Best Dive Gear for 2026: A Marine Biologist's Guide

The Shearwater Peregrine TX is the best dive computer in 2026. It's the Peregrine, now with air integration added, so it shows your tank pressure on the screen once you add a Shearwater Swift transmitter, sold separately. It handles air and nitrox, plus decompression dives using up to three nitrox mixes, and it's packed with features that both recreational and technical divers appreciate.

If you're intending to become a pretty serious tech diver, the upgrade is the Shearwater Perdix 3, the latest evolution of the Perdix AI, the dive computer I've happily used since 2017. Mads dives the Perdix 2, and the Perdix 3 is a clear upgrade to it.

Worth knowing: the transmitter is a separate purchase, which adds to the cost, and the big screen means it doesn't double as a wristwatch.

The Big Eyes Evolution is a top-end choice at a mid-range price, and we've tested it extensively across the world. The Cressi fits the majority of face shapes well, it's comfortable, and has a great field of vision.

It's a low-profile twin-lens mask with a rigid frame. The "Evo" part is a reinforced silicone skirt design that makes it adaptable and comfortable to most face shapes, and stops the mask from compressing underwater as you descend, so you can avoid looking like a raccoon upon surfacing. The classic Cressi teardrop lens design gives a great field of vision.

Worth knowing: nothing really. It has a long name, I suppose. They're great masks. That said, several owners report occasional leaking despite the seal design.

The Mares Avanti Quattro Power is a high-performance and powerful channel fin that works for all fin-kick styles. We marine biologists, and dive professionals, tend to prefer dive fins like this, with a deceptively simple design, as they can take the abuse we put them through, diving year after year.

They're slightly longer than regular dive fins, but not so much that you're accidentally kicking things. It's subtle, but they're powerful, which helps a lot in strong currents. They're closed-heel, so you'll want a pair of thin neoprene socks. If you need booties, for cold water or rocky shore entries, go for the open-heel version, the Mares Avanti Quattro Plus, which has a strap at the heel.

For really long surface swims with whale sharks, I'll sometimes switch to my Cressi Gara LD Professional freediving fins.

Worth knowing: to get its excellent power the fin is slightly stiffer, which means prolonged sessions in the ocean may get tiring if you have slightly weaker leg muscles.

I bought the Cressi Travelight myself, and have subsequently racked up about 1000 dives in this BCD. If I lost it somehow, I'd buy this model again tomorrow. It's that good.

It's lightweight for travel, very comfortable to wear with integrated weights without a wetsuit, and it's tough enough for harsh conditions in cold water too. It's not an expensive model, and it's feature-rich compared to other travel-orientated BCDs.

Worth knowing: several owners report problems with the pockets, so check them on delivery.

The Apeks XTX50 is the go-to choice for serious divers who focus on performance and durability, and the regs I've been using professionally for years. As a BBC filmmaker buddy of mine once put it, "Apeks or GTFO." They also look great, if that matters to you.

As a photographer I love the changeable wide exhaust system that directs bubbles away from my face as I exhale, so it doesn't destabilise my camera gear. Its braided flexi-hose is lightweight and tough for regular travel, and the over-balanced first stage gives optimal performance and airflow at depth. It still breathes well even when I'm frantically trying to catch up with whale sharks.

The first stage has plenty of ports for a computer transmitter, a backup air gauge, or a second tank if you want one. I've been diving happily with Apeks regulators for three years and hundreds of dives, and it's proven a superb long-term choice for me.

Worth knowing: Apeks launched a newer flagship in 2025, the EVX200.

The Neptune III is rugged enough for professional use but still comfortable for recreational divers, with a smoother-breathing second stage and a one-handed emergency release.

It has a wider field of view than earlier Ocean Reef masks, with the same interchangeable silicone skirt and straps, so sizing and spares are simple. One handle now connects both emergency release tabs, so you can get the mask off with one hand instead of two. It comes with Ocean Reef's extender frame already fitted, so you can add cameras, lights or other accessories straight away.

Worth knowing: it's priced well above a standard mask and regulator, and clearing it and switching to a buddy's air both work differently, so get certified with a full-face mask instructor before you dive one.

Waterlust is an eco-conscious ocean apparel brand that creates rashguards, boardshorts, leggings, sunsuits and more from recycled plastic bottles.

Our whale shark research team frequently relies on Waterlust gear, whether they're snorkeling or using the brand's leggings and rashguards as a base layer beneath their wetsuits to simplify the process of suiting up. In sufficiently warm water, some team members ditch the wetsuit and dive exclusively in Waterlust.

5% of sales from Waterlust's whale shark collection are donated to MMF's global whale shark conservation projects, which Simon leads.

Worth knowing: Simon co-founded the Marine Megafauna Foundation, which receives 5% of sales from this collection.