Complete scuba diving kit laid out on a liveaboard boat deck with ocean on both sides
Dive Gear · Gear Guide

Gear for
Your Conditions

Scenario-based guides that define what your complete gear system needs to do for a specific diving context. Not what to buy — what it needs to do, and the specifications that determine whether it does it.

How
Organised by diving scenario — the conditions you are actually planning for
What
Essential, Important, and Consider specifications for every system
The Gear Guide Approach

Why scenario-first?

A diver planning a liveaboard in the Red Sea and a diver preparing for cold-water quarry diving in the UK need completely different gear specifications — even if they own the same regulator and BCD. The Gear Guide starts from the scenario and works backward to the specifications, not the other way around.

🎯
Condition-specific
Every specification in a Gear Guide is justified against the conditions that scenario actually presents. No generic advice that applies to every dive — only guidance that applies to this one.
🔗
System-thinking
A diver buys a system, not components in isolation. Gear Guides address how the regulator, exposure protection, BCD, and computer interact under the same set of conditions.
📋
Specifications, not brands
Every guide defines what equipment needs to do — expressed as Essential, Important, and Consider requirements. The purchase decision remains entirely yours.
The Complete Library

All six scenarios

01
Gear Guide · No. 01
Liveaboard Diving — The Complete Gear Guide
Multiple dives per day, no dive shop, no substitutes, international travel weight limits. This guide defines what every system needs to deliver for sustained liveaboard performance — regulator, exposure protection, BCD, mask, fins, dive computer, accessories — with an interactive packing checklist that saves progress across sessions.
LiveaboardTropicalMulti-dayInteractive checklist
02
Gear Guide · No. 02
Cold Water Diving — The Complete Gear Guide
Below 12°C (54°F), every specification matters more. This guide addresses the wetsuit-to-drysuit decision honestly across three temperature zones, defines EN 250A cold-water certification as a safety requirement not a preference, covers sealed diaphragm first stages, undersuit loft, fins for drysuit configuration, dry gloves, and the physiological safety considerations unique to sustained cold-water diving.
Cold WaterBelow 12°C (54°F)Drysuit transitionEN 250A
03
Gear Guide · No. 03
Deep Recreational Diving — A Complete Gear Guide for 30–40 Metres
Nitrogen narcosis, partial pressure limits, gas consumption at depth, no-decompression limits, and what every system in a deep recreational configuration needs to do differently from a standard open-water setup.
Deep Recreational30–40m (100–130ft)
04
Gear Guide · No. 04
Building Your First Complete Kit — A Gear Guide for New Divers
The sequencing logic of first-kit acquisition, which components to prioritise, where specifications matter most for a new diver, and how to avoid the most common early purchases that get retired after two seasons.
First KitNew Diver
05
Gear Guide · No. 05
Underwater Photography — The Parallel Kit System
Photography changes the gear equation entirely — buoyancy, exposure time, thermal load, and weighting all shift. This guide addresses the complete reconfiguration required when a camera system becomes part of the dive.
PhotographySystem reconfiguration
06
Gear Guide · No. 06
Shore Diving in Temperate Conditions — The Complete Gear Guide
No boat, no divemaster, variable entry conditions, longer surface swims, and typically colder water. This guide covers the additional redundancy and self-sufficiency requirements of shore diving in temperate environments.
Shore DivingTemperateSelf-sufficient