GrumpyOldGuy
Contributor
I also started with a horse collar in 77. After a few dives I purchased a plastic back pack and wings, those collars sucked big time.
Am I the only one here that learned to dive with a horse collar BC?
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miked
Contributor
In '74, I got certified with the horse collar, and the j-valve.
Some folks thought that I was a radical because i had a pressure gauge.......
Some folks thought that I was a radical because i had a pressure gauge.......
Welcome to ScubaBoard.
Used a horse collar for my OW in 83. Hated that dammm crotch strap. Couldn't wait to buy a real BC. Life has been great ever since.
Used a horse collar for my OW in 83. Hated that dammm crotch strap. Couldn't wait to buy a real BC. Life has been great ever since.
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The training manual I used back in 1979 described the horse collar as a recent innovation. No power inflator, no pressure gauge just a J valve.
Children, children, stop playing with your toys. . . In the late 60's only a few weenies dove with the airlines type of CO2 inflated "chokers". "Real" divers didn't waste time with "dangerous" toys. You planned your depth, adjusted your weight belt as needed and swam down to the depth you were spending your tank on. If you went shallower, you picked up a rock.
General opinion at that time, was if you snagged the CO2 button, it would rapidly force you to the top and rupture your lungs. I free dove to 40 feet and watched the tiny bubble form in the vest. . . as I went up it expanded until at about 10 feet it finally had some lift to slowly bring me up.
The French created a bag type horse collar fitted with it's own air tank. Their idea was inflate the vest in an emergency. . . then breathe that air out of the bag. The Underwater Society of America required an inflatable vest for all competitors in the 70's, and I knew a lot of divers who wouldn't wear such a dangerous device.
In the early 70's I wore a horse collar that you manually inflated, only when I dove with students. To give the horsecollar it's due. . . It was low tech, but worked well underwater. Later vests, back inflates and Back Plate and wings just do the same job, at a much much higher cost.
General opinion at that time, was if you snagged the CO2 button, it would rapidly force you to the top and rupture your lungs. I free dove to 40 feet and watched the tiny bubble form in the vest. . . as I went up it expanded until at about 10 feet it finally had some lift to slowly bring me up.
The French created a bag type horse collar fitted with it's own air tank. Their idea was inflate the vest in an emergency. . . then breathe that air out of the bag. The Underwater Society of America required an inflatable vest for all competitors in the 70's, and I knew a lot of divers who wouldn't wear such a dangerous device.
In the early 70's I wore a horse collar that you manually inflated, only when I dove with students. To give the horsecollar it's due. . . It was low tech, but worked well underwater. Later vests, back inflates and Back Plate and wings just do the same job, at a much much higher cost.
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I started diving in 68 with nothing more that a twin set of 72s and a double hose regulator. After getting certified in 73, I used an old co2 fired Mae West for "emergency flotation" In 74 I upgraded to an old Dacor horse collar with a Healthways LPI. I still miss the good ol days!
Take care,
George
Take care,
George
ba_hiker
Contributor
I learned to dive with a horse collar bc, from US divers. After certification I bought an ATpac (which I still have in my basement). The horse collar was particularly nice on surface swims, as all the flotation was under you. Nice getting across the tops of the kelp...
Twistedarts
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Ahhhh, the year was 1978. NASDS the agency. Dacor 71.2 steel tank with a plastic backpack. CO2 charged horse collar and oval mask. The good ole' days!
cdiver2
Contributor
divinginn
Contributor
I certified in 1980 with one,dove with just a back pack and j valve until the 90s when I got cressi jacket and added a pressure gauge.Using back inflates and bpw now. I am thinking about getting another backpack and start doing some low tech dives again. I miss the freedom and ease of minimalist diving,will keep the pressure gauge though.
