 Independant Watersports Product ReviewsWe have sent our products to the most demanding magazines in the country to be put through their paces. After all, why take our word that we are the best value wet suits and watersports company in the UK when you can listen to what independant test reviewers have to say.
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 Aqua Boot - Paddles MagazineThese boots were originally designed for diving but have proved to be particularly popular with sea kayakers. I could not believe the quality of these boots at this price. They are made of 5mm Neoprene with a zip that (unlike some more expensive competitors) has a 3mm gusset behind. The sole is thick and these boots are still comfortable when carrying boats down sharp shingle beaches. There is also good foot and ankle support for uneven ground. The open cleats on the sole provide security on soft slippery surfaces but do not hold grit (which some other soles can carry into your boat). Overall these are excellent boots for carrying heavy boats up and down a variety of surfaces on shoes and foreshores. These boots were very warm even when we had to break the ice at the edge of a sea loch. Size for size, they are a good bit bigger than some other boots on the market but my size 10 feet and boots fitted in even small sea kayaks. The zip makes pulling the boots on and off much easier than zipper-less ankle boots. the gusset behind the zip stops sand and grit entering the boot and abrading your bare tootsies or your goretex or latex booties. The boot was also high enough to protect the latter from the sun. There were no problems swimming. Even before taking price into consideration these are some of the best boots on the market. Not only that, they have now outlasted a pair of boots which were twice the price. The Lomo Aqua boot is a fantastic boot at a phenomenal price.
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 2mm Neoprene Vest - Sport Diver MagazineGlasgow based Lomo Watersport has added a new product to its range - a 2mm neoprene vest designed to boost warmth levels of any wetsuit.
The vest, made of stretchy 2mm neoprene with flatlock stitching to remove uncomfortable seams, can be worn under you existing wetsuit, whatever its thickness and gives additional insulation around the most important part of your anatomy - your chest area.
I took the Lomo Watersport vest on my recent trip to Egypt for Camel Dive Club's 20th anniversary celebrations as the Red Sea in December can be a little on the cold side, particularly when you get out of the water and hit that wind shill! I put the vest on under my 4/5mm Ralf Tech Storm Power semi-drysuit and the two together kept me as warm as toast on multiple hour long dives. I tried one dive without the vest and the difference was noticeable - it may only be 2mm thick but as it fits tightly around your core, it does add additional warmth where you need it most. Best of all, its light weight means it takes up no room in your bag and it dries very quickly between dives.
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 Stratos Mask - Sport Diver MagazineTHE MASK WAS REVIEWED BY 6 OF SPORT DIVERS TEST CREW...
MARK: The first thing which hits you about this mask is its sheer size, but once on your face it doesnt feel to heavy or awkward.
DAVE: It's huge, but it fits very well. It's got excelent vis, as you would expect from such a big mask, and its surprisingly easy to clear. A snip at that price.
ANDREA: A bit large for me, but not too bad, you can see a lot and its very easy to clear for such a big mask.
RICHARD: Nice soft silicone, it fitted well and its got excelent vis - not my favourite, but a good mask at a great price.
SHARON: Its massive, but it fits really well. You can certainly see a lot out out of it - and for a big mask, its pretty easy to clear.
JOHN: Good all round vis, particularly down, and you can clear it from a full flood in one go. Nice mask.
THE MASK WAS AWARDED THE SPORT DIVER BEST VALUE AWARD AGAINST 10 OTHER LEADING RIVALS!
