Poseidon, famous for the creation of the Jet Stream and Cyklon regulators (so popular with technical divers) has now developed the Xstream - the world's first regulator certified for mixed-gas use and for diving below 50m. In fact, it is certified to a staggering 200m. The Xstream comes in three main variants designed specifically for three different purposes. Each is colour-coded for clarity, the Xstream Deco (coded white) is certified to handle up to 99.9% O2 during decompression, the Xstream Duration (colour-coded green) handles Nitrox up to 50% O2 and is designed for extended duration dives, and finally the Xstream Deep (coded black), certified for Trimix gas mixtures up to 21% O2 and to a depth of 200m. The Xstream Duration and the Xstream Deep first stage configuration come in two formats designed for either side mount or back cylinder usage. In order to achieve this outstanding level of performance Poseidon has actually simplified the design of the regulator. To eliminate the problems associated with gaskets and O-rings, the ground-breaking design incorporates the unique construction of a self-aligning ball-bearing at the heart of the regulator making it an incredibly robust and dependable valve. Other advantages of this design mean that the ball can never be dislodged and the number of risk factors such as misalignment, wear-out and other construction tolerances that can lead to leakage are eliminated, including all potential HP leak problems that exist in conventional valve design. These and other design features result in an inhalation resistance of just 0.07 Joules at 150m - virtually unnoticeable. The Xstream regulator is also self-balancing, giving the same high performance irrespective of the pressure in the cylinder and depth of dive. Xstream has a built-in anti-freezing protection system - TDA (Thermo Dynamic Antifreeze) ensures that through-flowing water prevents ice formation, entirely without other fluids or extra diaphragms. In short, if you dive below 50m on anything other than air, these are the only regulators you can buy certified for the job. The Poseidon Story'"What is hidden under the water?" was the question that Ingvar Elfstrom asked himself as a young man. He used to sit and try to see the bottom of the sea on his fishing trips together with his father. The problem was that there was no diving equipment to buy and so in order to explore this world he was forced to manufacture his own equipment. The first prototype of a breathing regulator was made in 1954. The very same year Ingvar started the diving club Poseidon, where he got the chance to exchange ideas with other interested people. The first series of twin hosed regulators with the name 'Poseidon Senior' was manufactured by Ingvar in his kitchen. After a few years he started to develop his regulators with the help of Rolf Tisrand, who had been with the company since 1957. Their next regulator was the 'Cyklon Junior', the first ever manufactured single hose regulator in the World designed for diving (today known as the 'Cyklon 300' and 'Cyklon 5000'). Together with his friend Dennis Osterlund sales started to improve. Products were sold under the brand name Poseidon and marketed by a company called Aqua-Sport. The equipment that they could not produce was imported from foreign manufacturers. The company continued to grow so Ingvar and Dennis moved the production of regulators from their kitchen sink to a small rented garage. The first shop was opened in Gothenburg in 1958, shortly after followed by Stockholm and Malmo. The accessibility of a neoprene diving suit in the fifties was a big problem as everyone thought that the permeability of the neoprene would allow water to seep through. The American company Rubatex produced a think rubber material that after a small modification could be used in the manufacture of wet suits. Poseidon was now manufacturing regulators and wet suits, quite an improvement since the kitchen sink days. In 1963 Poseidon got a request from the Swedish Navy, would it be possible to produce a suit that could be used for longer exposure in their cold northern waters. After some research and experimenting with different materials and manufacturing techniques, they produced a dry-suit that met the Navy's demands. The first gastight neoprene dry-suit the 'UNISUIT', was delivered to the Swedish Navy in 1963. A name that is synonymous with dry suits, as Hoover is to vacuum cleaners. The very same year Poseidon started to export products. Ingvar's big dream came to be realised in 1984 when a factory fully adapted for diving equipment manufacturing was built. Ingvar died in 1998 at the age of 70 years. His life's work was to make the exciting world under the surface of the sea possible to explore by everyone. Poseidon today enjoys a reputation as quality equipment built to a very high specification, used by the Military and commercial divers throughout the world and a brand leader in the Sports market. Ingvar would be pleased if he could see Poseidon now. Still run and owned by the same family, a rarity in these days of large amalgamations and takeovers.