H2O

H2O in South Africa

H2O is the accessory range in the shop for the parts a diver replaces, loses or needs on a boat at short notice. None of it is glamorous. A torn bite tab, a missing o-ring or a dust cover left at home can end a dive as surely as a flooded computer, and each item here has a place in a save-a-dive kit or on the harness.

Regulator spares and instruments

Silicone mouthpieces harden and crack with age whether the regulator is dived or not, so a spare is worth carrying. Mouthpieces come in more than one shape; see mouthpieces. The Combo 2 Slimline console puts gas and depth readings in one housing as a back-up to a computer, and the 80 cm high pressure hose is the standard length for a console routed under the left arm, in gauges and consoles. The Compass Pro on a bungee mount sits flat on the arm so the card can swing level, in instruments and navigation. A screw-on DIN dust cover stays put in a rinse tank, where a push-on cover comes loose, see regulator accessories.

Choosing a mouthpiece

Two shapes cover most divers. The Comfort Dual Silicone is moulded in two compounds: a firmer one carries the bite tabs and structure, and a softer one meets the lips and gums, so it stays in place without clenching. It comes in blue, grey and red. The Comfibite is a single-compound black mouthpiece shaped to reduce jaw fatigue. Both fit second stages with conventional bite tabs and are fitted with a cable tie. Swap the mouthpiece on a second-hand regulator before its first dive, and check the bite tabs for tears at every kit check.

Servicing at the Glenvista shop

Hoses, gauges and anything else on the gas supply should be fitted and leak-checked by a technician, and the Combo 2 Slimline's product page says the same about its fitting. Our servicing desk takes regulators, BCDs, cylinders and dive computers from any brand and sends each job to the manufacturer's appointed agent. Most makers set the regulator service interval by time, usually every one or two years depending on the model, and many tie the warranty to that interval being kept. Book the first stage, both second stages and the BCD in together, since they share hoses. Most services take about two weeks, and there's no appointment needed. See gear servicing for the details.

Save-a-dive kit, reels and weights

The O-ring Kit in Plastic Box sorts o-rings by size, the picks lift them out, and the Mini Tank O-Ring Holder clips a few cylinder o-rings to a BCD. The 8-in-1 Dive Tool includes a Schrader valve tool for a leaking inflator. All of these are in maintenance and cleaning. For surface marker buoys there's the 75 m Action Reel with a ratchet and a finger reel with nothing to jam, in reels and spools, and a clip slate and wrist slate in slates and wetnotes.

Building a save-a-dive kit

The 8-in-1 Dive Tool covers most small jobs on its own: a flat screwdriver cut for orifice adjustment, an o-ring pick, the Schrader valve tool, a Phillips screwdriver, 4 mm, 5 mm and 6 mm hex keys and a slotted driver for valve nuts. Add the O-Ring Picks set, three shapes with a tub of silicone grease, for lifting a ring without scoring the groove; the grease is for rubber o-rings and isn't for oxygen service. Put in a spare mouthpiece and cable ties, the O-Ring Kit and the Mini Tank O-Ring Holder, and a spare strap or neoprene mask strap cover, and most small failures on a boat can be fixed before the briefing ends. Check the o-rings each season, since rubber goes hard in a hot car.

Navigation, slates and signalling

The Compass Pro on its bungee works over a drysuit, takes up slack as a wetsuit compresses and is worn on the arm opposite the dive computer. The Wrist Slate keeps notes in view all dive, while the Slate with Clip stows flat on a D-ring; both take a graphite pencil and clean with an eraser. For SMB work the Action Reel winds line back under tension, and the Finger Reel suits short runs from a BCD pocket. Wind either one back under tension so the line doesn't bed in. A 6 inch Cyalume light stick marks a shot line, a boat or a diver at night and needs no battery, and the glow in the dark line arrow clips onto a guideline and points to the nearest exit.

Weight retainers in black, blue and lime stop block weights creeping round the belt, and the 1 kg weight sits with them in weights and weight systems. Coil lanyards are in lanyards and retractors, and the BC knife comes with its sheath and BCD mounting hardware for a chest or shoulder position.

Weighting, boots and fit

The 1 kg coated lead block is the standard step for fine-tuning weighting, and it fits a standard weight belt and most integrated pockets. The product page suggests checking weighting at the end of a dive with a near-empty cylinder, which is when a diver is lightest. Keep the coating intact and wash your hands after handling bare lead. The Scubaboot is 5mm neoprene with a side zip, sized UK 3 to UK 12, and it's made for open heel fins, so fit the boot before choosing fins. Fin Grips, in small, medium and large, hold a slightly big full-foot fin on with a Y-shaped strap over the foot pocket and behind the heel. See boots and fin accessories.

Mask, snorkel and computer extras

A few small items fix everyday irritations. The neoprene mask strap cover slips over a standard silicone strap so it stops catching in hair, spreads the load and gives gloved hands something to grip; set the strap length first, since the cover hides the buckles, and skip it on a split or slap strap. The black rubber snorkel keeper is the universal figure-of-eight that holds any snorkel to any mask strap, and rubber perishes in sunlight, so a spare is sensible. The soft screen protector is a flexible film for watch-style dive computers with no model-specific protector available. See mask straps and covers and screen protectors.

Care

Most of these items last as long as the rinse they get. Rinse reels, the dive tool, the knife and its sheath in fresh water after salt water, and let them dry before they go back in the bag. Hang a wet BCD on the wide-shouldered H2O BC hanger rather than a household one, in the shade, so it drains and the shoulder padding keeps its shape. Rinse the Scubaboot's zip and dry the boots inverted. Coil lanyards crack at the ends with age, so check them each season. Keep a pencil tied to each slate, and swap a rubber snorkel keeper as soon as it shows cracks at the loop.