It doesn’t feel much like Christmas here at the beach with the sun shining and diving in 81F water. That being said, if Santa is making his rounds tonight and wants to stop in Roatan, I’ve put together my diving Christmas wishlist for him (and maybe it will help you divers with your Christmas lists too).
Here’s what I’d love Santa to bring me:
Dive Torch
 |
| source |
My last underwater light died on me and I’ve been doing a lot of night dives lately. True story: I’m a little bit afraid of the dark, so I want a nice big bright light! One of my fellow instructors here has this light, and it’s super bright with rechargeable batteries – a huge plus on an island where batteries are prohibitively expensive.
LavaCore Rashguard
 |
| source |
This is the actual worst – I’m getting so cold on my dives now that I’m wearing a FULL 5MM WETSUIT in the friggin’ Caribbean. That’s embarrassing and I hate how much weight I have to wear. I want to get a LavaCore top to wear with the 3mm wetsuit…I think that would keep me just right. Fleece-lined rashguard? Yes, please!
Torid Pulse
 |
| source |
I just basically need this to get my divers attention underwater when they aren’t listening to my shaker. This little gun thing shoots out bubble rings in the water. Handy!
Toy Shark
 |
| source |
People, please stop asking me to find you a shark on our dives. Sharks are exciting but sightings on Roatan are rare. I’m gonna hope Santa brings me a little toy shark because I’ll sneak it out of my pocket on the dive and set it in the sand, and then call you over to see the ‘shark’.
Name Tags
 |
| source |
I recently bought the same mask as a co-worker and have been thinking about what to do to mark mine. I had divers a couple weeks ago who had the most badass personalized tags on all their dive gear. I would love to have a big RIKA all over my stuff to make sure it doesn’t get mixed up or stolen.
Boat Coat
 |
| source |
Okay, this might be reaching – I know it’s the Caribbean but in rainy season, these coats are lifesavers on the boat. If you haven’t driven around on a boat in the rain and wind while wearing a wet wetsuit… well… you’ll never know why a dry, fleecy, windproof, knee-length dive parka is the best thing ever.
Underwater Camera
 |
| source |
The biggest and best for last! I love underwater photography and would like to be able to take photos of my divers for them. One of my divers let me borrow her Olympus TG-4 camera a while back and it was incredible! (Check out some sample images here.) I love taking photos of macro stuff and this camera can do it without extra lenses. It has a fantastic custom underwater housing, and I like that the camera itself (without the housing) is waterproof to 50ft, as well as shock/drop/crush-proof. The combination of the heat, humidity, my clumsiness and propensity for adventures means a tough camera is a good fit for me.
No affiliate links or anything because I have no idea how all that shit works. Just a legit list of stuff I actually want.
Do you have an opinion on traveling BCDs? The most extreme I’ve seen is the Aeris Jetpack Hybrid BC. I’m considering making a change from my jacket bc, to something that maybe more travel friendly. The Aeris seems a bit extreme though.
That Aeris is crazzzzyyyyy!! For me, I’m not a huge fan of hybrids. You’re always going to lose out a bit on one or the other, and that BCD just doesn’t even look comfortable to me. I see a lot of Cressi TravelLight BCDs on my divers down here – I would definitely recommend checking out one of those. If I was traveling and not just diving here full-time, I would definitely buy one of those. My BCD (a ScubaPro Bella) is great for teaching but too bulky for travel.
So no GoPro for you ehhh?
Haha nope – I had one that I found (I tried to get it back to the original owner but after tracking him down 4 months later he had bought a new one and told me to keep it) but it died a couple months ago. Can’t be too upset, it was free 🙂
We just ordered that camera (a Christmas gift to ourselves) and cannot wait to use it when we get to Thailand in January!
Oooooooh – great choice!! I would LOVE to see some pics you snap with it. I’m seriously considering getting that one as a bday present for myself in Feb as it’s Christmas morning and shockingly there isn’t one under my (non-existent) tree 🙂