HELIX PRO + ROGUE SET

This Aqua Lung set pairs the Helix Pro Pack with the modular Rogue, and adds the Combo 2K console. The Helix Pro is a cold-water regulator with a sealed environmental chamber, supplied with its matching Helix Octopus.

The Auto Closure Device shuts the first-stage inlet whenever the regulator comes off the cylinder, so salt water, grit and moisture stay out of the high-pressure side between dives. Work of breathing is 0.95 j/L on the primary and 1.25 j/L on the octopus. 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. The Rogue sizes its back, shoulders and waistband independently on ModLock connectors, giving 27 fit combinations from three component sizes, and its 15 litre cell carries 35 lb of lift. 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 that will run a Highveld winter quarry dive and a Sodwana trip without a service between the two, on a buoyancy compensator sized to the diver rather than to shop stock.

Sizing follows the Rogue, three component sizes, S, M and L; the rest is one size. Cylinder, computer, weights and exposure protection are separate. The wrap-around Pro HD and the entry-level Wave are the jacket alternatives. At R33,172 the set saves R8,293 on the parts bought singly.