winter-Break?

We have been busy moving and working, and now we have winter upon us.

So our next couple articles will be reviewing winterizing tools and equipment as everyone is getting their bikes ready to wait out the winter months. We will be doing so when the rain lets up for a day or two and frost is almost upon us we are still doing some rain riding after all.

So when we are ready we will be posting a few more reviews before the year is over. And then of course we do the same in reverse around late February - early April. 

Icon Alliance Helmet

Icon has an excellent reputation in motorcycle gear and this helmet is towards the middle to budget end of the helmet market. As you can see it has some major vents on the top of the helmet. The helmet is extremely comfortable but then again helmets tend to be very subjective. The helmet does not possess the chin net that has become more popular. However you don't miss the net the airflow seems to not want to push debris or other items up into the helmet . The noise level in the helmet is soso, there isn't a massive amount of noise generated but it isn't the quietest helmet out there by a long shot. It is one of those helmets in which I would definitely recommend to wear earplugs to prevent hearing loss or damage to the ear in general. The wind noise gets extremely bad when you shoulder check which I expect to be caused by the large top vents.
The air circulation is good in the helmet and the visor locks into place when you put it all the way down which gives you a great deal of confidence when riding in the rain or on the highway in general.
The Helmet has all the certifications DOT FMVSS 218 (US), ECE 22-05 (EUROPE), SAI AS1698 (AUSTRALIA) & SG (JAPAN).

The Price around 165 CDN.

Ducati Shadow Gloves

 This is a review of the Black Shadow Ducati Gloves. They possess leather palms which are very comfortable and give good grip on the handlebars. They extend just passed the wrist and have textile surfaces on the outside which also covers the knuckle protection. The fingers are punctured between the fingers to allow air flow this of course has draw backs when it gets wet. But when you are riding in the sun then you are grateful for the excellent temperature control that these gloves provide.

Overall these gloves are excellent.

Price: around 137 CDN$

Stinger Waterproof Leather Boots

The Stinger boots are nice riding boots they are nice and subtle. They have all the normal protection for your ankle and heel. They are extremely comfortable and do not in anyway limit your ability to you use your controls. It is quite easy to feel the controls through the soles of the boots.

Now they are not designed for extremely cold weather but will do fine until about -5C in rain/slush/snow.

As you can see they use a flap system which is quite convenient when you are in rain but also makes them very easy to put on and take off. 

Price around 150 CDN.

Motorcycle Day Trip Langford to Port Renfrew

This is just a quick update we are adding motorcycle day routes now to our link selection. This will be in the same fashion as dive sites via Google maps. We will also mention good spots to stop at for view or lunch and offer actual reviews while the Dive sites are just listed.

Stops are marked as follows:
Yellow: Start and End of route
Bench: Parks and/or lookout points which are worth checking out. 
Burger and Shake: Food and General supplies which would be worth while
Blue: Fuel


I would recommend doing this route on a stat or weekend day because otherwise you will be sharing the road with lumber trucks and they are space hogs. Also there some upgrades being done to the road right now so there would also be some construction zones. Also I would recommend to fill up on the way out since there is no big chain gas station in Renfrew and none between Sooke and Renfrew so be sure to have at least 200km of gas in your tank to be on the safe side. There is a Shell just before Sooke and another gas station right downtown Sooke so if in doubt fill up at either of these two.

The first route that we will be adding is the Victoria (Langford) to Port Renfrew route.

It is a lot of fun with plenty of twisties and a speed limit of 50-80km/h. The view on this route is amazing and there are a few great stops.

The ride takes between 90 minutes and 2 1/2 hours it entirely depends on how fast you ride and how many stops you make on the way.

The first good stop on the way is French Beach which is a nice provincial park with some paths and a nice beach to walk along.

After French beach you come through a small town along the road which has a nice beach but no good parking spots or nice access. It is better to just carry on to Jordan River where you can find a couple small eateries one a cafe the other one a corner store and Fish and Ships shop. There is a reasonable amount of parking space as well and easy access to the beach.

After these stops you are entering lumber land and the 80km/h zone so just let loose and enjoy yourselves.

Beware about 20km down the road you will see some road degradation in the twisties so be cautious since some of the damage is hard to see until you are mid-turn. I would recommend following the recommendation signs roughly.

There are also a couple stops where you can pull over easily and stop to take in the view from bridges and ledges I would definitely recommend making a couple stops here of course they are also marked on the map.

Once in Renfrew there is one General store a couple nice parks nearby and a great little beach also popular with the fishing folk and several nice campsites if you don't feel like going back on the same day.

