We just spent the past week in Orlando, FL at the 2011 DEMA Show. We have attended every DEMA show for the last several years and this was the smallest show we’ve ever seen. Usually you can’t see from one end of the show floor to the other, but that wasn’t the case this year. All four walls of the convention hall were easily seen from almost any location in the hall. We estimate that just based on what we saw the show was at least 1/3 smaller than last year. Many of the exhibitors had smaller displays and almost nothing to display. Some of the displays that come to mind are DUI, OMS, and Intova. DUI didn’t even have any dry suits displayed in their booth, OMS had the same old sidemount display they’ve had for the past couple of years – a pair of fins, and a couple of wings – and Intova had a couple of tables with lights but nothing to sell. Is it the economy? Or is it lack of preparation? We don’t know, but booths like that certainly didn’t do anything to attract attendees.

We don’t mean to pick on those three because they certainly weren’t the only exhibitors that seemed to miss the mark this year. They just happen to be the ones that stood out the most to us as lacking quite a bit in their displays.

The highlight of the show seemed to be GoPro. They had a large display with several flat screen monitors showing what their cameras can do, as well as a GoPro van and race car. They gave away cameras, t-shirts, and hats every day at 3pm. Oh, and let’s not forget the free beer on tap! They were also selling their products for a great DEMA price – $200 for the Hero2 packages! They sold out on the second day and had to have an additional 200 units shipped in for the third day, which sold out pretty quickly that day, too!

We saw lots of rebreathers that were unveiled this year, including many sidemount models. KISS had the new sidemount bailout breather on display as well as last year’s GEM on display. We spent some time talking to Mike Young, the designer of the GEM units about what we can expect in the future for the GEM units.

We also saw a few new sidemount systems. HOG had a prototype of their sidemount system on display. We spoke with Chris Richardson, the designer, who is also the man behind HOG. HOG’s sidemount rig is still in the testing stages and will likely have several changes made to it before its final release. It has some interesting features that might be attractive to some sidemount divers. Chris is targeting the exploration crowd with this rig and including a 50lb lift wing that will be capable of offsetting the buoyancy changes of several cylinders.

Hollis also introduced its new SMS50. It’s a small rig with a 23lb wing similar to the BAT wing. The butt plate is about half the size of the butt plate on the SMS100. There are also weight pockets – one in the top center of the back and two inside along the top sides – that can be used for trim weights. The top center pocket sits a little high and looks like it could be an entanglement hazard. This rig appears to be made for smaller, lighter cylinders like AL80s.

Analox had a simple booth, but due to a recent incident, they had CO analyzers on sale for a great price. It’s nice to see that companies are monitoring current events and being responsive to the dive community. Analox also held a couple of seminars in which they focused on carbon monoxide.

We attended some other seminars throughout the show that were very informative. The dive industry seems to have finally picked up on the fact that sidemount is here to stay and in addition to the introduction of new rigs, there were also seminars on the subject. Some of the agencies have also released new sidemount programs.

All in all, in spite of it being so much smaller, it was a good show. We got to visit with many old friends and make some new friends. It’s always nice to spend a few days at a show with hundreds of other divers!