Around fifty years ago, Mariner Wear of Rhode Island introduced a line of all-rubber "skin diver swim trunks". Designed to be worn as beach wear or underneath a wet or dry suit, the trunks gave warmth and strength, dried fast, were easily donned and doffed, fitted comfortably and allowed total freedom of movement.

Hydroglove swim trunks offers all its Mariner Wear predecessor's advantages. No talc is necessary when donning or doffing these trunks, which fit snugly undern [...read more]

The makers of the historical Skooba Totes suit, on which the Hydroglove is based, offered as an optional extra a hard rail and stretchy ring instead of a soft rubber waist band when sealing the pants and shirt. There is a precedent, however, for a waist seal band in the form of the Siebe-Heinke Dip Suit, Britain's response in the early 1960s to the American Skooba Totes suit, which came with a high-visibility yellow waist-seal "cummerbund" as standard. I have to say that I much prefer [...read more]

This storage bag makes a great addition to the Hydroglove range. It reminds me of the popular rubber "welly bags" which the Lakeland Company here in England designed to carry rubber rainboots around when they are not in use. Like the suit, the Hydroglove bag is made of unlined natural rubber, which is easy to clean and to maintain. It comes in three sizes, matching the suit's dimensions, and is big enough to accommodate shirt, pants, gloves and waistband seal. It will dry quickl [...read more]

During the 1960s, when I began snorkelling here in England, I chanced upon the catalogue of a local diving equipment company which imported Skooba-Totes drysuits. I was about to order one when a kindly aunt bought me a neoprene wetsuit as a birthday present. Although this wetsuit served me well over the years, I also regretted that I had not tried out a Skooba-Totes suit, which completely excluded cold water, allowed undergarments of varying thickness to be worn and cost much less than the wetsu [...read more]