Every year I struggle to think of holiday gifts for my diver friends and co-workers. So this year I started early and ended up with two posts worth of ideas!
We’ll start with part one: Geek Gadgets and Toys. Part two I’ll publish later this month.
($20 or less)
Lego makes an Atlantis series with divers, sharks, etc. You can buy the figurines as a keychain or magnet. All the items pictured below are $10 or less; if you want to go for something a little more expensive, there are complete playsets such as Gateway of the Squid and City of Atlantis.
Who doesn’t drink water?
This is a gift anyone can appreciate. It comes in blue or red.
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| 82285 for blue or 82290 for red |
This luggage scale is one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. Leave it to my mom (who doesn’t dive) think up this extremely practical and useful gift. I don’t know how I ever lived without it.
By now you’ve probably seen the youtube video of the remote-controlled flying shark surprising people in dorm rooms and hallways. It’s called an Air Swimmer. Not only is it a fun gift, one of these would be a clever attention-getter at a trade show (boat show, bridal show, etc). You could attach your store logo / booth number and fly it around the exhibit hall.
Bill at Scuba Views (Las Vegas, NV) was the first person to give us a heads-up about the Air Swimmers and has some in stock. If you’re interested, call 702 645 0516 and ask for Bill or Marilyn.
At the NW Dive and Travel Expo I got to play around with a waterproof iPad bag. Unlike bags that just protect your device from water / dirt, this one allows you to use the iPad while it’s in the sealed bag. Here’s a review.
PADI’s Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving is also a good gift item. It includes more than 100 videos including:
- How scuba equipment is made (the tank video is my favorite)
- Sea Hunt and other nostalgic TV/film clips
- Tips for maintaining scuba equipment.
Mobile Phones for Scuba Divers / Watersports Enthusiasts / Klutzes
There are dozens of cell phones to choose from these days, but only two (I know of) that can handle the diver lifestyle. The Motorola Defy (T-Mobile)caught my eye last year here’s a video showing the Motorola Defy in a container of water – with more water being poured over it. If you really want to dig in to the specs and performance of this phone, here’s a review from Engadget.
A second water-resistant phone also became available this year. The Xperia Active can be dunked in water and (supposedly) the touch screen works even if you have wet fingers. Sony has a promo video of Maria Sharapova showing off the Xperia’s features. If you stare at her outfit long enough a 3-D dinosaur appears. This is a GSM phone (T-Mobile or AT&T users here in the US).
