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| DEMA 2007 Trip Report On Saturday November 3rd,
two of us from Snorkeling.info visited the DEMA show in Orlando.
DEMA - Diving Equipment and Marketing Association - is an annual
show open only to the trade. The show was a full 4 days, though we
only had one day to try to make it through the entire exhibit
floor – not nearly enough time, so we hustled through the entire
show floor. |
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There were over 11,000 attendees,
and 650 exhibitors at the show. The exhibitors ranged from
small dive shops, to tourism authorities and major equipment
manufacturers. Last year all of the tourism authorities and dive shops
were grouped into the same area, which was both good and bad. It meant
you knew right where to go to find information on Bonaire for example,
but it probably also meant that a lot of people didn't spend much time
in that section of the exhibit hall learning about different dive
locations. |
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We
stopped by the Olympus booth where the company was
promoting their extensive line of underwater cameras. I spent a
few minutes asking questions about some of the SW series cameras –
specifically the
770SW that we reviewed. They were very helpful and explained
the reasons behind some of their decisions in building the camera.
They also showed us the new versions of the SW790s – a $299 camera
that is shock proof, waterproof to 10 ft and comes in a variety of
colors. |
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Above: Olympus 790SW |
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On exhibitor
with an especially practical idea is
FishFlips, small,
waterproof fish ID cards that can be worn around your wrist while
snorkeling or diving. Everyone loves looking at the fish, but most
people can't remember everything they saw when they get back on the
boat. FishFlips help to solve that problem, and are much more
convenient than the foldable fish ID charts that aren't very practical
to bring into the water with you. |
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One of the
most interesting (yet strange) booths at the show was for something
called Neptune's Memorial Reef. NMR is an artificial underwater
reef 3 miles off the coast of Miami. Designed with an Atlantis like
design – Neptune's Memorial Reef combines a neat look with a great
environmental cause (artifical reef). BUT – here is the crazy part –
the reef is effectively an underwater cemetery - paid for by people
who pay thousands of dollars to put their remains within the columns
and statues of the reef! Visit their
site to learn more.
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There was a
fair amount of marine-inspired art for sale at the show, and
Deano Cook - a well known
marine life tattoo artist was even providing his services at the show. |
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If you were
interested in snorkels, fins or masks – there were plenty of options.
When it comes to fins, there are plenty of relatively new options claiming to
be improvements on the typical design, we will review some of these in
the near future.
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| Plenty of masks to
choose from |
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John from Mor-Fin
show their fins |
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| A very interesting and
unique exhibitor at the show was the
Scuba Stik – an underwater
fishing pole designed for snorkelers and divers. The diver carries a
compact fiberglass pole with him, and expands it when he sees his
target, and at the end of the pole is a small bit of fishing line
where the hook or lure is placed. |
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It is certainly a unique
concept, and is probably one that might take some work to gain
traction. How many people who dive really want to catch fish? How
about landing the fish - it is one thing to take a fish off a hook on
land where I have the advantage – but how do you do it underwater?
Will it be legal? Most spearfishing is off limits to scuba divers as the advantage is
too great – and although different this might be a similar concept in
a legal sense. It will be interesting to see if divers or fishermen
make up a bigger market for them. We will them luck with this unique
concept. |
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Freestyle watches
have their roots in the surf community and have been around for 25
years. Unlike many watches at the show, Freestyle offers quality
watches at a price point that almost anyone can afford. Their watches
range in price from about $40 to $200 for their highest end watch that
includes tide tables for over 100 locations worldwide. |
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Conservation
Organizations |
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A number of great
conservation organizations were at the show promoting their causes: |
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Reef.org |
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Nature Conservancy |
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Ocean.org |
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Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research,
and Education |
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Shark.org |
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The Whale Shark & Oceanic Research
Center |
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Our time at DEMA was
great, and almost all of the exhibitors we spoke with were happy with
the show. We will be writing additional articles about specific
exhibitors at the show shortly, and look forward to attending DEMA
2008 in Las Vegas. |
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