Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Argentina

[David Wilson]

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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of 2,780,400 km² (1,073,500 sq mi), making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces, and one autonomous city, which is the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires.

As for the country's former and current diving equipment manufacturers, I have located three of them: Pino, Plaf and Rossi. I shall review their basic underwater swimming products in the same alphabetical order, starting with Pino sub, whose logo is posted below.

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More about Pino sub at the weekend.

 

[David Wilson]

Little information is forthcoming about the Argentinian swimming and diving products manufacturer Pino sub. The following posts illustrate the breathing tube and the swimming fins of natural rubber construction in the Pino range of diving and swimming products from the mid twentieth century to the present.

Pino breathing tube.

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L-shaped snorkel design intended to reduce the amount of residual water in the tube when submerged. Offset lugged mouthpiece at the demand end, snorkel keeper attached to barrel. The red part at the air supply end may be a splash cap valve. The latter device performs the same function as its counterpart on a semi-dry modern-style snorkel. The inside of the cap valve will resemble the workings of the following British-made Typhoon T1 snorkel:

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Air passes through the holes in the alloy barrel when the valve is above the surface and water will follow when it dips below the surface. The cap serves to keep out water splashes when the sea is choppy.

Here is an image from 1954 showing the "T1" in use underwater:

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The picture shows air being expelled from the top of the snorkel while the swimmer is under water.

 

[David Wilson]

Pino Antenal long-blade swimming fins:

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Closed-heel, open-toe fins with elongated freediving-style blades, which are reinforced by side rails. Thin centre ribs on top of blade only. Straight-cut blade tips.

Further Pino fin models midweek.