Accessories

What is actually in here

Eighty-odd products, and no pretending they are one category. Accessories at Oyster Diving is the support shelf for everything else you own: the clips that stop things dangling, the straps that fail long before the computer does, the consumables that keep neoprene and zips alive, and the small comfort items that make a February shore dive bearable. It is worth working through it by theme rather than scrolling the lot.

Clips, bolt snaps and retractors

The largest single group. XDEEP covers it twice over: the NX Series in small single-ended, large single-ended and double-ended, and the XDEEP Standard range in single- and double-ended. YASI single- and double-ended boltsnaps sit alongside them, with a YASI 45m replacement line for spools. An IST retractor and an XS Scuba coil lanyard handle the gauges and torches you would rather have on a leash than a clip.

Straps and mounts for dive computers

Straps perish long before the computer does, and swapping a band is a far smaller job than replacing a unit. Garmin is best served here, with QuickFit 22 and QuickFit 26 dive watch bands, a QuickFit 26 three-piece dive set, UltraFit nylon straps and a QuickFit bungee mount if you would rather run the computer on elastic. Shearwater Peregrine owners have a coloured strap option, and there is a replacement strap for the Suunto D5.

Care, repair and consumables

This is the group everybody forgets until something fails on a Friday night. Look Clear runs deepest: silicone grease, oxygen HT grease, neoprene glue, a neoprene wetsuit repair kit, PolyFix sealant, ZipCare cleaner, a zipper paraffin wax stick, mineral talc, wetsuit and drysuit shampoo, EnzyMix odour eliminator and scuba paint. GearAid adds repair tape, Sea Buff, silicone protectant spray and talcum powder, and Nautilus beeswax rounds it out.

Keeping a mask clear

Fogging on a new mask usually comes down to the film left on the lens in manufacture rather than anything you did on the day, so start with a proper pre-clean. Look Clear make a dive mask pre cleaner for that first scrub. For the dive itself there is Look Clear Anti-Fog Spray, Anti-Fog Drops and Quick Gel, with Absolutely Clear Defog from AClear as the alternative. If it turns out to be water getting in rather than condensation, the problem is fit, and a Fourth Element mask strap is the obvious place to start.

Slates, wet notes and log books

Talking underwater and writing it up afterwards. Lumb Bros make a computer wrist slate that sits beside the console, and Aquatec do a compact slate with pencil that lives in a pocket. When you need more room, DIRZone wet notes come complete with plastic and Nautilus heavy duty wetnotes are built to take a beating. Oyster Diving's own log book and log book folder cover the paperwork end, which still matters when an instructor asks to see your last dive.

Hoses, holders and cylinder fittings

Miflex supply an inflation hose with a quick release, and XDEEP a 25 inch inflation hose sized for a 19 inch corrugated hose, so check what your wing or BCD actually runs before ordering. Nautilus hose holders come in two-hose and three-hose versions in black or yellow, and the Aquatec tech twin hose retainer does the same job on a twinset. A Nautilus DIN cylinder insert is there for the days the cylinder and the regulator disagree.

Safety, signalling and carrying it all

Beaver Sports covers the surface-marker end with a delayed surface marker buoy, the same buoy supplied with a reel, a Digi Line finger reel and a drift hook with line and pouch. A Nautilus buddy line and an emergency CPR pocket mask sit in the same bracket. For carrying and stowing, there is the Aqualung Explorer II duffle pack, a Fourth Element ocean debris bag for what you pick up on the way, and XDEEP backmount cargo pockets including the standard non-expandable pouch.

Warmth, cover and the topside end of the day

Getting changed on a windy slipway is its own skill. The Fourth Element Tidal Robe, the Fourth Element Storm Poncho and the Santi crew poncho all exist for that ten minutes. A Santi hood, Waterproof G2 5mm gloves, Fourth Element Xerotherm gloves and Beuchat Sirocco 5mm sports socks handle the in-water end of staying warm. Oyster Diving wooly hats and T-shirts are for the drive home.

The genuine odds and ends

Some of this only makes sense next to a specific piece of kit. A few underwater imaging parts live here, including a Fantasea FRX100-MKV housing and the Fantasea UWL-09Pro wide angle lens, a Marelux macro port 32 and a Marelux 45 degree viewfinder, plus the Nautilus E/O WAM cord and E/O extension cable. So do replacement mouthpieces from Aquatec and Nautilus, an Aqualung Rogue BCD bladder cover, Lumb Bros coated lead weights and the Beuchat Marseillaise freediving weight belt. If you are not certain a part fits your setup, check the model on the product page before ordering rather than assuming a standard fitting.