The gear experts at ScubaLab tested 8 of the latest fabric drysuits for durability, performance and comfort — here are the results.

Cressi’s Spring 3.5 one-piece wetsuit is designed to be worn in waters ranging from the tropical to the marginally warm.

Ready to buy your first set of gear? From buying new dive gear to taking care of what you already own, these simple tips will help you get the most out of your money.

Scuba diving is an equipment intensive sport, and your gear can be a fickle ally. Assembling a collection of dive gear-specific tools and spare parts to deal with basic maintenance and minor emergencies will help keep you ready to hit the water at a moment’s notice

A load of new gear debuted in 2012, and the ScubaLab team dive-tested just about all of it. After digging deep into both objective and ergonomic test results, on the following pages we celebrate the year’s top-performing fins, BCs, regulators and dive computers, along with some first-rate travel bags, warm-water wetsuits and a couple of our top picks for safety gear.

In this year’s highly competitive field of 3 mm wetsuits, these four stood head-and-shoulders above the rest.

BARE’s ELASTEK 3 mil wetsuit boasts the newest advancements in wetsuit design and incorporates BARE’s latest innovations in dry technology, including SEAMTEK

Subgear’s new Apnea 1 five-mil is a unique wetsuit designed specifically for free diving. It comes with a nylon-lined interior so it’s comfortable against the skin plus easy to climb in and out of. However, its exterior surface is slick to repel water.