Classic kit has a place in every diver’ s locker, says Kirsty Andrews, who ponders the heritage items at the bottom of her own kit bag
KIRSTYANDREWS
Oldies but goodies
Classic kit has a place in every diver’ s locker, says Kirsty Andrews, who ponders the heritage items at the bottom of her own kit bag
I
was sorting through my entire collection of scuba equipment the other day – a fun task which took me back to some excellent memories over the years. There’ s my core set-up of frequently used everyday essentials, which is always to hand and rarely gets completely dry. Then my essential back-ups that always come with me on a trip, which are in an easily accessible bag too.
That’ s by no means the end of it though – further into the dustier parts of the shed, dive cupboard and assorted shelving and
26 we get to some niche items, awaiting their moment. Extra thick gloves for ventures into the Arctic circle; the( non-delayed) SMB that only gets used once in a blue moon; some twinning bands for cylinders I rarely put together. There’ s the thin, stylish wetsuit I hope I’ ll be able to fit into again if I’ m lucky enough to revisit somewhere near the Equator, right next to the thin, not very stylish thermals that I’ ve since upgraded but keep hold of‘ just in case’. Some items are looking distinctly fusty. Time for a clearout maybe.
Style never goes out of fashion, especially with grey seals
What is your oldest piece of diving gear? I asked this question recently at a gathering of diving mates.“ My buddy, har har” was a frequent refrain( I’ m not sure that mild insult works when you both say it!). Masks with a prescription or a perfect fit( preferably both of course) are cherished for years, despite the slowly yellowing silicone and unfashionable style. Many, including me, claimed to have pieces of useful kit that were older than the current batch of trainees. Is this a badge of honour? I think probably, in that it’ s good that diving kit on
“ Time for a clear-out maybe” the whole is built to last, and we tend to expect to get good value from it over hundreds of dives, if not more. Another benefit of club diving is the second-hand market – I’ ve definitely benefited from this more than once; new divers can often pick up pre-loved basics( advisedly with recent service) to start them on their scuba journey.
My fins are probably in the running as my oldest bit of kit. That is, I bought new fins a few years ago when my original pair split … maybe nibbled on by one too many cheeky grey seals. My old faithful pair are still in my van though, just in case I or anyone else in my crew loses one – it’ s good to have spares and better a split fin than none, to save a trip. Are you, like me, a bit of a hoarder, just in case that cherished old item comes in useful?
The habit of holding on to old, partly knackered, gear has its limits though. I splashed out on a new set of delayed surface marker buoys a while back – I say‘ set’ because I quite like my back-up to be exactly the same as my main one so they’ re essentially interchangeable( other choices are available). Not only were the new pair sunglass-requiringly bright orange when compared to the sun-and-sea-bleached retiring buoys, they also held their firmness rather better as well. Which, eye-catching rigidity being a key characteristic of a DSMB, I thought was rather good. So if your oldest bit of kit is your back-up SMB, do inspect it closely. �