Candice LandauLast Updated on May 14, 2026 by Candice Landau
Dear dive gear manufacturers,
I want to be excited about your gear. I want to ache to buy it, to brag about it, to beg to be a brand ambassador. Unfortunately, I’m struggling because season after season, I watch you re-release the same products in new colors and call it innovation.
Let’s be brutally honest. It’s not.
You can dye and rename a fin “reef coral red” or “manta gray,” but if it performs the same, feels the same, and solves none of the daily pain points I face as a diver, it’s just what it says on the unfortunately still plastic packaging.
Meanwhile, I’m also still diving a 3mm wetsuit with no pockets. I’m clipping safety gear to D-rings that might as well be key rings they’re so small. Never mind that I have three color choices for 99% of the gear I buy: pink, purple or turquoise because apparently that’s what girls want.
Personally, I’ve had enough.
Give us function
I dive year-round. Cold water. Warm water. Shore dives. Drift dives. Recreational, technical. I’m not some edge case either. I’m a passionate and active diver and I represent a large portion of the dive community( people who also want gear that’s functional, durable, adaptable and that doesn’t pigeon-hole them into dated notions of what women want).
I have many questions. Let’s start with pockets. Why, in 2025, are you still not putting pockets on standard wetsuits? The ones on BCDs are a joke so don’t use that as the excuse please. Do you think recreational divers don’t carry anything? I’ve needed to stow back-up lights, spools, even slates, and unless I’m in a custom suit or using some of those ugly-looking tech shorts made for male tech divers, I’ve got nowhere to put them. Those strap-on pockets are a mess too. Yes, I’ve tried them. Divers shouldn’t have to jerry-rig storage solutions. Just give us pockets on tropical wetsuits please, not shorts we have to put over the wetsuits so we all look like clowns. The only 3/4mmm wetsuit I’ll dive now is my Waterproof because miracle of miracles they have a pocket!
And while we’re at it, let’s circle back to talk about D-rings on women’s BCDs. Why are they smaller? Why are there fewer of them? Are you assuming we carry less? That we’re less prepared? That our reel, SMB, and camera equipment is daintier? Spoiler alert, it’s not, so why dock us?
Guys, come on, we’re diving the same wrecks, currents, and caves. We deserve the same hardware. Sizing it to fit a woman doesn’t mean removing features or shrinking the parts that don’t need to be shrunk, things like D-rings, pockets, utility-related add-ons. We dive the same size spools and flashlights, don’t we? Size the material to fit us, don’t shrink the D-ring!
But, some of you are getting it right so let me give credit where it’s due.
Shearwater continues to lead the dive computer space with tools that are intuitive, powerful, and repairable. Their products don’t assume I want fewer features just because I’m not diving trimix every weekend. They’ve built trust and earned loyalty. That said, Shearwater, beloved as you are, you’ve jumped on the color-rollout train too. Keep innovating instead.
Fourth Element is another standout. They’ve pushed sustainability beyond buzzwords by incorporating recycled ocean plastics, Yulex plant-based neoprene, and take-back programs for old gear, into their catalogue.
Garmin? Finally, someone integrated dive tracking with a phone and watch the way most of us want. Plus all those other activities. I love my Shearwaters for diving but Garmin has slowly been growing on me thanks to the fact I can wear it all year-round and have it track everything I do. Sorry Apple and Oceanic, you’ve still missed the boat somewhat on the Apple dive watch. I don’t want to pay to have a monthly subscription fee to use it for diving, and I certainly don’t want to rely on something that has a battery life as long as my attention span. Also, kudos Garmin for your new Descent™ S1 Buoy system that connects divers with the surface support above. That’s some seriously cool shiz.
Though nowadays I’m more a fan of modular BCD/wing setups that allow you to chop and change depending on the type of diving you’re doing (think Halcyon here), even Aqualung’s Rogue BCD deserves a nod. It’s modular, lightweight, and genuinely different from the bulky “one size fits all” approach that dominates recreational gear. Especially nice for those who travel a lot. Keep doing things like this. Yes, R&D is expensive but trust me, smart divers notice you’re innovating and we begin paying more attention to your brand. Plus, nothing makes me feel better than a gorgeous setup. It looks good in photos and others ask after it.
