Editor's pickSuunto
Suunto Ocean
The first dive computer we actually wear between dives. Maps, GPS on the surface, and an AMOLED screen you can read at 30 m in Similan sun.
$899Suunto ↗
Gear catalog · 20 picks
Pack for29 degrees.
Warm water, long days, carry-on luggage. Every item here has been on a boat out of Chalong. Links go to Suunto and Scuba.com; we earn a commission, you pay the same.
Dive Computers
Your most important piece of gear. Suunto and Garmin, from first computer to sonar-messaging flagship.
Editor's pick
Best value
For liveaboardsSuunto
Suunto EON Core
Fourteen dives in four days is a lot of gas plans. The EON Core's big screen and rechargeable battery are built for exactly that week.
$749Suunto ↗
First computerSuunto
Suunto Zoop Novo
If you just got certified at Racha Yai, this is the computer your instructor probably wore. Nothing to break, nothing to charge.
$329Suunto ↗
LuxuryGarmin
Garmin Descent Mk3i
Diver-to-diver messaging via sonar, a 200 m rating, and a watch you wear to dinner. The big-ticket toy.
$1399Scuba.com ↗
Regulators
What you breathe from at 40 m on Hin Daeng. Buy once, service yearly.
Cold-water toughApeks
Apeks MTX-RC Regulator
Overkill for 29 °C water — and that's the point. It breathes like nothing else at 40 m on Hin Daeng.
$1049Scuba.com ↗
Guide favouriteScubapro
Scubapro MK25 EVO / S620 Ti
Ask ten Phuket dive guides what they breathe from. Seven say this.
$829Scuba.com ↗
BCDs
Travel-weight jackets and harnesses that dry on a longtail.
Travel-lightScubapro
Scubapro Hydros Pro BCD
A BCD that dries between dives and folds into a backpack. For the diver who lands at HKT with carry-on only.
$999Scuba.com ↗
Best valueCressi
Cressi Travelight BCD
Under 3 kg, folds in half, and has never let us down on a longtail. The rational travel BCD.
$399Scuba.com ↗
Masks
The one thing you should never rent. Fit is everything.
Widest viewTUSA
TUSA Paragon Mask
Whale sharks at Richelieu Rock go past fast. The Paragon's field of view is the difference between seeing it and seeing its tail.
$229Scuba.com ↗
Best sealScubapro
Scubapro Synergy 2 Trufit
The skirt that fits faces other masks leak on. Low volume, quick to clear, no fuss.
$139Scuba.com ↗
Fins
Current at Koh Tachai does not negotiate.
Current fighterScubapro
Scubapro Seawing Nova Fins
When Koh Tachai's current runs, you want the fins that got us back to the line. Also the ones that look like a bird.
$229Scuba.com ↗
ClassicMares
Mares Avanti Quattro+ Fins
The fin every rental shop in Chalong owns for a reason. Buy your own pair and stop guessing sizes.
$159Scuba.com ↗
Wetsuits
29 °C water. Thin suits, natural rubber, fast-drying.
Warm waterFourth Element
Fourth Element Thermocline 2 mm
29 °C water doesn't need neoprene. Thermocline is warm enough for four dives a day and dries on the deck rail.
$289Scuba.com ↗
Night divesScubapro
Scubapro Everflex 3/2 mm
For the fourth dive of the day and the night dive after it, a 3 mm front-zip is the sweet spot.
$399Scuba.com ↗
Cameras
Whale sharks, mantas, clownfish. Prove it.
Most boughtGoPro
GoPro HERO13 Black + Dive Housing
The camera on every wrist at Racha Yai. Add a red filter for anything below 10 m.
$479Scuba.com ↗
Permanently sealedSeaLife
SeaLife Micro 3.0
Nothing to flood. Sealed at the factory, so the only thing you think about at Anemone Reef is the clownfish.
$599Scuba.com ↗
Accessories
Torches, SMBs, and the bag that carries it all.
Night diveBigblue
Bigblue AL1200NP Torch
Bright enough to find the cuttlefish, small enough to live in a BCD pocket all trip.
$129Scuba.com ↗
EssentialDive Rite
Dive Rite 6 ft SMB + Spool
Drift dives at Koh Bon end in the blue. Every guide will ask if you have one. Have one.
$89Scuba.com ↗
Carry-onStahlsac
Stahlsac Steel 22" Roller
Fits a full travel kit (Travelight, MK25, Quattros) and still goes in the overhead on the Bangkok hop.
$249Scuba.com ↗