Lighten Up

Kevin Palmer · Issue 145, Jul/Aug 2025 · pp. 33–35

Products mentioned: Stix Floats, Ultralight float arms, Kraken float arms, Inon float arms, Nauticam carbon fiber arms, Inon Small Mega Arms, Nauticam 90 X 170

Lighten Up by Kevin Palmer Underwater imaging gear should be comfortable, right? 20 years ago, most of us never used float arms. Underwater housings were bigger and “floatier”. Dome ports were usually acrylic and frankly we just thought struggling was part of the underwater photography ethos. Fast forward to today, with modern compact housings, glass domes, heavy water contact optics and one of the most common questions we get at Reef is how can I make my rig lighter in the water? Enter floats and float arms. A brief mention to those who are of a do-it-yourself nature: It can seem reasonable to tie-wrap pool noodles or PVC pipe with endcaps to your aluminum arms, but we can assure you this is not a very effective idea and will be regretted soon after. So, what is a good idea to try? First, start with finding out how negative your equipment is in water. How To Determine Your System’s In-W…