DEMA day one

Well, I survived day one, but my legs are already aching from walking the show floor, so this doesn't bode well for the rest of the week!

The show is over 1/4 mile long, so some serious mileage is required to get round it all.

Some nice new gear on show. Fourth Element has boosted its wetsuit range, so now you can get the Proteus in 3mm and 7mm, alongside the existing 5mm version. The design is much the same, and these are sure to be popular.

Aeris and Hollis are two companies which will be coming into the UK in the coming months. Connected to Oceanic, they have some nifty kit, including a wrist-watch computer which will be going head-to-head with Suunto's D9.

PADI has been pleased with the take-up on eLearning, with some 13,000 people doing the OW programme in a year. They are now expanding the programme with the eLearning Advanced Open Water course. They have also given their website a much-needed makeover, so visit www.padi.com to see the new and improved website.

Last night was the world premiere of The Drop Zone Tahiti, an hour-long TV special in which three top surfers travelled to Tahiti and learnt to dive. The idea is that the show, which has the three surfing and diving at various locations, will appeal to the surfing market and maybe drive some to sample the underwater world. It was well received, but some of the footage is a little suspect - when we are preaching look but don't touch, it is not really on to show the new divers reaching out and grabbing lemon sharks and kneeling on the reef! However, overall it is a good effort and at least it is something different.

Well, time to head into the show for day two, so tune in for my next report when I will be detailing more products.