is there anything missing from the dive industry?

[ganu76]

I'm surprised by you guys!!! How about a pocket dive partner??? Think about the number of times (at least for me) where you were ready to go NOW, yet didn't have a partner.

You could even specify gender when ordering your Pocket Partner.

I would sooooo do this, though SWMBO wouldn't let me get a female partner.

 

[bracko]

bracko: Think I disagree. You learn way more taking private music lessons that you do in school band. This is probably true of any endeavor.

completely different analogy.

everyone has strengths and weaknesses that are exacerbated in courses like diving. if you do the course on your own or with a partner only it's someone you know quite well and presumably know their reaction to stress.

so many accidents are caused by the external environment that includes other divers. it's better to learn that up front.

 

[TMHeimer]

completely different analogy.

everyone has strengths and weaknesses that are exacerbated in courses like diving. if you do the course on your own or with a partner only it's someone you know quite well and presumably know their reaction to stress.


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You make a good point. There are definately advantages to seeing how other student divers react and this certainly can help you when things happen later on. I would still argue that you will learn more privately regarding skills and possibly other things like trim, equipment advice, etc. You will not be waiting around for 8 other people to get the mask clearing done--instead, you will be learning extra tricks and stuff because all the instruction time goes directly to you (thus it costs more, as it should). I think that regarding this aspect my analogy fits.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

I like Dumster's idea of a 3d scanner to make a good fitting wet/drysuit. We all know that wetsuit fit is a big PITA. Also Emoreira's idea of a small slow personal air pump is great, since most of us don't make more than one dive per week anyway, so there's no need to take the heavy tanks for rapid fill at LDS.

A big obstacle to expanding the sport is the heavy SCUBA unit. Hauling 60 lbs on your back is no fun and discourages many from the sport. The solution is a small, lightweight idiotproof rebreather. It would be a blackbox affair that would mostly check itself out. You just replace the disposable CO2 cartridge, swap out a couple of small gas bottles and you're good to go. We have computers that check themselves out on bootup and the new anesthesia machines check themselves out on bootup, so should the rebreather. It should be made as safe as open Scuba with a fraction of the weight and bulk.

They do this for firemen now - SCUBA cant be very far...

I think the industry needs to do more to introduce more people to diving. Snow ski/snowboard resorts, Skateboard Pro's, Surf Shops all have a generational figure to try and model or look up to for the young folks. We (in my opinion) don't have "flashy or glitzy" Diver(s) that champion our sport.
It seems very individualistic and not easy to break into circles of divers - when looking from the outside...
As others have pointed out LDS seem to have different agendas and goals and there is not one theme to try and unite and become more inclusive.

So - my thought is we (the dive industry) need to change our face to the non-diving community. That is what I think is missing...

 

[iluvtheocean]

I think rather we need the certified celebrities to help promote it more -- there are several big name musicians that are divers - I believe Ozzy and Rhianna are two i can think of right now...
what we DONT need are the horror/"reality" shows that show us in a bad light -- sharknado, etc..
i keep getting questions about if diving is claustrophobic feeling and of course sharks...

inexpensive gas & CO2 analyzers ($50 & under) that connect to smart phones. (yes i know nitroxbuddy is out there but it's still not cheap or mainstream yet)

 

[koozemani]

If you buy any tank, any size from my lds, they fill it free forever. Not quite the same as doing all pony bottles for free, but still. They also give staff 20% OFF everything, ans students 10% off during and for 90 days following a case taken there. I'd like to see more "collegiality" in the dive industry, and less of the "your agency sucks, we're better" attitude. I'd also like to see mandatory continuing diver education or review for any diver out of the water for 12 months ( or even less). Lastly, and here will come the boos, I am for MANDATORY DIVE LOGGING. It ties in to proof of recent diving, proof of experience and conditions dove, Drivers, pilots, and some other professions have to log. Divers should too.
DivemasterDennis

free fills for life with purchase of a tank is a policy at my Lds. It's a great policy, unfortunately there's not much local diving in this area.

---------- Post added September 6th, 2013 at 10:07 AM ----------

What about something similar to the Blue Rhino propane tank exchanges. Simply swap out a tank for a full one. No vis, no hydro, simply drop off empty tanks and leave with full ones with no waiting. Have a built in analyser so you can verify the contents.

or...
an automatic filling station. Swipe card, Insert tank, select gas, the fill station will automatically analyze contents after a fill with the contents recorded on the receipt or affixed to the tank.

---------- Post added September 6th, 2013 at 10:09 AM ----------

I'm surprised by you guys!!! How about a pocket dive partner??? Think about the number of times (at least for me) where you were ready to go NOW, yet didn't have a partner.

You could even specify gender when ordering your Pocket Partner.

I would sooooo do this, though SWMBO wouldn't let me get a female partner.

And your pocket buddy will also act as a Sherpa hauling and rinsing gear before and after dives.

 

[corvettejoe]

Corvette.. depends on the shop... admittedly i can't think of any down here that'll do cave fills - although 3500-3600 isn't unheard of for steel tanks. I got my tank topped off with air on sunday with 1750 left in it of 32%. -- they had no problem - and didn't give me any trouble when i wanted to analyze it to verify it was 28% like i figured it would be (this shop only has air right now)
But depending on the shop many of them do partial pressure blending. There are 1 or 2 that charge by the CuFT though.

the question would be how to really figure out the CuFt that is getting added when most just fill to a particular PSI? a quick & easy way that will work for various tank sizes.
i know a spreadsheet would work but any device that will help?

I don't even mind the no cave fill thing. I can completely understand that. They're just doing their job by the book (filling to correct maximum rated fill pressure on the tank). You can't fault them for that. But some don't understand what the + is on a steel tank and will argue with you about it. I usually just take AL80's when I go to the beach to use for refills after my pre-filled steels are done.

As for blending gasses, there's only a million different little utilities you can download, use on a webpage, get for your phone, tablet, any OS at all... that tell you how to do blending. And blending isn't even really the issue.. You don't need to blend air... it either comes straight from the compressor or they bank it for quick fills. Just top my tanks off and let me deal with the end results of the mixture. (such as you did). Some don't mind, others just want to drain your tanks and start fresh. If I have something other than air in there, I sure don't want to waste it.

It just seems that the "missing from the dive industry" subject would be proper training on how to fill tanks, what it means when there's other mixtures in there, liability concerns, having an analyzer on hand, etc. It's should just be standard stuff I would have thought.

 

[DiveNav]

......inexpensive gas & CO2 analyzers ($50 & under) ......

The issue with your $50 target is that the sensor itself is more than that.
Last time I checked, retail price of an O2 sensor for scuba (a labor intensive chemical device) was in the $70 to $120 range.
To enable a $50 retail price for a finished O2 analyzer, BOM should be <$15 - including the O2 sensor. I don't think we will see this happening anytime soon.

......yes i know nitroxbuddy is out there .....

Thank you for the plug

...... but it's still not cheap .....

As I said above, The O2 sensor is the most expensive component.
For Labor Day we had a $99.99 Special for Nitroxbuddy Base (O2 sensor NOT included) and $139.99 for Nitroxbuddy DIY (O2 sensor included, but some assembly is required)

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Currently doing my AOW. I think there should be classroom time. We go over the chapter, then we go do the dive.

Then you are in the wrong AOW class. I have 6 -8 hours of classroom before the dives. Then there is usually another 4 -5 hours with more on site between dives.

 

[The Chairman]

What is missing in the dive industry? Inclusiveness.