Deal or NO DEAL!!

There are many different sources out there touting equipment reviews.  Many of them are supported by the very equipment manufacturers that they are reviewing.  The problem with this of course is obvious, a true unbiased equipment review is not possible when it is in the reviewers best interest to provide an all positive review.

Our first equipment review in our new "DEAL or NO DEAL" equipment review article will be on the Henderson Insta Dry wetsuit accessories (gloves, boots, hood).

But first, why should someone listen to me?  Ok, fair enough question.  I’ve been a diver since 1987, and have logged close to 2000 dives.  Is that enough by itself?  I would say that it depends.  Ok, so let’s go a little deeper.  I have been an instructor since 1995, and I am certified as an MSDT.  Is that good?  Hmm well how about varied experiences.  Well let’s see, while in the Navy, I dove all over the world.  Hawaii, Guam, Truk, Palau, Siapan, Japan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia , the Red Sea to name a few.  Then after the military I conducted trips on my own, Costa Rica, Taiwan, Panama, Venezuela, Grand Cayman, Canada, and Florida of Course.  Is that allot?  Well, what type of diving do you do?  Ok, fair question.  When I’m not training divers, I’m a technical diver.  I’m certified IANTD full trimix in addition to all of the recreational stuff I do.  My favorite type of diving is “anything that challenges me”, but I suppose I’d have to say wreck diving (and I mean real wreck diving) because it challenges me.  How about conditions?  OK, well.... all of my teaching is done in the Pacific Northwest in 48 deg F water.  What does that mean?  It means that the gear I use takes a beating.  There is no sand, only sharp rocks and even sharper shell pieces that litter the “beach”.  It’s not really a beach.  It’s a place to get in the water where the rocks are simply smaller.  OK so what makes me think I know anything about gear?  Hmm, I guess the best answer would be to say that I’ve seen it all, and more importantly I’ve used most of it.  I’m the guy that spends all of his hard earned money on dive gear.  I think this is one of the things that lends weight to my opinions.  No one GAVE me a bunch of gear and said, “Hey Cam, go try this out and see what you think.  If you like it, there’s more where that came from.”  I have paid for every single piece of gear that I have, and that’s not a small amount.  I personally have enough gear to run my training company business, HiTek Scuba.  Over the years, that’s probably @ $40,000.00 or more worth of scuba gear.  Am I qualified yet?  Well if not, I don’t understand what it takes to be qualified.

HiTek Scuba is based out of Beaverton Oregon, and serves the entire Pacific Northwest.

Questions? Drop us a line!  Or call us at:

  503-886-9161

Don't see the frames click here

So…let’s play the game.  DEAL OR NO DEAL?  Only I do it a bit different.  Let’s start with Henderson’s “Insta Dry” wetsuit accessories.  It should be noted that I dive dry most of the time in the NW now, but I still use wet gloves often for recreational teaching.  I wear the Henderson Hyperstretch glove.  It is the warmest glove that I have found on the market.  How do I know?  Well for one, I own many of them, and I keep going back to the same old pair when it's time to get wet.  Next, I recommend it to my students, and almost every single one of them that buy that glove tell me how warm their hands are after a day of diving when the water is 46deg F and the outside air temp is a balmy 40 deg F.  With the Hyperstretch glove I can get away with a 5mm glove instead of the usual 7mm that my students wear, even on a long technical dive.  So one time I was picking up another set of gloves and I decided to try this “Insta dry” stuff.  I bought a pair of 5mm Insta Dry gloves.  So....Deal or no Deal?  I wore them on a relatively short relatively shallow recreational training dive (that means I was teaching a class).  My hands were NOTICEABLY colder than with the Hyperstretch material glove.  So I ask you, what difference does it make if the glove dries quickly or not if your hands are cold WHILE STILL UNDERWATER!  Therefore: NO DEAL.

This material, and I don’t care if it’s gloves, boots, or hood (it’s all the same) SUCKS when compared for the purpose of warmth, and anyone that says different hasn’t done a side by side comparison.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love Henderson products, I always recommend the Hyperstretch boot and glove to my students, but to say that the 5mm Insta dry feels like 7mm something else is just plain crap.  Maybe if you were comparing it too another completely crappy and cheap material from someone else, but that just shows the review is incomplete.  (possibly due to direct influence of the manufacturer or something I don't know). There is another problem with this gear report.  For example, the glove is supposed to go OVER the sleeve of the wetsuit not under, so if the material lacks the kind of flexibility required to do this, well that tells you something.  And, as it turns out that is exactly another problem with these gloves. 

The boots do have a good sole.  That’s how all of the Henderson boots are made, but by comparison the Insta Dry boots are far inadequate with regard to warmth when compared to the Hyperstretch boots.  Again NO DEAL!  When it comes to hoods, here is the whole deal.  I have found that the number one gear related complaint to cold water diving is the hood.  When a person feels restricted around their head and neck, they get uncomfortable in many ways.  People who usually don’t think of themselves as claustrophobic suddenly now are feeling it.  Trying to get your mask inside of your hood to make a good seal is a difficulty that takes practice, and is made even more difficult with the gloves on.  The key to a good hood besides warmth is flexibility.  The “Insta Dry” hood had neither.  It’s absolutely horrible in comparison to the Hyperstretch hood.  It’s not nearly as warm when put to a true test (45 minutes at depth in 46degF water), and it massively lacks the flexibility of the Hyperstretch, leaving the wearer feeling constricted with it’s lack of motion.  NO DEAL!

Of course this is just an opinion, but at least it's one that is based on experience, and absolutely NOT paid for.