Our Gear
Diving
As travelers and adventurers who got hooked with the world of underwater exploration, we needed some very lightweight and easy to carry gear that we could fit into a minimal storage space. After a lot of research and reading reviews we decided to get ourselves the following items:
We like to be warm and cozy while we dive, so a very good and comfortable option was the Scubapro Everflex wetsuit. With its 5mm thickness on the body and 3mm on the sleeves it is perfect for maneuvering under the water. An important note is that the thickness of the wetsuit you choose will depend mainly on where you’d be diving. We chose 5/3 mm because we intended to dive at sites where the water temperature does not fall below 10 degrees Celsius.
Budget friendly, lightweight, and very comfortable boots that can easily be part of any diver’s equipment.
A very lightweight and foldable setup for BCD which can be completely disassembled. All the components can be replaced separately, and it feels excellent in the water due its design giving a lot of freedom for movement. The lack of side pockets can be a bit of a downside, but these can easily be added from the higher end model - the Rouge.
A brilliant, high quality, super lightweight and very reliable travel regulator. This little fellow is much smaller than other regulators which makes it easy to fit with the rest of the luggage. A pneumatically balanced second stage provides the regulator with a great breathing performance. The first stage is an environmentally sealed, balanced diaphragm type and provide excellent breathing performance in a compact size for water temperatures above +10 degrees Celsius.
A very good entry level dive computer that provides all the essentials and it is arguably the most commonly used personal dive computer. I have seen many dive masters and instructors using it so it will serve its purpose well. It has some advanced features that aren't found on any of its competition in the same price bracket. The mix of segment and dot matrix display allows for more advanced messages to be show across the middle of the screen whilst the top and bottom sections show large numerical information such as depth and dive time.
Travel fins designed for divers that prefer to wear boots or simply need to due to the water temperature. These fins are relatively light, strong and shorter than the average fin to ensure they fit in IATA carry-on compliant luggage. The fins have been carefully designed to 'piggy-back' each other for storage and packing, using up the least amount of space as possible. The fins have a heel pocket profile that accommodated boots and features a self-adjusting bungee heel strap that keeps the fin secure and the strap comfortable over the heel making them extremely easy to put on.
Very good entry level options. The mask falls into the mid-range in terms of budget. It provides very good visibility due to its colorless frame. The strap and brackets can be adjusted in all possible directions allowing it to fit a variety of facial sizes.
Photography
Being able to document the memories of your journeys is priceless. And while this does not necessarily require a sophisticated set of tools, having those around can provide the chance to capture images that would be impossible to make otherwise.
After spending a few years learning on my Nikon D5200, in the late 2019 I decided it was time to upgrade to the full frame mirrorless world and got a Sony A7III. It is a very reliable and solid camera body, equipped with all the high-end technologies of its time. One very noticeable difference was in the auto focus capabilities of the body, the high dynamic range, and the outstanding low light performance.
Along with the body I got my first FE mount lens. There were a few packages available on the market at the time, but I decided to go with this one as it covers a wide range of focal lengths and it was the sensible thing to do given the fact we were just stepping into the Sony ecosystem. Overall, I am very happy with its performance and image quality. This is not a G Master lens, but nevertheless it is a perfectly good option for first lens with constant aperture along the whole focal length and optical image stabilization built into it.
After a few months of using the Sony system and with our next adventure just around the corner, we decided to invest in a wide-angle landscape prime photography lens. This is a great example of such lens. It has been on the market for quite some time and it has built a name for itself as a solid and tag sharp lens. Its wide aperture of 2.8 and its weather sealing make it the best option for our needs.
An action camera is a must for everyone headed outdoors in search for adventures and so we decided to get a compact, waterproof GoPro. At the time we were researching the market, GoPro Hero 7 was the best option given its advanced stabilization capabilities allowing for creating smoother videos.
Nowadays it is almost vital for people who like capturing nature’s beauty to have a different perspective of the scenery. Therefore, we decided to challenge ourselves by taking up aerial photography. Our "weapon" of choice is the Mavic 2 Pro mainly because of its 1-inch Hasselblad sensor. Features like variable aperture and the latest version of the optical avoidance system made this decision easy and we do not regret it for a second.
One of the essential tools for making a good landscape photo is a sturdy tripod. As tripods can be expensive, we decided to give this one a try and so far, we’re quite happy with it. It is definitely not the most high-end gear, but its 1.5kg are making it a very good option for travelling and hiking. Fully extended it reaches 1.6m, and completely folded is 0.43m. It has very good ball head - easy to level and adjust. It also has a hook at the bottom for attaching a counterweight and it can easily turn into a monopod.
A very budget friendly and light weight option for a mini tripod with flexible legs that can be wrapped around almost all kinds of surface. This is a good option when we need to be extra lightweight and compact with our gear.
Hiking
I've been carrying around Osprey backpacks for a while now and I am more than happy with them. The brand offers plenty of different designs and sizes depending on their purpose. The Kyte 46 is the women's option of the backpack. It is a 46 liter multi-day trekking backpack with a lid, side access and a rain cover. It comes in a bigger and a smaller size, but when travelling, the size always matters as not all airlines are happy for you to bring a 66 liter backpack as carry on luggage.
Depending on the hike, some very basic walking poles should suffice. The weight is probably the most important thing to asses. We picked these because they are light and compact. They will not last forever, but will serve their purpose perfectly while they last. Keep in mind that walking poles are prohibited in airplane cabins so if you're travelling light, leave those at home.
Choosing the correct hiking boots is essential. It is not very practical for the average person to own ten pairs of hiking boots to use on hikes depending on the terrain and season, so the quality of the one pair must be good. Trust me, the comfort of your feet is the most important thing in a hike. The Salomon Tibai are very good for rough and wet terrains, and are very light which makes them quite comfortable.
