HELIX COMPACT PRO + PRO HD COMPACT SET

This Aqua Lung set pairs the Helix Compact Pro Pack with the back-inflation Pro HD Compact, and adds the Combo 2K console. It is the smallest regulator Aqua Lung builds, and it carries the full cold-water package rather than a reduced one.

An Auto Closure Device seals the first-stage inlet the moment the regulator leaves the cylinder, and a sealed environmental chamber isolates the mechanism from the water around it. The DIN 300 bar first stage weighs 525 g, on two 7/16 inch UNF high-pressure ports and four 3/8 inch UNF medium-pressure ports. Work of breathing is 1.35 j/L on the primary and 1.25 j/L on the octopus. The Pro HD Compact is published at under 2.2 kg in ML/LG, about a kilogram under the wrap-around Pro HD, and it still takes patented SureLock II weight pockets. 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 set rated for cold water at a travel packed size, on a buoyancy compensator sized to the diver rather than to shop stock.

Sizing follows the Pro HD Compact, four bands from XXS/XS to XL/XXL; the rest is one size. Cylinder, computer, weights and exposure protection are separate. The wrap-around Pro HD is the alternative where surface flotation counts for more than packed weight. At R31,188 the set saves R7,797 on the parts bought singly.