HELIX COMPACT + PRO HD WOMEN SET

This Aqua Lung set pairs the Helix Compact and its matching Octopus Pro with the wrap-around Pro HD jacket in the women’s cut, and adds the Combo 2K console. The Helix Compact is a travel regulator that keeps a full-sized balanced diaphragm first stage.

Its second stage is pneumatically balanced rather than downstream, which separates it from travel regulators sold on weight alone. The DIN 300 bar first stage weighs 475 g, with two high-pressure ports in 7/16 inch UNF and four medium-pressure ports in 3/8 inch UNF. Work of breathing is 1.25 j/L on primary and octopus alike, and a Mini/Maxi knob sets opening effort. The Pro HD Women is shaped around a shorter torso and a different shoulder line rather than scaled down, and it carries the same ResisteK outer and patented SureLock II weight release. The Combo 2K console adds a 50 mm pressure gauge and an in-line depth gauge on one 80 cm hose, weighing 389 g.

The result is a travel set that asks for no compromise on the second stage, on a buoyancy compensator sized to the diver rather than to shop stock.

Sizing follows the Pro HD Women, XS to ML, roughly 100 g a step; the rest is one size. Cylinder, computer, weights and exposure protection are separate. The men’s Pro HD and the unisex Pro HD Compact are the other cuts. At R29,344 the set saves R7,336.01 on the parts bought singly.