Free Divers Weight Belt

The New Free Divers Weight Belt with the Glass filled Nylon Buckle

At a Glance: The Free Divers Weight Belt looks a little plain, and not as flashy as other weight belts on the market. I am reminded that Free Divers angle is to make practical equipment that works.

(Maybe this why it appeals to me, as I like everything plain and request my new guns in plain black and grey)

The buckle is new and it is glass filled nylon, my first impressions are that it wont be strong enough. But closed inspection and a fair bit of pulling and twisting ... or trying to twist. Its strong, warranted not as strong as the standard stainless steel. But I don't think you will break it unless you take a hammer to it.

First Impressions: I took the lead weights off my old weight belt which was one of Free Divers first belts which I found out at sea one day ...... (it work so I kept it)
I noticed that the new belt was slight less stretchy, again being the skeptic that I am I thought that this was not a good thing.
The lead weights went on fine and the thickness off the rubber belt is perfect, and its matt finish holds the weights nicely.

The Testa: After a number of dives over the last few weeks I have grown to like this weight belt, the 'lack' of stretch is a good thing. It is funny how you learn to live with things. My old belt used to sag allot when walking along the beach and I would have to make it rather tight to not flop around. The new Freedivers weight belt seems to just right.
The buckle seems to have held out and there are no signs of failing. The action of the buckle is good and releases quickly if the need arises.

Overall Impressions: This not a flashy product ..... it is practical & functional. You can get weight belts that have a so called 'better' finish but lets be honest its not really a fashion show ..... well not for most of the guys I know.

In Parting: The weight belts are available in different sizes, one of the few belts that you dont have to cut or punch holes in. So if you are a skinny chap or a larger than life kinda guy you will probably find the right size belt for you.

Coatesman

C-Ski 440 by Steve Ellis

"Spumbu" C-Ski 440 made by Steve Ellis at Fibre Tech

At a Glance: The C-Ski 440 by Steve Ellis is an impressive boat, very 'clean and simple'. I think you would have to be a seasoned spearfishermen to appreciate its design. It comes without the flare and finished you find on show room floors.
But having designed and built a boat, I understand it to be functional design. I will let you in ona little secret.... I copied much of what I saw Steve doing when I designed my boat.

First Impressions: Lets take a look at the C-Ski 440's layout. If you are looking at the C-Ski with a center console then this what you will get.
Starting at the transom there is a small hatch, big enough for a yellow safety can and life jackets etc. It is quiet deep and any thing you dont want fish on can go in there.
Next is the center console, the battery lives in here and there is some space for some extras. There is enough space on the center console for a gps / fish finder and compass. The steering and controls will be up to you to decide on ... and thats another whole discussion.
The fish (main) hatch is nice and big, it was designed for spearfishing. Steve is an experienced spearo and designed the boat to suit the needs of spearfishermen. Thats why when you look at most smallish boats designed for fishing the hatches are frustratingly small.
The fuel hatch takes one 25l standard fuel can (the flat one you get with the motor). There is space for a small 10l or15l spare.

The Testa: I was recently up in Mozambique and Iain Ewing brought his C-Ski 440 with. We had fairly good conditions, but did have the odd trip in some serious weather. So I think I have a pretty good idea of how the boat preforms on the water and its practicality for Spearfishing.
The ride for a small boat is excellent, look there was the odd chop that the boat did bounce a little and the occasional spray of bow water. But I have been on most small boats available and this is the one that stands out.

Three of you were on the boat and one must remember Iain is no small chap. This did mean that we had to be conscious of each others movements on the boat. Especially when getting on and off between dives. The C-Ski is only 1.75m wide and being a mono hull does roll a little. There are very few small boats that dont roll, and normally the ones that dont are flat hulls and are terrible on the water.

The sides are low in the water (check the pic of Spumbu on some other trip in Mozam) This makes getting on and off very easy. Some water does wash over the back but this is seriously not an issue, as there is nowere for the water to sit and drains off quickly. Even in the surf, the boat holds very little water on the deck and does not get bogged down at all.

The deck space and functionality of the C-Ski is very good. We each had 2 or 3 guns and all our kit. Everything stashed away nicely in the gunbags and in the main hatch when launching and coming in. The only thing is that we had to have a spare 25l fuel can on the deck. I think this the only place that needs attention. We were traveling long distances and had to change tanks every day. Perhaps there should be space for 2 x 25l standard spuggs in the fuel hatch?

Overall Impressions:
You can understand why so many seasoned spearo's land up owning one of Steve's C-skis. It's just so functional, no frills gonna do the job boat. I would say it is probably the best boat in its class. (3man single motor boat) There are some great hulls out there, but Fibre tech seems to be the only one making this size boat at the moment that works.

