By John Brumm

Photography by Joseph Byrd

Aqua Lung Mikron

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)| | Aqua Lung Mikron| Keep it small, keep it light, keep it simple. That's what Aqua Lung's engineers were surely thinking when they created the Mikron. The balanced-diaphragm first stage, sporting one high-pressure and four low-pressure ports, is not much bigger than a golf ball, and the pneumatically balanced second stage, with its simple user-control knob, measures just over two inches across the purge valve cover, making it about two-thirds the size of a typical second stage. Together, they create a surprisingly lightweight package. Our test reg, with a DIN fitting, weighed in at only 1.5 pounds. The yoke version weighs a few ounces more, but it's still one-third to half the weight of most modern regs. Its braided low-pressure hose is also new. Designed to be extremely flexible for easier packing, it's also lighter than standard rubber hoses.

However, small and light doesn't necessarily mean stingy performance. While we weren't able to put the Mikron on a breathing machine in time for this First Look review (look for full ANSTI results in the next Scuba Lab review of new regulators, scheduled for the July issue), we found the Mikron to be a smooth, dry breather in all positions during our first round of test dives. The pliable purge cover produced excellent clearing action, delivering a forceful blast of air without blowing a hole in the back of our throats. Bubble interference was minimal, which was a pleasant surprise considering the narrow second-stage casing. The user-control knob offers about one-and-a-quarter turns of adjustment and, when fully closed, it does a good job of preventing surface free flows. Fully opened, you get effortless air delivery.

Bottom line: The Mikron is light as a feather, takes up virtually no room in a dive bag, and based on our initial test dives, delivers great in-water performance. It's available in basic black or in pink vanilla to match the color scheme of Aqua Lung's Pearl i3 women's BC.

Price: $569; octopus, $242. Contact: aqualung.com.

Zeagle Talon

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| | Zeagle Talon| The Talon is a traditional paddle-style fin with a long thermoplastic blade (15 inches measured from foot pocket to blade tip) that features rubber side rails, pliable rubber along the leading edge of the blade and a pair of molded rubber skegs to provide lateral stability. The Talon isn't really a go-fast fin; it responds best to a slow, wide, scissors-style kick. The fin also likes frog and dolphin kicks too; get a steady rhythm going and you can cruise all day, but try a fast flutter kick and you're liable to hurt yourself. The Talon corners and backs up efficiently, in spite of its size, making it easy to get out of tight places. It's also easy to don and doff and adjust for fit. Its effective nonskid pattern will keep you from slipping on wet boat decks and a pair of them weighs about 4 pounds--about average for fins this size. Available in black and neon yellow in three sizes.

Price: $89. Contact: zeagle.com.

Suunto Cobra 2

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| | Suunto Cobra 2| Like the original Cobra, the dewdrop-shaped Cobra 2 is a full-featured, air-integrated dive computer. But this new version lets you switch between two gases and program nitrox mixes up to 99 percent. The Cobra 2 also uses Suunto's Deep Stop RGBM algorithm and includes a built-in electronic compass with tilt sensor and a matrix dive profile display--plus it has gone from a three-button to a four-button operation. It has an excellent owner's manual, although the Cobra 2's intuitive design makes this less important than with other data crunchers. Programming the computer is falling-down-simple. In fact, the screen prompts and clearly marked control buttons enabled us to set time, date, nitrox mix, etc. without having to actually refer to the manual. The screen serves up data in big, bold digits, and the new graphic dive profile display is especially cool. The Cobra 2 comes with a screen guard and a nice zippered storage pouch. An optional quick-disconnect fitting lets you separate the computer from the high-pressure hose for safe stowage. Look for a full review on the Cobra 2 in next month's Scuba Lab review of new dive computers.

Price: $850, or $950 with the quick-disconnect. Contact: aqualung.com.

Hollis HD100 BC

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| | Hollis HD100 BC| Hollis Gear, part of the American Underwater Products family of dive companies that includes Oceanic and Aeris, was founded to meet the needs of serious divers looking for products with more technical features. The HD100 back-buoyancy BC, designed for advanced sport divers, offers a combination of tech-rec features. It's constructed of rugged 1,000-denier Cordura with a urethane internal bladder. The heavy-duty harness is fitted with five primary stainless steel D-rings, plus six smaller stainless D-rings in back for hooking canister lights, dry suit inflation bottles, reels and the like. The hard backpack is compact and cushioned with a nice back/lumbar pad. There's also a neoprene neck roll. The sternum strap offers a choice of two positions. The cummerbund, which is removable, is backed by a 1.5-inch double-pull waist strap. Knife-mounting grommets are located on both pockets.

In the water, this is a very comfortable, very stable BC. Contoured shoulder straps angle in and work with the sternum strap to create a snug fit. The two zippered storage pockets are set back near the bladder, which makes them a bit harder to access, but they offer lots of volume and they don't interfere with the integrated-weight system. The BC's ballast pouches are secured with mechanical latches backed up by Velcro. This redundant system keeps the weight secure, but requires a little finesse when loading. If you don't get the sequence just right--insert pouch, secure Velcro flap in place, then latch the buckle--it's really tough to get a secure lock. Ditching, on the other hand, is never a problem. A pull of the handles releases the buckles, pulls the Velcro loose and frees the pouches, all in one easy move. In line with standard tech-diving specs, the HD100 doesn't come with a pull dump, but otherwise offers an efficient valve system for pinpoint ascent control. The BC weighs in at 9.75 pounds (size large) and has less than 1.5 pounds of inherent buoyancy.

Bottom line: This is a rugged BC that delivers virtually all the comfort and convenience features of a full recreational BC, plus enough tech features to enable advanced divers to expand their diving horizons without needing to invest in a more advanced rig. The HD100 is available in small and medium with 35 pounds of buoyant lift, and in large and extra-large with 45 pounds of lift.

Price: $549.50. Contact: hollisgear.com.

DSET Proteus Retro-Style Wetsuits

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| | DSET Proteus Retro-Style Wetsuits| Targeted to advanced recreational and even commercial divers, these are heavy-duty one-piece, back-zip suits with lycra-coated high-stretch neoprene, glued and blind-stitched seams, ankle zippers for easy donning and doffing, rolled nylon neck collars, generous skin-in wrist seals and Kevlar knee pads. Bonus: The 7mm (shown) and 5mm suits pack a large, easy-access utility pocket on each hip, complete with brass drains, Velcro closures and external D-rings for clipping small gear. There's also a similarly designed, though smaller, utility pocket on the right arm. Available in six sizes (XS-XXL).

Prices: $499.99 for the Proteus III (7mm); $429.99 for the Proteus II (5mm); $199.99 for the Proteus I (3mm, arm pocket only). Contact: deepseaeducation.com.

UK HangAir Drying System

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| | UK HangAir Drying System| Gone are the days of soggy wetsuits that take days to dry and accumulate eye-watering smells in the process. The HangAir is a bruiser of a hanger equipped with a waterproof electric fan that blows air down into the inside of the suit, cutting drying time from days to hours. The hanger is made of a rugged plastic resin, measures 21.5 inches long, and has 6-inch-wide shoulder supports with plenty of cutouts for air circulation. It uses a steel hanging hook that swivels 360 degrees and supports up to 100 pounds of wetsuit, dry suit or anything else that needs drying. Power is supplied to the fan through a 15-foot cord attached to a universal power 100/240 AC wall adapter.

Price: $39.99. Contact: underwaterkinetics.com.