(Photo courtesy of Jami Leslie Feldman/@underwaterpaparazzi)
It’s a little known fact, but Oceanic is Santa’s favorite dive company. Sure, he may love the elite performance and design of Atomic Aquatics, but he grew up diving Oceanic gear in the North Pole. Whenever there’s a Holiday party and he needs to hook up the worker elves, you can be sure there’s Oceanic gear under the tree.
Before Santa was Santa Clause, he was just Diver Nick, exploring the depths and, in between dives, trying to get his eggnog habit under control. And in those early days, Oceanic was always his dive brand of choice!
Currently, the holidays are upon us, so we rang up ‘ol Santa and got him to dish on his all-time go-to presents and stocking stuffers.
Give the Gift of Oceanic
Pro Plus X Dive Computer
The North Pole can be a dark, scary place—especially when diving beneath all that ice! That’s why when he’s diving, Santa doesn’t mess around with junky, poorly lit displays. Instead, he dives right with the Oceanic Pro Plus X Dive Computer.
The heart of the PPX is an amazingly bright, low-energy consumption, Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) display. No matter the season, Santa can see his dive data in bright surface conditions or on night dives by lowering the PPX’s visual intensity.
The large, easy-to-read screen also has an intuitive color coded interface, high-res bar graphs, plus the largest, most legible digits of any dive computer on the market.
Delta 5 Regulator
Santa’s not a discriminatory diver. He likes lapping it up in the shallows and descending deep to check out wrecks and marine life. To meet that varied need, he turns to the Oceanic Delta 5 Regulator.
He loves giving it as a gift, too, because similar to the deltas before it, the Delta 5 comes standard with Dynamic Adjustment Technology. Once set by the diver, it provides consistent airflow at any depth. So any worker elf or lucky human can set it to their exact desired specifications!
It also comes standard with a dive/pre-dive switch and a super comfortable orthodontic mouthpiece. But, take it from us: leave the candy canes for after your dive.
Excursion BCD
Santa’s got a lot of mass up front, so he’s naturally super stoked with Oceanic’s back-inflating Excursion BCD for its reliable performance under heaps of abuse and downward pressure.
Providing up to 58lbs of upward lift, the Excursion’s air bladder is tucked neatly behind you. And up front, there’s nothing but contoured harness straps and a couple of integrated weight pockets.
Built tough for use in both recreational and technical diving, the Excursion is extremely comfortable and stable—which Santa demands in every BC he dives.
What about stocking stuffers?
Presents under the tree are great, but a well-packed stocking full of goodies can make any diver’s holiday more merry.
Whether swimming in a pool, or gifting for the wreck diver in your life, here’s a roundup of some of Santa’s favorite gear to stuff your stocking!
Cyanea Mask
A favorite of the elves in Santa’s Workshop, Oceanic’s Cyanea Mask is great for seeing it all while enjoying total comfort.
Santa also loves the Cyanea, because the ski-goggle style strap is gentle on his voluminous tufts of flowing hair. No matter how hurriedly he rips it off his scalp in between dives, the strap is gentle and doesn’t bunch or yank out his robust white locks.
And isn’t that experience a gift worth giving?
Manta Ray Fins
Santa’s all about that Fin-to-Win lifestyle. And when he’s not bundled up in the North Pole, he’s kicking up a storm in the tropics with the Oceanic Manta Ray Fins.
Inspired by the ocean’s most effortless swimmers, the Manta Ray fin was designed to replicate the biomechanics of marine animals.
With advanced materials as strong as bone, the Manta Ray Fins provides maximum power, speed and efficiency while remaining lightweight and durable. So Santa can take it anywhere and everywhere without having to weigh down his big bag of goodies too much.
Ultra Dry 2 Snorkel
Santa’s been diving long enough to know that sometimes, conditions can get crazy! So, for those days where the water might get rough, he makes sure to be huffing on the Oceanic Ultra Dry 2 Snorkel.
To offset turbulent waters, the Ultra Dry 2 features Oceanic’s patented Dry Top Snorkel Technology that restricts water from coming in over the top.
It also includes a drop-away flex mouthpiece and an oversized purge valve for easy clearing. Plus, the 100% liquid silicone mouthpiece ensures a comfy in-mouth feel that won’t leave your mouth sore, even after all of your holiday feasts.
Santa’s Other Favorites
Just because Santa loves Oceanic doesn’t mean he shuns other best-in-class dive and adventure gear! Find below below some of the other goodies he’s likely to leave under the tree this holiday season.
BARE ExoWear
Santa and his elves might work their butts off during the holidays, but like all of us, he’s living for the weekend—and warmer months. From rafting, to canyoneering, to SUP, Santa loves tackling aquatic multisport adventures, and to stay warm, he always turns to BARE ExoWear.
Minimal yet insulating, ExoWear lets Santa stay warm and flexible in all of his dynamic pursuits. He’s even been known to layer up in ExoWear when he knows he’ll be driving his sleigh through snow and rain. Again, if it’s good enough for worldwide overnight present delivery, it’s good enough for your watersport adventures!
Hollis M1 Mask
With a wide view and a gentle face-hugging suppleness, the Hollis M1 Mask is what Santa reaches for when he knows he’ll be in the water for hours on end.
He’s always telling his worker elves about how stoked he is that the M1’s low iron content produces a higher light transmittance and a reduced green tint. This makes the lens distortion free and helps improve color and visibility in low light conditions underwater, and in the sky!
Stahlsac Storm Backpack
Santa isn’t always rocking his big red bag that holds billions of presents. On most of his vacations and dive trips, that would be overkill.
So when he’s just traveling solo or commuting a short distance to the workshop, he’s relying on the Stahlsac Storm Backpack.
Fully waterproof and swashbuckling-adventure certified, the Storm lets Santa carry his snorkel kit, or take his office mobile with a built-in padded laptop sleeve. On the beach, he’s even been known to empty it out and convert the whole thing into a carry-friendly cooler full of cold beverages.
With the Storm Backpack, Santa works hard—and plays hard!
Zeagle Ranger and Zena
Deep down, Santa’s favorite all-time BC has to be the Zeagle Ranger. And naturally, when it comes time to take Mrs. Clause on a world-spanning dive odyssey, he packs the Zeagle Zena for her, too!
A non-discriminatory diver, Santa loves how the Ranger’s modular construction allows it to transition between tropical travel diving, rugged cold water diving in wet or drysuits, single or twin cylinders, and even technical diving.
Similarly, the Zena is an incredibly adaptable BCD. Santa learned early on that Mrs. Clause preferred how it allowed her to dial in her exact physical specs, easily adjusting to fit waist and hips independently. Plus, Zeagle’s patented Personal Fit System empowers her to fit her waist size, chest size and torso length separately for maximum utility and comfort.