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 Evolution Drycag - Paddles MagazineWhen I was told how much this drycag sells for I thought there must have been a mistake; at only £87 the Lomo Evolution Drycag is an absolute bargain.and performance wise comfortably holds its own against its more expensive rivals. The Evolution is available in both yellow and grey, the grey version is a direct response from Lomo whose customers had been asking for something a little less bright. the new grey and black version has a minimal design which looks good. The reflective piping is a nice subtle addition along the sleeves. well subtle until you shine a light on it in the dark anyway. The material is 3ply and breathable. It's quite a stiff strong feeling fabric and feels similar to that of the Yak Celsuis. It fits generously for its size and feels comfortable when on. It proved to be dry and warm in all the situations we threw it and ourselves into. The inner waist is long and thin and tightened by a draw cord. The outer waist is tightened by pulling two large D shaped velscro tabs around the sides towards the front of the cag. The outer waist is rubber coated on the whole of the inside, helping it grip a spraydeck tube beneath very well.
The wrist seals tighten with velcro, leaving the sleeves of the cag overlapping the latex cuffs well. There's a good tab for easy release. The neck is treated in a similar way, with a latex seal being protected by an outer collar that it tightened at the front. The outer neck isnt very tall but it can get in the way a bit and get under you chin; this can be remedied easily enough by easy adjustment.
Scores:-
Performance - 4 Stars
Style - 3 Stars
Value - 5 Stars
Overall - 4 Stars
Best Value Cag:- A Category where at last we all agreed - the clear winner, The Lomo Evolution; a top which out performs many drycags that cost a hell of a lot more.
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 Tornado Drysuit - Paddles MagazineIt doesn't seem very long ago that strutting around the 'get in' carpark in a drysuit was enough to incite envy and lust in other paddlers who were shivering as they changed in the morning frost. I remember watching, open mouthed, as a friend of mine unzipped his drysuit, stepped out of it clad in warm dry thermals, slipped on a pair of jeans and was instantly ready to do the shuttle run. I wondered if I'd ever be dedicated enough to save up for one of these crowning pieces of kit and whether it would actually be worth it, seeing how bulky and awkward they looked to wear. Each year brings improvements in kit and the rivers can end up like fashion parades with paddlers wearing this seasons' new colours. I've got my fingers crossed that this seasons colour will be red as I recently got my hands on a new Lomo dry suit, the Tornado mk2.
The Tornado is incredibly good value for money and retails at just £175. This makes it cheaper than some dry tops on the market, and for this price you get the whole suit! Quality wise, there are certainly no complaints. It's held together with good stitching and glued seems. Despite being treated roughly my suit stills looks, and smells like new! The Tornado mk2 is made from three layer hydrophobic material, so the whole suit is breathable, not just small panels that can be covered up. The knees and seat areas are strongly reinforced, so you would'nt have a problem scrambling up rocks, climbing through bushes or sliding down river banks. Overall, the suit feels robust and resiliant yet when worn it remains flexible and supple. The elasticated waist and internal braces keep everything in place.
The diagonal zip across the front inhibits comfotable movement slightly, but I found that this was reduced when I put my BA on. Some people prefer a zip across the back shoulders, but in this position I could happily do up the zip without any help. The zip itself is a heavy duty waterproof zip that is then protected by a velcro closing storm flap. A little beeswax on the zip helps keep the movement effortless, a tip I was given by a diving friend of mine.
The neck and cuffs have the usual style conical latex seals which are thick and of good quality. The neck seal has a Velcro closing collar that protects it, which I did find rubbed a little against my neck, before careful adjustment. The cuff protection can be adjusted perfectly for a nice snug finish.
The suit has latex socks which I prefer to ankle seals. The makes for less struggle getting into and out of the suit. The socks are big enough to fit a pair of fleece socks in and small enough to fit into river shoes without lots of annoying loose latex getting in the way. Again the latex in the sock is thick but its always worth being careful if your wandering around and getting changed.
There's no pee zip which I haven't found to be a problem yet. If it becomes one, I'm certainly not going down the same road as our ex club chairman - apparently you have to roll afterwards so you can get both feet to warm up!
Overall, I've been very impressed with this suit. It's tough, comfortable and warm. It's full of features, that have been carefully thought through and which work well. It's amazing value for the price you pay, but please keep it quiet, I want a few heads to turn when I join this winters' riverside catwalk.
