Bare dry suit and Technisub

An early diving dry suit by Bare this suit was made in the late 1970's. Made of a vinyl coated material with neoprene neck and wrist seals it is still quite comfortable to wear (although it is showning some signs of its age and needs a new zipper and wrist seal repairs). I've never actually dove this suit as I havnt been able to find one of the valves for it thats missing but it is a very nice suit for the collection.



The mask in the photos is a Technisub Tec 1 mask. Made in the 1980's it was a cheap way of getting a full face mask. Completely rubber (with the exception of the glass and trim of course) it featured a full oral nasal mask inside which was attached to any regulator that you wanted (In this case my US Divers Conshelf 21) and also had a side port for a coms system. The big drawback was that with the oral nasal mask you couldnt easily equalize pressure withing the facepiece itself. This could make things rather uncomfortable at depth.

Whites Commercial Dry Suit and US Divers Com Hat 1

One of the first suits I bought (1989 - used) the Whites Commercial Dry Suit featured 3/8 " neoprene with heavy rubber reinforcing on the front of the legs, heavy duty boots and extra long wrist seals. Its an excellent suit for cold water diving and very comfortable. The only drawback I found was the excessive ammount of weight required to offset the buoyancy of the thick neoprene.

The helmet in the pictures is the US Divers Com Hat One. The predacessor of the Superlite 17 the Com Hat one was made in the mid 1970's. It featured both demand and free flow breathing systems as well as a liquid filled liner which, while being quite comfortable and offsetting the dead air space well, could also be cold. I've never actually used this helmet, even though the regs are in great shape, the liner leaks like a sieve. The neck seal is a simple neoprene ring which seals against the helmet with a cam system similar to those used on the Superlite.

Poseidon Unisuit and Cressisub Mask

Another of my favorites I picked up this Poseidon Unisuit from a surplus store on vancouver island. From the tags on it was old stock and had never been used. It was being disposed of as the military no longer used the Unisuits. When I saw the $200 price tag I had to have it. While the through crotch zipper and attached hood with inner neck seal does make the suit a bit difficult to get into it also makes for a very comfortable suit (and is convenient for ahemmm.......other uses too)

The mask pictured with the suit is a Cressisub full face mask which can be attached to any SCUBA regulator I have it attached to my US Divers Conshelf SEA regs in the pictures. This is an older model, made of rubber. Newer versions of the mask are made of silicone which is considerably more flexible. While I dont find the mask overly comfortable it is still a good mask and a very good buy for the price (usually just over $100 ). A definite must for ice diving (or just play) for those on a budget.

Viking Sport and EXO 26

This is my Viking Sport suit which I usually use when diving. I've had a turbo hood added to it as I think they are way more comfortable than the normal latex hoods. Heavy duty cuffs have also been added as well as attachment rings to allow the use of dry gloves. What attracted me to this suit the most was the colour pattern. The Red torso and black legs fit my style quite nicely. The smooth rubber of the Viking suits also makes clean up after a dive a breeze.

The tanks in the picture are my US divers ABS (Advanced Breathing System) which I purchased in 1990. Inside the case you have triple 30 cubic foot cylinders connected by a manifold. This not only gives you a total 90 cubic feet of air (as opposed to the standard cylinders 80 cubic feet) but also gives you an hydrodynamic backpack which is ballanced on your back, unlike normal cylinders. This creates less drag as you go through the water.

The mask is a US Divers EXO 26 bought in 1992. Comprised of an outer "Exo skeleton" and an extremely supple inner mask this has to be one of the most comfortable masks I have ever dove with. It can be used either with tanks or a surface supply and is equipped to take communications equipment (although I dont have any). I would, however, like to get the matching hard shell helmet, which goes over your hood at some point in the future.

Put it all together and you have an incredibly comfortable set of diving gear which is suitable for most applications you can think of, including ice diving (yes I am qualified for that too)

Viking Pro and KMB 9

Ok - so I'm way behind in doing postings - sorry but life intruded.

I think from here I'll start with some of my diving gear so first up is My Viking Pro suit with the turbo hood. This suit dates to the early 1990's and is one of my favorites for diving . Very comfortable the outside is heavy rubber which makes for easy cleaning. You can wear it in any temperature water as the insulation value depends entirely on what you wear under the suit, not the suit itself. The turbo hood is a double layer hood which gives you a latex hood next to your head (Always a good thing if you like rubber ) and an outer hood of the same material as the suit. This allows for a layer of air insulation between them and is very comfortable. The Mitts shown are Viking 3 fingered mitts which mate to the rings, which I have attached to the suit, giving you a water tight seal. While they are warm and fairly comfortable just for general diving I do find them pretty clumsy for doing any work.

The mask shown in the picture above and here is a US Divers Kirby Morgan Band Mask (KMB9) I believe they were produced from 1973 to 1975.

As you can see from the picture this one is not in the best of shape. In point of fact it not actually usable but does make a nice display piece. Not that it really matters alot to me as the Kirby Morgan Band Masks dont tend to fit the shape of my face very well and I find them rather uncomfortable but that is just personal preference.

To my knowledge the KMB9 was the second bandmask put out by Kirby Morgan/ US Divers with the first being the KMB8 (Though I may be wrong)