Here is the link to the map and enjoy: Langford to Port Renfrew

*Update 07.07.2013
I decided to go out and get some new pictures for this route to post for so that you can see some of the beauty on this trip. I added two Park articles which are along this route as well as some Pictures of the Jordan River Stop. This is the more spacious stop for Jordan River with more space and a nice beach if you didn't bring food there is the Deja Vu Cafe just down the road from there but the parking lot there quite small.

When you see the Cafe's advisory sign you should be slowing down if you plan on pulling into this lot.

Joe Rocket Ballistic Jacket

This Review is about the Joe Rocket Ballistic Jacket with high visibility patches.

The Jacket has all the features you would expect of textile made Motorcycle jacket. They come with all the pockets you could possibly need and they have the water resistant zippers. There are two liners for this jacket one being the water resistant liner and the second being a warm liner that will prevent you from getting cold while riding in the rain or colder weather. Like the Joe rocket pants this jacket also has the vents that will allow air to flow through and they make it a lot more comfortable to ride in this jacket in the summer and city traffic.

The high vis areas work extremely well and allow you to be seen nicely.

Price around 330 CDN.

Joe Rocket Alter Ego Pants

These pants have many nice little features which combine into one great set off pants.

They have all the padding that you know and like for motorcycling, they have a mesh liner inside that holds the knee pads. Then you can open zippers along the upper leg that allow air flow through the pants so if you are driving in the city for the day or its unbearably hot that is a great way to cool down. Then there is a water tight liner that will keep water at bay and provide some additional wind protection when some water seeps through.

These pants feel comfortable and a reasonably snug. Extremely comfortable and well made product overall. 

Price around 250 CDN.

We are taking a gear break right now but the next set of gear reviews will be for motorcycle attire which will be around early September. In the mean time enjoy your summer and have a good time outdoors.

Seatux DrySuit Heavy with Heavy duty Zipper

Seatux has a great local reputation for good quality suits that last for quite a while.

Seatux is a local Vancouver Island company that is based in Lantzville and they do not make any suits for the rack but rather make their suites to order insuring that the suits fit extremely well.
The compressed neoprene that is used by them allows the diver to wear a wide range of undergarments since the suit itself provides good thermal protection while keeping the diver dry.
Seatux uses gator skin which has proven to be quite resilient to general stress and the occasional barnicel. The suit is not just slightly more comfortable then a shell suit but rather leaves the shells in a dust cloud on the hangers. The seatux feels natural even if you jump into it right after diving in wetsuits. The comfort level and confidence inspired by this suit is hard to surpass and leaves nothing to wish for compared to some of the bigger competitors.
The suit comes with free made to seize hood which is and added bonus as many wet hoods tend to not quite fit but this one is made to seize just like the suit.
Everything can be customized on the suit from pockets to where the vent is and how you enter the suit of course some of those changes carry a ticket price but the models are not just affordable but they again beat most of the competition that can claim equality as well.
The Zipper on this suit is protected by a flap the flaw of that flap is a when you put on your BCD it tends to get trapped under the shoulder straps but it protects the zipper quite effectively once your dive buddy sorts your flap out.
The boots used for this suit are extremely rugged and you will not have to worry that your boots fail while hiking down to the beach for a shore dive.
The seals are not silicone as you maybe accustomed from many other suits but instead neoprene this makes the quite comfortable and warm while not sacrificing water tight integrity. 
The base model with the light duty zipper goes for about 1500$ CDN and the heavy duty model goes for 1700$ CDN.
Here is also the companies website albeit only partially working but the important contact info can be easily found and there are a couple local dealers around the island that support SeaTux such as Ogden Point and Nanaimo Dive Outfitters. (Those are the ones I am aware of supporting Seatux...I will happily add any other shops that do the same.)

SeaTux Website
Ogden Point Dive Shop
Nanaimo Dive Outfitters

The Overview, you can the words Sea-Tux on the neck.

The Zipper is protected by a flap.

The boots are pretty rugged and a boot failure is not an immediate fear.

The Cuff seal, got a little dust on it from transport but is other wise fine.

The hood.

Akona Gloves 5mm Review

Akona makes gloves that in my experience work the best and are very durable. The 5mm gloves provide great dexterity and warmth in low temperature water.
They reliably reduce the flow of water through the glove they keep the hands comfortably warm while not limiting the range of motion of the fingers and hand. They are quite rugged and the grip surface has great grip underwater as well as on the surface.
The Wrist has a band that instead of the stretch material which permits easy access into the gloves and as well as getting them off again. As in my experience the stretch gloves tend to be more difficult to get off once they are all soaked from the dive.

