TURN UP THE HEAT

Why miss out on some of the planet’s best diving just because the water’s cold?

Now you can step into heated suits and undergarments that can keep you comfortable and toasty warm.

Thermalution’s heated garments use nonmetallic heating pads powered by rechargeable batteries to keep the cold at bay. Its suits come in a range of heating capabilities and styles: In the Wetsuits section of our ScubaLab Gear Guide, you’ll find a rashguard designed for use under wetsuits, and an undersuit for beneath your wetsuit or drysuit – and the batteries will crank out heat for 1. to 4 hours depending on the model.

To keep your drysuit comfy in even the most extreme cold-water environments, the BlueHeat System by DUI uses independent temperature controls for torso and extremities, and built-in protection to prevent overheating. Three years in development, the system is designed for anything from rec diving in chilly water to the heaviest tec conditions.

PACK LIGHT

If your ideal dive vacation is a tropical plane ride away,you want lightweight, compact gear that doesn’t sacrifice comfort and durability.

The good news is, there’s plenty of new gear designed to help traveling divers take along their own kit without driving up the baggage fees. Start with the nicely compact Zeagle Covert or Scubapro Equator BCs — or the Aeris JetPack BC that doubles as a travel backpack.

Tilos’ new Fiji Travel fin joins the stable of compact-but-capable kickers like Aqua Lung’s Hotshots and Scubapro’s Seawing Novas.

Is your next dive trip headed toward cooler climes? There’s the new Waterproof D9 Breathable Drysuit, which weighs less than 5 pounds and can be rolled up inside its surprisingly compact travel bag.

MAKE A STATEMENT

Black may still be the default gear color on the dive boat, but divers are opting for a pop of color in their masks, snorkels, fins and wetsuits.

Cressi Nano and Big Eyes Evolution masks offer a variety of bright accent colors, as do Cressi’s Alpha Dry, Beta and Sigma, and Mares’ Ergo Dry snorkels. Aqua Lung’s line of Twilight gear with distinctive purple accents now includes the Linea mask.

In suits, color accents are brightening up new BARE and Cressi wetsuits, and SubGear Sun and Fun skins. And even drysuits are showing a flash of color, such as Whites’ Fusion One Essence for women, with stylish purple accents.