So its finally happened, I have taken the red pill, been assimilated, joined the dark side because resistance was futile. Sidney Dive n Surf has become a Whites dry suit dealer. In the automotive world, the full size pickup truck is the most important part of any dealer’s lineup. It's the work horse, the tradesman, the vehicle to get jobs done comfortably with less work. And every big manufacturer (the industry leaders) has one. This is the vehicle that is most advertised, each dealer brags that theirs can tow the most, has the most horse power etc. This is because the small car and mini van are less diverse (are closer in design), and are not purposed for commercial use. Back to the diving world - when cold water diving, the drysuit is the most important piece of equipment a consumer can invest in. When the conditions for diving are the best in our area (Sept.-Feb.), the water is frigid and so is the air. You can take your VR3 computer, your Zeagle Ranger BCD, your Poseidon x-stream regs, and all your other toys to the shore side - But swap your warm, cozy drysuit for a rental wetsuit and the excitement factor droops faster than a badly timed mental picture of Rosanne Barr, agreed?? So with this in mind, when I opened my dive shop almost 3 years ago, and all I could get was a Hyundai pick up truck, imagine my dilemma (yes Hyundai does make trucks). In my numerous travels to Central America, I have seen brands like Hyundai widely used, but here in Canada the market is so locked up by far better trucks that Hyundai doesn’t spend a dime marketing this product here. For three years, I have been trying to sell a drysuit (Oceaner) that is combating this very problem. Oceaner makes a wonderful neoprene suit but it's ancient technology; the suits are the same now as they were in 1995. And because of local drysuit suit giant Whites manufacturing, Oceaner hasn’t been a household name for years on the peninsula. Meanwhile innovative companies like DUI and Whites are spending time and money on Research and development, moving forward, always looking for a way to make a better product, and expanding. I toured the Whites manufacturing facility about 2 yrs ago and was impressed how clean it was. Everybody seemed to enjoy working there and suit production was moving along. I visited this same building last week and was blown away. Whites has Expanded huge, they are building a large room just for product research, and a show room. They are also building THE state of the art survival suits for military and coast guard. In the next 5 years I have no doubts this company will be the largest manufacturer of high end dry suits in the world. So when I had the opportunity to drive away in big foot, I was not that sad to give up my Hyundai. Today is Jan. 27 and I will be diving at Wain Rock in my new Whites Polar Flex, tomorrow I’ll review it. “Breathe continuously “ Dan Sidney Dive n Surf |