What Is Your Favorite Piece of Dive Kit?

Ask a room full of divers about their favourite piece of dive kit and you will not get a single, tidy answer. You will get stories. Passionate ones. Occasionally defensive ones. Almost always personal.

That is because dive equipment is rarely just equipment. It is memory, comfort, trust, and identity, all wrapped up in neoprene, steel, carbon fibre, or rubber.

Every diver has that one item they would rescue first if the boat was sinking, after the camera, obviously.

The mask that feels like home

For many divers, it starts with the mask. Not the most expensive one. Not the one with the most features. The one that never leaks, never fogs, and somehow fits your face like it was custom made. It might be scratched. The strap might have been replaced twice. But when you put it on, you stop thinking about it. And that is the highest compliment any piece of dive kit can receive.

A good mask disappears. A bad one ruins dives.

The regulator you trust with your life

Regulators inspire a different kind of loyalty. Divers talk about them the way drivers talk about engines. Smooth breathing. Reliable at depth. Never a hiccup, even after hundreds of dives in cold water, strong currents, or heavy use.

Many divers stick with the same regulator model for years, sometimes decades, because it has proven itself. When you are 30 metres down, breathing rhythmically while watching your bubbles rise, trust matters more than brand-new shine.

Fins that feel like an extension of your legs

Ask ten divers about fins and you might start an argument. Long fins versus short fins. Stiff versus flexible. Paddle versus split. Tech-style versus travel-friendly.

But once a diver finds fins that match their kicking style, body type, and environment, those fins become sacred. They define how you move underwater. They shape your trim, your efficiency, and even your confidence. Change them, and suddenly your entire dive feels different.

The dive computer that keeps you calm

For newer divers especially, the dive computer often becomes their favourite piece of kit. It is the quiet voice on your wrist telling you that everything is fine. Time, depth, ascent rate, no-decompression limits, all right there, always watching.

As divers gain experience, that relationship evolves. The computer becomes less of a safety net and more of a trusted companion, logging memories, guiding multi-day trips, and reminding you how far you have come since your first nervous descent.

The odd, unexpected favourite

Sometimes the favourite piece of kit is not glamorous at all. A battered SMB that has been deployed a hundred times. A torch that has survived countless night dives. A wetsuit that fits just right, even if it has more patches than original neoprene.

These are the items tied to moments. First night dive. First wreck penetration. That dive when the current picked up and everything still worked exactly as it should.

Why this question matters

Asking divers about their favourite piece of dive kit is really asking them about their relationship with diving itself. Comfort versus performance. Simplicity versus technology. Trust earned over time.

It is also a reminder that there is no universal best piece of equipment. The best kit is the one that works for you, in your diving, in your conditions, and makes you feel relaxed enough to enjoy the underwater world.

Now it is your turn

So we are throwing the question to you.

What is your favourite piece of dive kit, and why?

Is it something that has been with you since your early dives, or something you upgraded to and immediately wondered how you ever dived without it? Does it have a story attached, or is it simply perfect at doing its job?

Tell us. Share it in the comments, on social media, or over a post-dive coffee with your buddies. Because every diver’s answer is different, and that is exactly what makes this conversation worth having.