Every now and then, a product comes along that is just simply cool. Such is the case with the IST Flip Knife. More and more divers like to carry folding knives. They are compact, convenient, and don’t get in the way when stored. Some like the idea of a webbing pouch, but the possibility of losing the knife is very strong. Most just prefer to attach a stainless steel clip and hand the knife on a d-ring or some other out-of-the-way place for storage. IST clearly had the right idea….build the knife with the clip already there! The blade of the neat, stainless steel knife has a loop-lock clip built right into the end of the blade. When the knife is stowed, the clip is easily attached to a d-ring. When the blade is deployed, the clip hides neatly in the handle. This IST Flip Knife is very nice quality and is simply a cool accessory. Take a look at the link below for more details about this cool and affordable dive knife.

IST Flip Knife - Only $28.88 - Available from DiveSports.com

We have several of these in stock and available for immediate shipment or easy pickup in our store. Don’t miss this chance to get the coolest of accessories, the IST Flip Knife!

Phil Ellis

Buy the IST Flip Knife from DiveSports.com

Back in our Apeks regulator days,  one of the very popular products was the Apeks regulator shut-off valve.  At $65, it was an expensive touch, but customers still seemed to see the need and fork out the high price for this unique product.  For the past two years, numbers of people have asked about them, but we were unable to supply them.  Now, we have a better product at a MUCH better price.

At only $26.00 each, the Highland Millworks regulator in-line shut-off valve is the perfect application when you want to make sure that your backup regulator isn’t stealing your air supply when you aren’t watching.  Often times, as we move through the water, the octopus is slowly leaking air, reducing our available air time, cutting our dives short, and robbing us of valuable emergency air.  The installation of the Highland Millworks in-line shut-off valve solves the problem.  With clear ON and OFF positions marked right on the valve, you can set the valve to OFF, guaranteeing you that there will be no unseen loss of air.  In addition, the Highland Millworks in line shut off valve is the perfect safety solution should either the primary or backup regulator fail.  When OFF, no air flows.  In the ON position, there is absolutely no obstruction of air flow.

This valve is also perfect for pony bottle regulators, decompression rigs, and technical diving stage bottles.  Give yourself added safety by installing Highland Millworks Regulator In-Line Shut-Off valves on every second stage.  This is one of those simple accessories that can cause no harm, but provides gigantic benefits in free-flow situations.  For additional information about this product, visit the link below.

Highland Millworks Regulator In-Line Shut-Off Valve

Don’t forget!  Until midnight on March 2, 2008, you can use the discount code FIRST30 to get an additional 10% OFF on this product and anything else in your shopping cart.  DiveSports.com and discount codes are a great combination to save you money on your scuba diving purchases.

 Phil Ellis

Shop Online and Save at Divesports.com

In late 2006, we sold literally hundreds of pairs of the Tilos 200 gram drysuit underwear.  We excited our customers with a drysuit jumpsuit for under $100.  Our efforts to make another great deal with Tilos were thwarted time after time in 2007.  We just didn’t seem able to make a deal that could match our first one.

Last week, we reached an agreement with Tilos that will allow us to once again offer this great Tilos L600 Drysuit Underwear at an absolutely amazing price.  For only $85, you can get this quality 200 gram garment.  The Tilos L600 is a blend of polyester, carbon fiber, and spandex.  The polyester provides the warmth, the carbon fiber provides the excellent moisture-wicking properties, and the spandex allows for the proper stretch to make this a form fitting garment.  This combination of materials makes this the perfect underwear for cool water.  When worn as a base layer, it is also perfect for layering of other garments for cold water diving.  The front zipper is durable and perfectly matched for the application.  Follow the link below for a look at this great product at a great price.  We know you will be happy with what you find.

Tilos L600 Drysuit Underwear Jumpsuit

We have only a limited number of these suits inbound to us from the factory.  We have ordered a pretty good supply of each size, but we expect these to move pretty fast.  At the time of this writing, we have only been offering them on our website for less than a day and we already have 10 orders.  We anticipate that these will begin shipping on Monday February 11, 2008.  Get your order in now for this great garment at a really good price.

Note:  Remember, you can also use the Discount Code FIRST30 until midnight on March 2, 2008 for another 10% off your entire order!  This further reduces the cost of this great product.

Phil Ellis

Tilos L600 Drysuit Underwear Jumpsuit

Big Savings and Great Service at DiveSports.com

We have a lot of capability with the new website that we did not previously have.  One feature allows us to offer special discount codes on individual products or whole orders.  Our discount code capability is really extensive.  These codes are applied in the shopping cart, before you are asked for any personal information.  This gives you the ability to see exactly what your total order cost will be BEFORE you begin the checkout process.  In some cases, you can use MORE than one discount code on a single order.

To make it easy for our friends and customers to get the lowest possible price, we have provided a special “Promotions” link in the header of each page.  This page lists all of the current promotional codes, their applications and limitations.  Take a look at this page by following this link.