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 Wetsuit Trousers - Paddles Magazine..."As well as incorporating the same excellent lower back system as the shorts, the trousers extend all the way down to the ankles, giving full leg coverage. They also have added protection on the knee/upper shin and come in slightly thicker 3mm Neoprene. Warmness rating - during the Hurley sessions a prebent trouser clad tested noted that he was the warmest he'd been in a long time! Praise indeed! River running - When not wearing dry trousers, we always end up continously pulling our shorts up, after getting in and out of the boat especially; ;uckily for us there's none of this with these trousers.... no Sir! Ditching the dry trousers in fabour of these is definately an option on days where its just too cold for shorts; Hurley on 0 degrees for example.
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 Prebent Shorts - Paddles MagazineThe one thing we've always hated when wearing wetsuit shorts is the annoying cold strip which appears on your back, between your cag and shorts, after you've sat in your boat and your shorts have ridden half way down your bum. This couldn't go on..... fortunately for us the Lomo 'pre-bent' cut is excellent; the neoprene is cut to sit high on your lower back, just under-lapping the cag; it hardly budges when you sit down or even bend over (dont ask). the shorts fit snugly around the groin and down the leg. Warmness rating - this is a slightly unfiar comment, but fairly obvious.... in the arctic testing grounds of 0 degrees Hurley, we found the shorts weren't quite enough!* However, we are confident that in slightly warmer conditions, ie above freezing, the shorts would do just marvellously."
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 Dry Bags - Paddles Magazine"Lomo also sent us a sample of their new dry bag range. the bags are standard 'roll top' sealing type, with a rigid plastic rim rolling down upon iteself to clip together, forming a fairly dry seal.... good enough to keep the contents 100% dry sitting inside your sea kayak hatches; being thrashed around in the back of a swamped creek boat in a stopper would certainly dampen the contents but that just serves you right for swimming. The bags are made of hard wearing black material with a plastic viewing panel. They come in a range of sizes from 5 to 100 litres and ....well that's it. Dry bags are boring by definition, lets not fool ourselves. The particularly interesting thing about these bags is the price; they range from £4.50 to £11, ridiculously cheap!
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Dry Bags - Scottish Diver Magazine...."Another interesting new line from Lomo is their dry bags - heavy duty quality, sizes from 5L up to 100L, and prices from £5.25 up to £15 for the big boy. they feel of a heavy quality and come with a quick release strap. A thick flexible band of plastic seals off the mouth of the bag from the elements.
I tested it on a wet RIB on a wet day and my clothes and sandwiches stayed completey dry. This is a top quality product that i would recommend to anybody."
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 DL1 Torch - Scottish Diver Magazine"The Lomo DL1 torch is a nice little unit and its a nice little price at only £6.50. diving equipment at a reasonable price, that's a nice idea!
The torch is rated to 40M and has a double 'O'ring seal. Operation of the bulb is by rotating the clear lens bezel unit. It is small but it feels solid and is supplied with a Lanyard as well.
Dont expect any LEDs for this price but the buld does supply a nice bright hot spot. Its ideal for attaching to a mask strap for reading guages at night or as a spotting light for a camera. I used it for my camera and was impressed with the results. It gave a bright beam that was wider than the torch I had been using. The torch performed great down to its max operating depth.
I did however manage to let some water into the unti on a subsequent dive turning the torch on at the surface. The 'O' rings look a little thin and the bezel jumped a thread as I tightened it up. whilst this was user error on my part I would recommend that with this torch its best if its turned on before you enter the water.
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 Power Split Fins - Scottish Diver MagazineA RECENT trip across the border to the Farne Islands was the perfect trip to try out a new pair of fins. Lomo, the Glasgow based company is distributing a power split fin which is produced for Lomo by IST, and I first noticed these fins while flicking through the pages of SCOTTISH DIVER. I was impressed! A fin for under £50 that incorporates the patented 'Nature's Wing' split fin design. It sounded too good to be true.