Overall these gloves are extremely comfortable during the dive and very durable.

Wenoka Deep Sea Dive Knife

The Wenoka deep Sea is a great knife that it has a nice set of straps that come with the knife.
It has a good seize and weight make it very comfortable to handle while diving and wearing heavy wet-gloves. The blade has a straight edge and a serrated edge as well as a small hook on the serrated edge with which  you can hook a line or something.
The knife is well made and is quite durable the yellow sides on the handle are the part of the holder which prevent the knife from falling out and leaving you with peace of mind.

Suunto Zoop

The Suunto Zoop is one of the most basic and reliable dive computers out there it is on the bottom of the dive computer Spectrum making it a common new diver dive computer. The zoop works with Nitrox and has a the regular range of basic functions as well as memory in the system. With a USB cable that you have to buy separately you can download the past dive information with Suunto's DM4 software. Overall the Zoop is pretty reliable probably because it is so basic that all the hardware isn't the high-end but rather to proven and durable. The numbers are comfortably read in most light conditions since they displayed in simple bold number on the screen. It also of course reacts well to flashlights if you choose to dive in the dark. 

It handles quite well on shore but while diving the buttons tend to be a little small and you need to push on them quite hard to have the computer do want you want which is a bit difficult while wearing a 5mm glove. The menu and all portions of the Zoop are handled via the three little metal buttons.

There are two versions of the Zoop one is mounted as console instead of a gauge and the other version is the arm carried ones. The console mounted ones show the pressure of course, while the wristband mounted one will not show the pressure of your cylinder. No wireless system included but this is the way I like it since I like having multiple systems. 

We used the Zoop for many dives and only had one problem with them on the way to Hawaii the seal must have broken on the plane or something since the first dive flooded it out and killed the battery. We got it fixed but we decided not to take Zoops on planes again. Otherwise we have found them to be extremely reliable and are very happy with them.

Aqualung Impulse 3

The Impulse 3 is Aqualungs longer lasting lines of snorkels. Overall its pretty good for surface swims but when swimming in a bit of a chop the one way vent does not seem to work entirely ideally. It occasionally has trouble purging water that enters the snorkel. The fit is quite comfortable and the mounting is quite reliable while at times a bit of a hassle to adjust.
Overall a decent snorkel but again a good piece of equipment but not great.

Aqualung Look2

The Aqualung Look series does have a long standing history and has always been a efficient mask with minimal air space. The mask fits close to the face allowing for a comfortable field of vision. It fits snug and is very comfortable while diving the seal is quite reliable but due to a fairly large mask circumference the mask rim does have a tendency to get stuck over the hood or the if you are using a reg rim over that rim as well.
The mask is not entirely ideal for cold water diving but extremely well suited for warm water diving where the diver wears less heat protection and there by reduces the likelihood of the rim getting stuck over any gear the diver maybe wearing.
The mask is well made and shows that aqualung is intending to carry on with the Look masks for some time to come. Overall a good mask not great but good.

Aqualung Dimension with i3

The dimension is a nice cold water BCD it is quite intuitive to handle more so then the hose setup. The i3 sits in a convenient location, to exact the location where most divers rest there hands anyway, further the system is very straight forward. Up is inflate and down is deflate up and down, making it very simple even for beginner divers to use, we also found that in a rescue scenario when you need to get the inflator from the rear. The rescuer can easily get to the system from behind with one hand can in as well as deflate easily without having to manage a victim tubes and gear its simply a question of holding the victim and slowly deflating the system with the lever without doing much work.

The dimension of course uses a back bladder allowing for great stability while diving the only flaw is that the bladder is rather large at 48L causing it to have massive buoyancy when fully inflated. Thus when on the surface I would recommend to inflate the bladder only as much as necessary for both purpose the surface swim but also any rescue scenario. 
Over all the system is convenient and very effective easy to reach without having to worry to much.

The LP hose is routed through the back and then under the arm making that very sleek and taking all the LP hoses out of the way. Beyond sleek it also removes any drag the hose may cause.

The only thing that seems somewhat mediocre and a little cheap is the manual inflator hose that is not great the can be used by pushing the mouthpiece down and then you breath. The biggest problem is that the hose has to be unpacked when used and the pushed in with the teeth which means that you have to be fairly present in the event of needing that hose since it is less intuitive then the traditional setup. 

The BCD is made quite and and has the sure-lock 3 system for the weights in place which makes the weights easy to dump and put into the BCD.