SeaLife doesn’t always get the spotlight, but they’ve made one of the most underrated contributions to accessible underwater photography: the SportDiver smartphone housing. It’s not trying to be a $3,000 DSLR setup. Rather, it says, “Hey, you already have a decent camera in your pocket, let’s get it underwater.” It’s simple, intuitive, and works with both iPhones and Androids. Best of all? You don’t have to sell a kidney to buy it and if you do have extra cash you can soup it up with neat add-ons like a wide angle lens. This is the kind of practical, diver-centric thinking we need more of. It’s truly gear that lowers the barrier to entry without lowering the quality of the experience. And while I’m on the subject, Divevolk…that touch screen that allows you full use of your phone? That’s just cool. Yes.
Halcyon and Dive Rite have also long set the bar for what functional, modular dive gear should look like. Both brands built their reputations in the tech world, but their influence reaches far beyond caves and CCRs. Halcyon’s streamlined backplate and wing systems, long hose-friendly harnesses, and durable, no-nonsense construction reflect a deep understanding of what divers actually need, not what looks good in a product shoot (though they do look good too). I love that they make carbon fiber backplates and a spool that doesn’t have a hole through it. I love that their knives are multi-tools and that everything is modular. Dive Rite, meanwhile, has quietly been innovating for decades with configurable sidemount rigs, rugged accessories, and some of the most thoughtfully engineered pockets and harnesses out there. I have a ton of Dive Rite accessories because they just work, plus they create things others don’t—all those add-ons I’m missing on my rig like trim pockets, thigh-mount pockets, lights that last for hours, etc. They design for performance, longevity, and real-world diving. When the cave divers trust it, well, it’s good enough for me. Also, a note: those new reels with the bigger hole through the middle and more space for the line so it doesn’t overflow…yes.
Though I haven’t had time to name all the innovations these examples are the exception, not the norm, and they span years of R&D. The broader industry still seems hesitant to commit to real change or innovation. I’m not sure why. Can you tell us?
What we actually want
We want gear that grows with our training; that reflects the environment we dive in (cold and warm); that supports a range of bodies and dive styles without sacrificing functionality; that excites us. We want options without having to hack our kit or buy from four different brands to make things work.
We want pockets on our wetsuits.
We want D-rings that actually function as attachment points, not decorations.
We want to know that the companies profiting from our love of the ocean are doing something to protect it, whether that means using more sustainable materials, reducing plastic packaging, or offering repair services instead of pushing replacements. And don’t tell me this is a cost issue. I know there are plenty of affordable eco-friendly options. Make them part of your marketing spiel.
And if you’re going to offer something new, make it new. Make it useful. Make it better. Color roll-outs don’t make me buy a new dive watch but a new dive watch that allows me to communicate with my buddy underwater…that’s something I’d spend money on.
You want constructive criticism, don’t you?
I’m not saying stop making your gear beautiful. Good design matters but utility matters more. Give me something I can rely on when conditions get rough. I love my Sharkskin one-piece because it has a pocket and dries rapidly but it tears so easily I’ve had to contemplate returning to a classic wetsuit. Give me something that keeps me organized, prepared, and safe and that I don’t have to pay a subscription to keep using (Nautilus LifeLine’s GPS wins over Garmin’s rescue GPS for this very reason). Give me gear I don’t have to modify myself just to meet the demands of a standard dive day.
There’s a whole generation of divers coming up right now, many of them younger, more values-driven, more eco-aware. They’re not going to settle for outdated kit in a fresh new color. In fact, in some ways, they’re thriftier. They’ll go for the old stuff rather than the new stuff (believe me, I’ve seen this on many of my dive assignments and it’s not because they don’t have money). If they’re going to buy new, they want gear that reflects how they dive and what they care about. I do too.
So no, I’m not impressed by a fin in new electric lime, not even if it’s camo electric lime. Also, what’s with all the camo? Next design pattern, please.
I’m also not here to bash the industry. I love diving. I love gear. I want to be your biggest fan. But you have to meet me halfway. Show me that you’re listening and build the kind of gear that makes people fall in love with diving all over again.
Let me know when you’re ready to talk.
Sincerely,
A diver tired of carrying everything in her hands.
