Reviews written by Michael Feld

The things I look for in a website are comfort, insulation, durability, and ease of donning and doffing. The new Henderson Aqua Lock 3mm wetsuits have all of the above. While not the least expensive wetsuit on the market, you kind of get what you pay for with these things. The great thing about Henderson is that they are a wetsuit company, not a gear company that has some wetsuits. Since this this is their specialty, they tend to focus on quality more than some other brands. The seams are well sealed and it provides a lot of warmth and is super easy to put on and take off.

Since it's new, I have no idea how it'll last, but so far, so good!

I absolutely love my F1's. They're my essential piece of dive equipment. I feel naked without them! They have loads of power, are nice and stiff, so they have loads of torque and give you tons of thrust through the water. Best fins on the market for any money and worth every penny!

I used my Proteus 5ml wetsuit for the first time in Bimini. Despite that the water was about 78, I'm kind of a wuss and I get cold, especially if I'm diving a few times a day. 5ml wetsuits don't seem to be as popular as 3mls, but to me, I like to dive three or four times in a day, and by the end of the day, even in 80 degree water, I can feel my core body temperature dipping and I start to get cold, so this suit completely solves this issue. You don't even feel that little trickle of water dripping down your back when you first jump off the dive deck of the boat. The built in gusset that you pull over your head before zipping the wetsuit up seems to prevent that from happening, and the neoprene is super high quality.

They have a donning guide on the Fourth Element site that shows you, step by step, how to properly don the suit. I found that it was a little tight around the neck at first, and I was tempted to actually trim it in order to make it more comfortable, but don't give into the temptation. Once you get it in the water and wear it a few times, it loosens up and you won't even notice it anymore.

I would highly recommend this suit. Between this and Waterproof, they might just be the best suits out there. The neoprene is like nothing I've ever seen before in commercial suit; super high quality and worth every penny you pay for it.

Had my original one not been stolen, this would have been the second regulator I owned, purchased in 2002. There's a bit of a sad story attached to that. It involved a trip to Belize, a small outdoor airport terminal, some friends coming to meet me, some hugs, and then some confusion because everyone picked up some bags and didn't check to see that they were all there. In the meantime, someone walked off with my reg. But no matter, I had insurance and it got replaced. As it stands, the one I have was purchased in 2006. Been fantastic ever since and only had one problem with it, which was the newer style cover that it came with at the time cut sliced a hole in the inhalation diaphragm after a repair. They swapped it out for the newer style and it's been problem free ever since.

What regulator says you can put 200 dives on it without worrying about it besides this one?

This is the best regulator I've ever owned. Yes, it's a bit heavy in the first stage. The second stage isn't light either, but it breathes like a dream and you can basically hammer nails into it and it will still breathe like a dream. I've never regretted carrying it anywhere, despite its weight.

It's a little hard to imagine how they can still call it the Abyss with a different first stage that they use in the newer models, but I guess that's how it goes. Still fantastic after all these years. I'm quite sure I'll have it until I can't dive anymore, which will undoubtedly be a long, long time.

If you get the chance to get your hands on one of these, take it.

I would say these are my second favorite fins, after the Hollis F1. I find I have more precision and a bit more propulsion with those, but these are tried and true, and an awesome fin.

For anyone that's never used them, they're heavy and they're rubber. This might not appeal to some people. It is harder to move them through the water than some other fins because there's more resistance - on purpose. The resistance allows you to use fewer kicks to get the same distance or greater because you're moving more water with each stroke.

The only piece of advice I would give anyone who buys these is to replace the rubber straps with spring straps, which will cost you about $40.

I love my Mares Dragon. It's a little on the heavy side, but it's awesome.