DiveSports.com Promotions Page

Today is the day for you to save big with DiveSports.com.  We want to give our customers every opportunity to save whenever possible.  Discount codes are valid for only a limited time and some may disappear without notice.  Don’t delay!  Place your order at www.divesports.com today!

Phil Ellis

Big Savings and Discount Codes at DiveSports.com

We are really excited about the final results of our new website design at www.divesports.com.  I thought I would make mention of one of the special promotions we are running to celebrate the launch.  Simply make a purchase of $100 or more on www.divesports.com and we will send you a FREE $10 Dive Sports Gift Card.  That’s right!  Absolutely FREE!  This card can be used as payment toward any product or service offered by Dive Sports.  These is also something here for our blog friends.  Simply make your first5 comments to the posts on www.divesportsblog.com and we will send YOU a $10 Dive Sports Gift Card.   All you need to do is send us an email with your name, address, and blog screen name.  We will get it right out to you in the mail.  Thanks for your interest.

Phil Ellis

Get a FREE $10 Gift Card from DiveSports.com

Buy Scuba Gear at Big Discounts!

I made a quick post a couple of days ago when we got the new DiveSports.com regulator and weight bags in from the manufacturer.  I thought I would make a post today and include a couple of pictures of the new bags and explain a little about why we had them designed the way we did.  The popular “square” regulator bags that we have always sold and that seem to be the design most imitated in the industry have two pretty gleaming problems;  the bags are a little too thin to accommodate a modern regulator set, and the “square” top makes it difficult to slide the zipper.  So, we decided to fix both of these problems.

 The DiveSports.com regulator bag is a full 4 inches deep.  The rounded top makes zipper movement extremely easy.  The handle of the bag is sewed with double row stitching for durability and the detachable should strap make shoulder carrying easy.  The back side of the bag has a 12″ wide pocket for log books, tables, or other flat accessories.   With a width of 12 inches and measuring 13′ from top to bottom, this is a bag that will hold any regulator set.  If you are looking for a regulator bag with the design features really needed for your regulator set, you can’t do better than the DiveSports.com bag.

We also wanted a newer and better designed weight bag.  With soft weights now costing over $3 per pound, protecting and preserving your weight is important.  We looked at the design of some of the specialty weight bags on the market and found that they lacked a couple of important features.  Most are completely closed canvas bags, making it difficult to maintain an airflow through the bag that will promote drying.  In addition, most were not quite as heavy-duty as required for the task.  The DiveSports.com weight bags is much better made than most on the market.  We used heaver denier nylon canvas material, we used a YKK #10 zipper, and we increased the thread count on all handle and reinforcement strap stitching.  This results in a much studier weight bag.  The biggest improvement is the coated mesh bag top that promotes air circulation for drying.  All drain grommets on the DiveSports.com bag as stainless steel for durability and longer life.  The handle on the DiveSports.com weight bag is as heavy and well-padded as any we have ever seen.

Take a close look at these two new bags from DiveSports.com.  We hope you will agree with us that the quality is exactly as you should expect for your money.  We have loads of them and stock and we would be happy to see everyone take home one of each.

 Phil Ellis

Discount Scuba Diving Gear

A number of new scuba divers in the Decatur area are going to have brand new Oceanic scuba packages under the tree on Christmas morning.  At our Saturday sale and in the days since, we have made several lucky buyers some great deals on these packages.  These packages are priced so low, we cannot possibly advertise the price on the Internet.  Oceanic offers buoyancy vests like the Hera for ladies, the Excursion back inflation vest, and the Probe LX jacket style buoyancy vest.  Combined with a brand new Delta 4 swivel regulator or at new GT3 regulator, the packages start coming into focus.  We can then add your choice of dive computers ranging from the Oceanic VEO100 air computer to the Oceanic Pro Plus 2 NavCon console.  And, if your tastes run a little richer, you could include the VT3 hoseless wrist computer or the cool new Atom 2 wrist-top computer watch.  No matter what your taste, DiveSports.com can build you an Oceanic package to suit your needs and budget.  Do yourself a favor; don’t buy anywhere until you phone Dive Sports.  You may save a lot of money.

 Phil Ellis

Buy Oceanic Gear Packages from DiveSports.com

I thought I would take an opportunity to congratulate some of the winners from the FREE prize giveaways at the Dive Sports Annual Christmas Party and Sale this past Saturday.  Like always, we had lots and lots of winners and I think everyone had a good time.

About 75 people were drawn to participate in the Dirty Santa game.  Each of them won prizes, including regulators, dive bags, masks, dive light, knives, and lot of other goodies.  We saw one lucky winner walk away with an Oceanic Alpha 8 regulator, another won an XS Scuba M-Line Beta Titanium knife, and yet another won UK eLED light pack.  All in-store customers that were not chosen to play Dirty Santa were given a FREE Innovative Scuba Adjust-a-Strap, with the new DiveSports.com logo.  Most important, everyone had fun!

The end-of-the-day prize drawings drew a lot of attention.  All combined, the gifts had a retail value of slightly over $10,000.

