretchy enough for easy donning and doffing.

Price: $63. Contact: scubapro.com.

Mares Nemo Air Computer

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| | Mares Nemo Air Computer| Soon to hit dive stores, the Nemo Air is Mares' latest foray into full-featured, air-integrated dive computing. With a large, mineral-glass display screen in a sleek, Euro-style casing, the Nemo Air is designed for the mainstream recreational diver. It can program nitrox mixes up to 50 percent while providing no-decompression limits and air consumption info on the same screen. Navigating through the system is simple with three control buttons and an easy-to-see dot matrix display. According to Mares, this matrix display increases the angle of viewing to 170 degrees, unlike many standard LCD screens whose digits lose visibility after tilting only a few degrees. The Nemo Air comes with or without a compass that attaches to the top of the case. Two molded attachment loops allow you to clip the Nemo Air to your BC for a streamlined diving profile. After the dive, a quick-disconnect fitting lets you separate the unit from your regulator for travel or storage. The Nemo Air offers 36 hours of memory, runs on a user-replaceable lithium battery, and its software is upgradable.

Price: $800. Contact: mares.com.

Dive Rite LED 500 Corded Flashlight

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| | Dive Rite LED 500 Corded Flashlight| Going underwater without a dive light is like watching a movie wearing sunglasses--you can see the big picture, but you're missing out on all the colorful details. With Dive Rite's LED 500 Corded Flashlight you won't be missing anything. Dive Rite says it delivers the same brightness underwater as a 10-watt HID light. Plus it can be transformed from a flashlight to a canister light in a matter of seconds. In flashlight mode, the LED 500 is a serious torch with a heavy-duty Delrin body and aluminum light head. It has twist-on activation and a knurled finish on the handle portion of the body so you can maintain a good grip even wearing thick gloves. The flashlight is 8 inches long, just under 2 inches in diameter and weighs 1.25 pounds loaded with eight AA batteries. Using three LEDs, it produces a bright-white, mottle-free beam. We got a center spot measurement of 8.6 EV from a distance of 12 inches. Armed with double O-rings, the light will keep on glowing down to 1,000 feet at full burn for at least 12 hours, then start gradually tapering its output for another 20 hours or so. The flashlight is heat-sinked, meaning it won't overheat on land, and comes with a nylon stowage pouch and a wrist lanyard.

Want to switch the weight of the batteries from hand to belt? No problem. An optional corded adapter turns the LED 500 flashlight into the LED 500 canister light. Simply unscrew the battery pack from the light head, replace it with the adapter that connects to the now remote battery pack via a 40-inch cord, stow the battery pack in the flashlight pouch and you're good to go. Add an optional Goodman wrist mount and voila, you have hands-free illumination.

Price: LED 500 Flashlight with corded adapter, $475; LED 500 Flashlight only, $360. Elastic Goodman hand mount, $18. Contact: diverite.com.

Scubapro Form 6.5mm Wetsuit

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| | Scubapro Form 6.5mm Wetsuit| If you're uncomfortable at depth, you're simply not going to enjoy your dive. And it all starts with the wetsuit. Scubapro's back-zip Form 6.5mm wetsuit is made with high-stretch neoprene sandwiched between nylon jersey material with blindstitched seams inside and out. This translates into a suit that easily offers the comfort and flexibility of a 3mm suit, but with enough thermal protection for temperate waters. Climbing in and out of this suit is a breeze, and the range of motion it offers is excellent, but you might need a little help from your friends getting the zipper because it lines up over the underflap in order to minimize water seepage. The suit comes with rolled nylon ankles and wrists and a comfortable smooth-cut, skin-in collar that's adjustable. Kneepads are sized right, offering good abrasion protection without restricting leg movement. The suit comes in both men's (black/gray) and women's (black/blue) sizes and is also available in 3mm and 5mm versions.

Price: $286. Contact: scubapro.com.

Dive-Fur Boat Coat

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| | Dive-Fur Boat Coat| Originally developed for surfers, the Dive-Fur hooded dive coat serves a couple of purposes. First and foremost, it's a between-dive warmer. The coat is made of a soft, polyester fleece backed by a fast-drying wind and waterproof inner membrane that you can pull on over a wetsuit to cut down on windchill. It's also designed as a pre- or post-dive changing coat. Cut longer than a traditional boat coat, reaching down to about mid-calf, Dive-Fur offers lots of wriggle room in the torso and sleeves, plus has "thru-and-thru" pockets that let you reach in and pull on or off swimsuits or wetsuits without flashing your dive buddies. The Dive-Fur uses stainless steel snaps instead of a zipper, is machine-washable and reversible, and is available in sizes XS-XXXL in blue and black.

Price: $99 to $109. Contact: Surf-fur.com.