Review Diving the Avelo System

[Wibble]

Maybe the point of this technology has an equivalent in cycling...

 

[tridacna]

Maybe the point of this technology has an equivalent in cycling...
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I think that you actually meant this one.

 

[Wibble]

I think that you actually meant this one.

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That’s more like a rebreather



The Avelo seems to be targeted at people who have no diving buoyancy skills.
The bicycle with stabiliser wheels is targeted at people with no cycling balancing skills.

As we all know, stabilisers are only used for a few days on a bicycle until the person learns how to balance, thereafter they are not necessary and are in fact a huge embuggerance. Many (most?) children learn to cycle without stabilisers.

Diving with a BCD requires some practice to finesse buoyancy. Most people will master the basics within a small handful of dives on their Open Water course -- if they have a competent instructor. Sure, being rock steady and completely motionless when not finning takes longer.

Edit: removed trim comment

 

[scubadada]

...I notice that in the OP, there was a mention of finning to keep stable with the Avelo. This is the classic way of masking buoyancy and trim problems.

Hi @Wibble

I do not see that in what I wrote.

 

[Jrloyd]

Thanks for the reports @Jrloyd and @mccula01 . Were you each other's buddies?

Either way it is interesting that you both had similar observations. Did you think the length of the cert class was justified? It seems like a hard sell if they can't get this down to a 90 minute combined class and pool dive.

It also reinforces my thought that in its current form it should be limited to warm and calm water. It sounds like the harness could use a (manually inflated?) air cell for surface use.

We were dive buddies and talked a lot about it for a few days before leaving our thoughts. I only have about 40 dives and he has several hundred but yet we both shared similar thoughts on the system. Yes, in my opinion it was too long and repeating skills we have already completed was a bit aggravating. I wouldn’t say a waste of time because the skills are always a good refresher but not really for this situation. I noticed another comment regarding needing a snorkel. They require it because you can not float high enough above water like when you inflate your BCD. There is a surface inflatable marker that you carry with the system so upon surfacing you can inflate it and either “sit” on it or it can sort of snap around your neck area to give you some lift. You would not ever use it before a dive though because you would have to deflate it, roll it back up, and stuff it in the pocket. Definitely not something I want to deal with while waiting for a boat to come pick me up. While entering the water, you are mostly only swimmer buoyant. You really need a snorkel in your mouth.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Jrloyd

Out of curiosity, which skills in the RAD were repeated and aggravating to you? The over pumping and loss of ballast skills are unique to Avelo. The doff and don are different with the Avelo equipment. The out of air ascent is essentially the same.

 

[lowwall]

I noticed another comment regarding needing a snorkel. They require it because you can not float high enough above water like when you inflate your BCD. There is a surface inflatable marker that you carry with the system so upon surfacing you can inflate it and either “sit” on it or it can sort of snap around your neck area to give you some lift. You would not ever use it before a dive though because you would have to deflate it, roll it back up, and stuff it in the pocket. Definitely not something I want to deal with while waiting for a boat to come pick me up. While entering the water, you are mostly only swimmer buoyant. You really need a snorkel in your mouth.

Snorkel required?!? That's it. I'm out.

 

[Dan]

I had problem with having snorkel during diving in fast current. The snorkel vibrating like a flag and my mask was flooded from the vibration. So, no more snorkel for me too.

 

[Wibble]

Hi @Wibble

I do not see that in what I wrote.

Have edited that post and removed the trim comment.

 

[Jrloyd]

Hi @Jrloyd

Out of curiosity, which skills in the RAD were repeated and aggravating to you? The over pumping and loss of ballast skills are unique to Avelo. The doff and don are different with the Avelo equipment. The out of air ascent is essentially the same.

The “skill” of using a snorkel is a nuisance as during the diving it keeps getting in the way. I don’t believe there is a difference really in removing the the system in the water and putting it back on. It’s 2 straps just like a BCD. The skill of swimming from about 20 ft to 50 ft, back to 20 ft, and back to 60 ft was not kind on my ears. It was a skill just to show that your buoyancy remains stable. You have to fill the tank with water for 2 full fills, approx 2 1/2 mins, and basically swim upwards for x amount of time to show how much weight is in the tank after adding all the water and how to keep from sinking. Also the opposite without any water in the tank so you have to kick to stay under. I guess what made it the most annoying was that I wasn’t prepared to do all of this. We didn’t feel like we had the chance to explore the system. I think you could do the skills on your first dive and “enjoy” the second dive. Our first dive was only 32 minutes I believe and still had about 50% air left. Second dive was similar. Just my thoughts. I think it all started when we showed up at 830 and they said we would do some classroom, one dive, take a lunch break, do another dive, do some more classroom, then finish up about 4pm. Didn’t really know what to expect but it definitely wasn’t that. Maybe I was just grumpy that day but that’s how I felt. It didn’t help that our instructor seemed annoyed anytime we asked a question to clarify a question or procedure. Then it became annoying to us when he didn’t seem to understand how we couldn’t understand what he was saying. Maybe a slight language barrier? I don’t know but he didn’t seem like he was having a good time.