By John Brumm

Photography by Joseph Byrd

Scubapro Caravan and Atlas Dive Bags

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| | Scubapro Caravan and Atlas Dive Bags| Scuba diving is a rugged business, requiring a dive bag built tough, with high-count polyester fabric that resists tears, saltwater-resistant threads and zippers, stainless-steel wheel hardware, heavy-duty telescoping tow handles and lots of packing space. Scubapro offers two new cargo-carrying choices that meet all these requirements. The Caravan is a rolling duffel designed for air travel. It's feather light, weighing just a tad over 8 pounds, and its dimensions (28 inches tall by 14 inches deep and wide) fit within airline size requirements for checked baggage. The bag has soft sides, a rigid back and base and a variety of handles and straps for lifting and carrying. But most important, it holds a lot of stuff in a humongous main compartment and a detachable backpack that zips onto the top end of the bag. The main compartment easily accepts a full complement of tropical-weight dive gear plus T-shirts, shorts and sandals while still coming in under the common 50-pound weight limit. If packed properly, the bag stands on end and rolls smooth and stable on its wheels.

The Atlas is designed for local diving. A big bruiser of a bag at 27 inches tall, 16 inches wide and 20 inches deep, it weighs about 5 pounds more than the Caravan and holds close to twice as much cargo. The bag is built around a large, deep main compartment with rigid sides. This compartment is flanked by a pair of roomy external fin pockets and topped with a good-sized backpack that zips to the lid. Rugged all-terrain wheels handle rough parking lot surfaces, and the pull handle is built solid, but it doesn't lock in the extended position.

Bottom line: No matter where you're going, either of these bags will make sure your gear arrives safely.

Price: Caravan, $189; Atlas, $284.

Contact: scubapro.com.

Body Glove Discover

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| | Body Glove Discover | A solid 7mm fullsuit that's easy on the wallet, Body Glove's new Discover is also easy on the eyes, featuring a subtle "Camo Black" pattern. But the real reason to get this suit is its solid construction. For example, the suit's Vaporlock triple-glued and blind-stitched seams are sewn with a two-thread stitch that automatically ties itself off if a stitch is broken. The internal portions of these seams are coated with Fluidseal, a stretchable liquid tape that eliminates water penetration, allows flexibility and feels comfortable against bare skin. In critical areas like the chest, upper back and legs, the Discover uses Body Glove's super stretchy FGX material, and the interior is lined with Thermofiber panels to ratchet up warmth and comfort. The suit uses a short back zipper that makes it a bit tough to don and doff, but once you're in, the suit's definitely comfortable. There are no skin-in seals on the wrists or ankles, but the rolled-neck collar offers an adjustable tab and the Superflex kneepads provide comfortable leg protection. In nine sizes, S-XXL.

Price: $356.

Contact: bodyglove.com.

Oceanic Cruz

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| | Oceanic Cruz| The Cruz is a simple yet functional jacket-style BC that will get-'er-done whether you're getting wet in the local quarry or exploring a remote tropical reef. It's lightweight (our test BC, size large, weighed only 7 pounds, 11 ounces--not much more than many purpose-built travel BCs), yet it offers a lot of buoyant lift, 27 to 48 pounds depending on size. The QLR weight system will hold up to 20 pounds (plus 10 pounds in nonditchable rear pouches), but the ditchable pouches can also be shortened to hold a partial load for tropical conditions. The BC's zippered storage pockets are huge and easy to get to, and their volume isn't affected by the weight ditch system. In the water the Cruz is a comfortable BC. The lumbar pad is cozy, the high-cut bladder tucks up securely under the arms and an adjustable strap system lets you achieve a really snug fit. The hard backpack minimizes tank wobble and contributes to a controlled, stable ride. The weight system is well positioned, easy to load and easy to ditch. In addition to an efficient power inflator with pull dump, the BC also comes with two remote exhaust valves, all of which work together to make ascent control a cinch.

Price: $469.95.

Contact: OceanicWorldwide.com.

Miflex Hoses

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| | Miflex Hoses| XS Scuba now offers the Italian-made line of Miflex low-pressure hoses, known for their flexibility and abrasion resistance. A Miflex hose, weighing in at about 30 percent less than a rubber hose of similar length, has an anti-bacterial polyurethane inner tube that's covered by a polyester inner braid, which is covered by a durable polyamid braided outer sleeve. Finish it off with chrome-plated brass sleeves and fittings and you've got a hose that will stand up to virtually any snag, stretch, kink or cut, yet will still out-flex any rubber hose in town. LP reg hoses come in six lengths, from 22 to 84 inches, in black, blue and yellow. Quick-disconnect BC hoses come in five lengths, 22 to 36 inches, in black. Once you hook up the hose, don't throw away the packaging--it does double-duty as a water-resistant document wallet.

Price: Low-pressure hoses, $38 to $64; BC quick-disconnect hoses, $46 to $56.

Contact: xsscuba.com.

Ikelite PC LED Lights

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| | Ikelite PC LED Lights| The PC LED is the largest member of Ikelite's new PC LED series of dive lights, but it's still a pretty compact torch. Measuring 6 inches long by about 2.5 inches at its widest point, the light will stow in virtually any BC pocket yet generates a smooth but intense, bright-white beam measuring 6.7 EV at the center. The light provides about 10 hours of continuous burn time on four C-cell batteries, and the case is rated for depths up to 300 feet. The on-off lever has a very secure switch lock to avoid accidental turn-ons. There's also a lock to make sure the battery compartment doesn't open accidentally--a nice touch. The other two members of the PC LED Series--the PCa and PCm--deliver similar powerful beams, but with shorter burn times and in smaller packages.

Price: PC LED, $80; PCa, $77; PCm, $74.

Contact: ikelite.com.