W. K. Cole was the Grand Prize winner of the complete TUSA scuba diving system.  This set included the TUSA Liberator BCJ3200 vest, a TUSA RS-240 regulator, a TUSA standard octopus, and a TUSA 2 gauge analog console.  Congrats to W.K.

Kyle Nichols won a TUSA IQ-800 wrist computer, a great addition to the dive bag.  Chuck Linholm was the winner of a $500 Dive Sports Gift Card.  The XS Scuba SeaAir regulator went to Becky Landers and it will finally give her the spare regulator she needs.  Rachel Turner was lucky and won a TUSA X-Pert Zoom split fin package, including a mask and a snorkel.  Susan Hudson won the most beautiful dive watch we sell, the St. Moritz M50 for women.  Christine Sharp won an Akona AKB144 roller backpack.

Two lucky winners, Kim Coots and Brad Cheatham, got $100 Dive Sports Gift Cards.  We are pretty certain the fit is perfect on both of them.  Jennifer Lovitt won a new ScubaMax duffel bag and regulator bag matching set.

We also did a little raffle for the party.  Congratulations to Adam Teague on being successful at winning the Sea & Sea DX860G Digital Sport package.  This is a great camera and Adam has already been in and selected a Pelican case for his new camera.  We look forward to posting some of his underwater pictures next year.

As always, the party was a blast.  Thanks to our great local divers for making it fun for another year.

Phil Ellis

Discount Scuba Gear

Our annual Christmas sale is always popular and everyone gets to pick up some neat scuba stuff at a really good price.  The SINGLE most popular thing about our Christmas sale is always the Dirty Santa game; just like the one you have played, except we provide ALL of the gifts!

In about two hours, the store will be packed to the walls with people waiting to play the game.  This year, there will be over 80 prizes under the Christmas tree, valued in the aggregate at over $3000.  As the names are pulled out of the hat and the gifts are chosen, the Dirty Santa wheeling and dealing starts.

If you are close, you still might have time to make it here before the game begins.  Come on over the play Dirty Santa with the Dive Sports crew.

Phil Ellis

Discount Scuba Diving Gear at Dive Sports

Well, it is Friday morning….only one day left to prepare for our Annual Christmas Party and Sale.  Tomorrow morning at 8AM, we will have divers lined up at the door to get in and enjoy the bargains, the food, the games, and the conversations with other scuba divers.  While our annual sale is a retail event, it is increasingly taking the appearance of a social event.  Our customers look forward to having this event to reconnect with dive buddies that they haven’t seen lately.

When it comes to scuba gift giving, one item will be very popular….the Dive Sports Gift Carde.  I just finished printing the Christmas cards that will accompany our Dive Sports Gift Card sales.  It is amazing how popular gift cards have become.  Tomorrow, we expect to sell over 100 gift cards, activated for various amounts.  Gift cards are a great way to get a friend or loved one a good gift, while avoiding the risk of purchasing something they don’t need or want.  This is uniquely important in this sport of scuba diving.  Divers have brand loyalties, specific dive mission requirements, and other considerations that affect what they need and want.

A Dive Sports Gift Card allows your friend or loved one to purchase what they want, when they want it.  According to a recent post by Ellen Cannon, managing editor at bankrate.com, this very flexibility explains the popularity of retail store gift cards.

The primary driver for the growth of gift cards is that a gift card allows a recipient to choose the gift they really want.

“The desire of the gift giver is to help the recipient,” says Tim Sloane, director of the Debit Advisory Service of Mercator Advisory Group in Waltham, Mass. “They think, ‘When I give someone the gift card, I hope they’ll use it on something they really want.’ If they decide to buy something that they couldn’t have and now the gift card makes it attainable, that’s good too. As a recipient, I would remember what it was that helped me get that gift. Satisfaction with gift cards is great.”

Dan Horne, a marketing professor at Providence College and an expert on the gift card market concurs: “Consumers look at a $50 gift card and think, ‘I can get a $75 item and it only costs me $25.’ Recipients are getting cool things for a cheap price. And the giver thinks, ‘I gave you the means to buy that thing.’ The perceived value is very strong.”

Click Here for Full Text of Bankrate.com Article

We also expect big traffic on the single most popular item we offer at this annual sale…..the dive tuition gift certificates.  I blogged about this great gift at this thread earlier.  On this one day, we give our customers an opportunity to give the gift of learning to dive, or expanding dive knowledge for existing divers, at a reduced price.  Our dive tuition gift certificates allow the holder to take the dive class anytime during our 2008 dive training season.  This is the ultimate gift of flexibility.  The holder chooses when and where they choose to learn.

I will attempt to post a couple of blog threads tomorrow to let you know how things are going.  It is going to be a crazy day, but posting a couple of blog threads would give me a good excuse to take a couple of breaks.  If you are within a couple of hours of our store, drop by and visit us.  Thanks.

Phil Ellis

Give Scuba Gear for Christmas at Great Savings!