I did some sums the other day for a guy for whom I am organising a boat for through Steve and the total cost came to R75 000. But thats for everything from start to finish, with all the bells and whistles. It seems allot but if you look at what else is available and you find your self coming back and having another look.

The costs worked out like this:
Basic Boat - R19 500
Extras -R 9825 (center console, controls, keel strip, covers ect)
Trailer - R 10 800
40 Yamaha - R29000

If you want to go with 2 motors the boats and cost sky rocket into the R100000.00 range very quickly, so thats another ball game altogether.

Would I own one? ........ For sure!

Coatesman

See the new Fibretech C-Ski 444 Here

Freedivers Aqua Glide Chicle Wetsuit Top

At a Glance: During late winter last year while picking up stock from Freedivers Shane showed me his Aqua Glide Chicle wetsuit hooded jacket. I had seen guys using them and had always wondered what the attraction was.

The neoprene that suit is made from is ultra soft and stretchy5.5mm Yamamoto Chicle neoprene, which has no nylon material on the outside. It is smooth and is designed to dry quickly in the wind making it ideal for boat diving.
I could see how the suit would be warm and comfortable. But warning bells went of on the durability of the suit. Shane however convinced me to try one ......

First Impressions: Being a very fussy person I did not think the guys at Freedivers would get the wetsuit right first time. But to my surprise the hooded jacket was so snug and comfortable, molding to my body perfectly. I was again surprised at how maneuverable I was even more than a standard double nylon 3mm suit and this was 5.5mm of neoprene!
Shane ran through how to care for the suit and I was on my way.

I cant really remember the first dive in the Aqua Glide top, but I do remember being so snug and commenting to my mate that it was like waring a warm jersey. It was so good, I cant remember diving in anything else until late November

The Testa: Over a couple months of seriously hard diving, mostly shore entry chicle neoprene wetsuit top was starting to prove its self. On the comfort and warmth side there is nothing you can say against the suit, all the glued seams were holding and did not show any sign of failing.
I had started to collect some nicks on the back from carrying fish along the beach and my spear had made a small tear on my arm. All of these were cosmetic and the small tear fixed with some wetsuit glue.

But one Saturday morning in late November I tore the suit. The sea had warmed up considerably and the day turned into a stinker. The Cuta had turned on and I pushed a long dive to the point of exhaustion. Getting back to the beach some 2km from the car and a hand full of cuta on the stringer, I decided to take the top off and not bake in the already overbearing heat.
Not thinking I tried to take the suit off as per usual and tore open the back. While sorting all my kit out on the beach the suit had dried stopping it from sliding on itself. Usually I wet myself down and fold the bottom up and full it with water, then there is no problem.

The suit was fixed, and have had no problems since. I suppose that could be the up side of stichless suits is that a little bit of glue can fix anything. (I would take it to Shane to fix they will do a better job and have some glue that is amazing, way better than the off the shelf stuff.)

Overall Impression: The Aqua Glide suit for me is the next step up in wetsuits. Remember when you first started diving in an open cell suit, and you felt so comfortable and warm vowing never to go back to a double nylon suit? Well diving in this suit is much like that, not that I would never dive in my standard open cell suit again - because of practical reasons. Its just that I wish I could dive in it all the time.

The Chicle neoprene suit has a specific purpose, and like any specialist piece of equipment if you use it in the wrong application you will land up abusing it and it will not last. Crayfishing is one of those areas, you cant go wedging yourself in a barnacle infested crack to pull some buggs and expect to come out unscathed!

If you do allot of boat diving, or don't really catch crayfish this is maybe an option. I feel the cold real easy, I even get cold in summer! And this suit has been fantastic in terms of warmth.

Pro's:

• Super comfortable
  
• Probably the warmest suit you can get.
• Excellent for boat diving, as the it drys quickly and does not chill in the wind while traveling. So you don't need to take a windbreaker anymore.
• Made locally - previous chicle suits were all imported with little or no backup service.

Con's:

• Not a 'tough' suit (keep in mind its purpose)
• You need to look after it

Tip's:

• Use loads of lubrication when taking on and off. This (for some) is a mission but worth it. Conditioner works better than shampoo, and aqueous cream is also good. I sometimes use a mix half aqueous cream and conditioner.
• Dry the suit inside out, and out of direct sunlight. My suit started to grow moldy from never drying properly ...... might have been because I was diving every day.
  

Interesting Facts:

• Yamamoto Neoprene is used by Picasso, Elios and other leading wetsuit manufactures.
• Yamamoto Neoprene is not manufactured from petrol, but from limestone, which contains up to 99.7% of calcium carbonate.
• Giving The wet suit a more even density of the neoprene (better insulation, better buoyancy, material resistant to compression damage)
• Higher elasticity similar to that of human skin, thus adding extra comfort.

Coatesman