Up until recently I had been using Mares Avanti Quatro fins and after a slow start, I had been getting to like them. These fins, a popular choice by many divers, are widely regarded as being the best non-split fin style fins available. They make an excellent high quality bench mark for comparison with the Lomo fins. I've got size 10 feet and I found I needed the XL size in the Lomo fins which is exactly the same as the Quatros. (This is what I agreed on the phone with Lomo but watch out if you order over the net as it states size 10 - large) I found that size too small even with wetsuit boots.
The Lomo fins are made out of rubber and the quality is excellent. The foot pocket is comfy and sturdy and its base runs right up the length of your foot. The quick release buckles are a joy to use. The Lomo units look like standard units but they have raised lobes on the quick release buckles which made removing the strap a one handed operation, even with numb fingers. The strap is standard but has a nice loop to assist in getting the strap over the heel.
In the water, they felt strange initially. It seemed as if I had nothing on my feet, which was great, as I was certainly moving forward as I finned. By the end of the first dive I was really getting used to them, and I agree with what the manufacturers say 'excellent propulsion for very little effort'. This suited my style of diving perfectly as I generally use a frog kick to propel myself. If you are moving from standard fins using a standard straight leg kick, you may take a little longer to get used to them.
In the stiff tide of a gully on the Knivestone, I was interested to see how the fins would perform with a bit of tide to contend with. With the Mares fins, you get out what you put in, so if you find yourself in a tide, and are fit, you can power through it even though the effort may be exhausting. With the Lomo fins I felt the result a bit different. When the tide got up and extra effort was put in, I found I got forward propulsion but it felt as if my extra exersion was beating the fin. I dont think you have to put in a big effort to get the best out of these fins. I made good headway along the gully with the Lomo fins, perhaps not as fast as with the Mares fins on but certainly not having to put the same high levels of energy into each fin stroke.
In conclsion, I liked the product. I thought it was well made and I really liked the straps and quick release system. The fins appear to be very abrasive resistant and after the first few dives showed no damage at all. Performance wise, I thought they were excellent but that may be because they suit my style of diving with the cameras. They were very easy to use and once I got the hang of them, I could keep myself in the precise position whilst focusing throught the viewfinder.
So, should you ditch your current fins and go out and buy yourself a new pair of Lomo fins? I certainly found great benefits from the Lomo fin and the split wing design. You get a lot of propulsion whilst putting in far less effort than with conventional fins. It truly is like having nothing on your feet. Compared to the top end conventional fins like Mares Avanti Quatro I did feel like the Mares fins can push you through the water more quickly although at the expense of a larger effort. I found the Lomo fin to be a quality product, and importantly, at £49.99 they represent excellent value for money.
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 Delta Shortie Wetsuit - Dive MagazineOnline shopping is becoming increasingly popular with divers, but does it really give value for money? Lomo is an online company which started in 2000 selling a single product - the 5/4mm Tsunami wetsuit. DIVE tested it then, and after many dives its still in reasonable shape, so we can certainly vouch for its quality.
Today, Lomo has expanded its product range to include neoprene wetsuits, hoods, socks and gloves, titanium diving knives, dry boxes, drysuit seals and other diving accessories. Reassuringly the company opffers a 14 day moneyback guarantee. Simply return the product to Lomo in its original condition and the company will send you a refund for the full amount - you can't say fairer than that.
Lomo's latest product is a flatlock stiched 3mm shortie. It features a YKK zip and has fine mesh neoprene on chest and back. This is an ideal suit for pool training or in warm overseas waters and at £35 is pretty good value for money. A word on the sizes; they tend to be on the small size, so order slightly larger than the chart suggests. (NOTE: THIS HAS BEEN CORRECTED SINCE THE REVIEW. THE SIZES ARE NOW CORRECT).
Performance : 7 Value : 9
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