Check this vintage ad out...

[JMBL]

I think it was only natural for Piel to produce diving helmets, as they started in the business by producing patented Roquayrol-Denayrouze rigs (the one used by Captain Nemo, according to Jules Vernes and the first company to design a 'scuba' before the word was even invented).

The last helmet they produced was the Lama you might have seen in the "Big blue" by Luc Besson (for a few secs, while all operators are getting ready for the world record dive). Here's a video of a test dive usign this helmet in a pool.

The company marketed its production for commecial and fire men divers mostly. Their wet suits werre very well regarded (strong elbows and knee pads). I almost got one myself in my early days of diving, but failed to do so. The company went out of business in the early 90's if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Akimbo]

I never saw the Piel hat in person but I heard several people say it was way too delicate for commercial diving. That domed faceplate looks great but I am skeptical that it would be very good optically. A dome for each eye or a much larger dome is great but one small dome makes me want to close one eye.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

Yes! I just found picture signed as "Les grandes vacances" and did not check the movie.

BUT! I found where it was!
"Le gendarme se marie"
at 1:06:36
View attachment 755955
View attachment 755956View attachment 755957View attachment 755958

 

[antique diver]

Yep, my avatar is I, sometime in the early to mid 1950s. I "learned" to dive in Lake Erie from my father, who bought the gear and read some instructions. No wet suit, no BCD, no SPG or depth gauge. We had a packet with a CO2 cartridge we could squeeze to get an air filled lift bag if we needed help to surface. Actually, the full face mask was pretty nice and easy to clear. Air fills didn't require any cert. I wasn't even aware if there were certs of any kind then.

Damned wonder we didn't kill ourselves or suffer some serious barotrauma

If any old timers can remember the name of that rig I have, I would be interested.

Yep, that's the Scott Aviation Hydro-Pak that was offered to public in about 1954. Several firsts include the "Water Ejector Button" that we would now call a purge button. Also the "Air Econo-miser" extending up from the demand regulator on diver's right, and is basically just a snorkel to preserve air supply when at the surface. You turn the top valve counter-clockwise to open for surface breathing, and as the manual states if you forget to close it on descent the "escaping air bubbles will remind you". I'm lucky enough to have a working one, and it's fun to dive with.

 

[Luis H]

Yep, that's the Scott Aviation Hydro-Pak that was offered to public in about 1954. Several firsts include the "Water Ejector Button" that we would now call a purge button. Also the "Air Econo-miser" extending up from the demand regulator on diver's right, and is basically just a snorkel to preserve air supply when at the surface. You turn the top valve counter-clockwise to open for surface breathing, and as the manual states if you forget to close it on descent the "escaping air bubbles will remind you". I'm lucky enough to have a working one, and it's fun to dive with.

Here are some pictures:

Check this vintage ad out...

That looks totally different. Yes, my question was about function, not form. The one in the video is a constant flow type iirc, as opposed to 'modern' regulators that are demand type.

scubaboard.com

Welcome to ScubaBoard.
.

 

[antique diver]

View attachment 626814
The Cressi Pinocchio mask with its pinchable soft-rubber nosepiece (above) invented by Luigi Ferraro has been around since 1952, while Beuchat filed a French patent for a compensator mask device back in January 1958:
View attachment 626813
Diving masks with these ear-clearing facilities have been around for over six decades.

About equalizing the ears with the full face mask Hydro-Pak... I was pleasantly surprised that a push of the water ejector button adds enough pressure to the mask to equalize my ears. It apparently has the same effect pressure-wise as holding your nose and blowing, as the air press. At least it worked for me.

 

[АлександрД]

The last helmet they produced was the Lama you might have seen in the "Big blue" by Luc Besson (for a few secs, while all operators are getting ready for the world record dive). Here's a video of a test dive usign this helmet in a pool.

when looking for Lama found more information about Piel helmet

FrogmanMuseum : Helmets and Full Face Masks Piel

https://www.divinghelmet.nl/1860-rouquayrol-denayrouze-3.html

it has SOFT version!

...madness...

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I checked out a Scott SCBA that one of our local fire departments was using for use underwater. It had a full-face mask with a curved lens, and a regulator on the belt with a corrugated hose to the mask. I told the Fire Chief that the regulator would free flow at normal, vertical stances, and that the mask was visually disturbing due to extreme visual distortion. It almost induced vertigo in me as I turned my head.

I think that Piel helmet, with its curved lens, would do the same thing. I think the actors in the movie, if they were actually underwater (I haven’t seen the film), would have suffered in the same way. I think it works the same as a dome port on my Ikelite housing for my F-1N camera, in that it forms a “virtual image” which is at about a foot in front of the lens. This would not only induce vertigo, but also cause problems for older divers who have problems focusing close.

SeaRat

 

[Pressurehead]

 

[CT-Rich]

I found this gem the other day. It does have some double hose action in it, but really impressive part is how the made a crab look like a racial stereotype. Really impressive. And the Professo…from Gilligan’s Island also proves that he was smart to take that gig.

I haven’t watched anything beyond the trailer, but the full movie was on YouTube, so here it is…