The valves are all flat valve designs reducing drag even further overall it is a slim BCD that creates minimal drag for a cold water BCD. But not just that the BCD has also a nice set of four D-rings that you can use for attaching whatever you need to take with you onto your dive.

The BCD is one of the better Cold water BCDs that I have seen so far allowing the least amount of drag with the most utility and flexibility. As I said before the only real wrinkle in the overall design of the BCD is the manual inflation system vs that of most other BCDs.

The dimension i3 lying on the back.

The i3 inflator and hook-up for the LP hose.

Manual Inflator hose

The shoulder buckle and emergency dump valve.

Backside of the BCD you can see the LP routing on back in the centre just above the strap.

Aqualung Titan LX Octo and Reg Review

The Titan LX is a great Reg and Octo set, I had to get some adjustments done on the balancing since the reg by default was slightly under balanced and started pushing air my way a little to heavily.
But as soon as the adjustments had been made the Reg worked flawless. The Octo has performed up to all expectations the materials used are great there is no corrosion and the work was clearly well done.
The setup works extremely well and is quite resilient, I also love the adjustment knob on both regs allowing for slight adjustments in ease of breathing on the fly.
The Reg performs great in all depth ranges as well as reducing pressure it never feels as if you have to work to get your air.
The regs and octo feel solid and a very confidence inspiring system that will make cold water diving a fun and relaxing experience for anyone.
The setup is of course a cold water setup in which it performs very effectively. 

The set is a Titan LX Supreme Octo, Titan LX Reg, Apex dive console.

 

Aqualung SlingShot Review

I have been testing the Aqualung SlingShot fins, they are quite efficient while underwater and moving along however due to their rather large seize the fins do become restricting when moving towards terrain. As well as when entering/leaving the water or just generally moving in more confined water.

They generate a good deal of thrust with little effort the different tension settings on the back an interesting little feature that most people would probably never use however it does seem to improve the power the fins provide however it does make them a little more cumbersome. I would recommend to keep them in the default setting that allows you the greatest flexibility and performance.

Over all the fins are very comfortable while diving and very reasonably priced making them quite good mid-range fins. They will never be power fins but they are very when cruising on the surface and while diving. As long as you watch out what you hit with them due to their rather great seize. But also this does have some benefits if you want to generate drag to keep someone down since they do act like a couple planks on your feet. I had keep a buddy under after he panicked and it turns out that with these fins and no air in my BCD he did not stand a chance against the resistance that I managed to generate.

These fins are well made and very effective as most aqualung products. I do enjoy diving with these fins although I would advise against them in tight quarters.

If you have any questions in regards to these fins I will be very happy to answer them in the comment section.

Mckenzie Bite

McKenzie Bite is a nice dive site which can be found on the Saanich Peninsula as can be found in the Dive Site map that I provide in links section.

The Dive site is a bit of hike to get to from the parking lot but its worth it when you get down to the water.
To get to the dive site you have to park at the end of the road and then hike down the path, you will see a little dirt path heading towards the water on the right after a 10min. walk. If you haven't been to the site it would make sense to walk to the site without gear and check the path out just to make sure that you are comfortable to walk all the way down with all gear or if you rather make a couple shuttle runs. 

The dive site has a small dive boat wreck as well as couple rock walls which are very popular with the local aquatic life. The visibility though does vary extremely from 2ft at times to 70ft. It is hard to predict the daily visibility and it does change rapidly. The dive does offer something for everyone between 20ft-80ft there is life as well as some interesting things to see along the entire depth range.

Maximum depth that can be reached on that dive is 108ft but most of the interesting things are happening around 20ft-80ft.

Here are some picture I took on the Mckenzie Bite dive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The octopus was hiding but you can see a little of it.

Blast from the Past.

I was just sifting through some old pictures looking for pictures from a recent dive. But instead I found some nice pictures from Friendly Cove in northern area of the Island. The cove itself can only be reached by boat and very isolated by that nature allowing for not only a very secluded ambience but also a very vibrant local fauna.
I was there in 2010 but the trip was well worth it and I thought I would add some of the pictures to the start of this blog to show of some of the remote and yet very beautiful areas of Vancouver Island. 

The Picture shown below is the lighthouse, it is in a small bay that is the only jetty access to the shore and campground that can be found there. 

 This is the view from Friendly cove onto the pacific.

This is the local lake that can be found after a short walk along the shore line.

Hello Everyone

I will be mostly posting on dive gear in the near future as well as dive sites around the Southern penisula of Vancouver Island. Motorcycle and motorcycle gear information will come later on as we gather some speed on this Blog.

I hope you come along and enjoy the ride and come outside with us.