2025 Blue Planet Holiday Gift Guide: A Few of Our Favorite Things…
Anthony White Dec 04, 2025
Every year around this time, we field loads of questions from non-divers wondering what would make a fun, practical gift for their scuba-loving friends and family members. To make it a bit easier, we’ve pulled together a few of our favorite items along with some of the most popular items among divers we know.
Our Favorite Video Light: Bigblue AL2900XWP - Black Molly VII: 2900-Lumen Video Light
Want good underwater video? Then you need good lighting. The Black Molly VII is super bright with 4 levels of brightness, a 120-degree beam PLUS built-in red LEDs for enhanced focusing and night video work. Even though we complain about those folks with the super bright lights underwater, we’ll all want to see your epic footage!
Our Favorite Strobes: Backscatter Mini Flash 2 (+ Optical Snoot)
Love macro? Nudis, anyone?? This travel friendly, lightweight macro lighting system is the easiest to use and highest performing strobe and snoot combination ever created. There are too many features to list here. But if you’re ready to take your macro game to the next level, quit waffling and just get it!
Our Favorite Must-Haves for Local Diving: C-Monsta Hanger and Wet/Dry Split Bag
Be one of the cool kids at Lake Phoenix when you roll in with these! The C-Monsta wetsuit hanger comes with an adjustable strap and a non-scratch, over-sized hook so you can hang it pretty much anywhere. There’s room for your wetsuit or drysuit, boots, gloves and even hood if you’re feeling creative. Keep your gear free from pine needles, mud and other divers’ wetsuit juice. Yeah, I said it.
Keep your car from getting wet and filthy with this awesome bag. It's HUGE and will fit all your gear with separate dry and wet compartments. Already have the C-Monsta Hanger? It fits in the bag perfectly, even with all your stuff hanging on it!
Our Favorite Must-Have for Shore Diving: Marisa’s paracord gear strap
You know when you’re walking into the water with all your gear on and you’re trying to wrangle your mask, fins, camera and everything else? Free up your hands with this awesome strap, made by one of our Blue Planet divers! You can use it to attach pretty much anything to your BCD when you need it out of your way: mask, fins, dive computer, camera, Buff, gloves, etc. PLUS it has a handy whistle and adorable compass on the snap.
Our Favorite Stocking Stuffers: Dive Socks and EEZYCUT Trilobite line cutters
Don’t laugh. If you have ever gotten a blister in the ocean or cursed your dive booties as you tried to rip them off your soggy feet, you will understand the value of dive socks. You need at least a couple of pairs for yourself, PLUS your dive buddy who will inevitably forget theirs. And with so many styles, who can resist?!
Don’t be that diver with the machete strapped to their leg! You will NOT be using your cutting tool to fend off critters. You WILL be using it to cut fishing line you find underwater tangled on the reef. The EEZYCUT Trilobite is perfect for that. It’s small, safe and super easy to use. And it can never hurt to have a back up!
Our Favorite Safety Gear: Dive Alert DSMB + spool combo
Every diver should own a DSMB and know how to use it! This new Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (aka safety sausage) from Dive Alert comes with its own pre-attached spool and 3 different inflation options. You have no more excuses! Get one now and join us for the DSMB specialty so you’ll look like a pro when you deploy it underwater on your next dive.
Our Favorite Snuggies: Fourth Element Storm Poncho or Tidal Robe
Blue lips, be gone! No more shivering after a dive with these two toasty garments. Throw on Fourth Element’s Storm Poncho (with pockets large enough to squeeze in 4 champagne bottles! Don’t ask us how we know) or zip up their luxe Tidal Robe. Be sure to hide the furry, fleecy lining so your dive buddies don’t try to steal borrow it.
Our Favorite Under-wear: BARE Exowear Hooded Vest
If you’re worried your 3mm wetsuit may not be quite enough thermal protection for the night dive by day 3 of the liveaboard, do yourself a favor and get this hooded vest. It’s stretchy AND insulating, and you can wear the hood on or off. (We like to have it on for night dives because…blood worms.) It’s the backup item we take on every trip!
Our Favorite Stream2Sea Goodies: Leave-in Conditioner and Sunscreen Tin 
How can we choose?! These are the 2 items that come on every. Single. Trip. (We’ll obviously squish in more if we can! Lotion, lip stuff, shimmer sunscreen,defog etc.) But these 2 are the ones that get passed around the boat and then topped off or restocked as soon as we get home. If you haven’t tried them yet…why not?!
