I went diving the other day with an old friend who hadn't had a tank on for about 20 years. The dive went great, but I remember beforehand thinking about what I had to tell him about that had changed in diving since 20 years ago, and the answer was "not a lot". Fins and masks are better quality these days, but they are still fins and masks. Weight belts have not advanced significantly. Computers are new, but for a single tank dive in shallow water I think I failed to adequately convince him of the upside. Same with safety stops. Tanks are the same. Regulators work better, but are still the same. BCDs continue to evolve (don't see too many horse collars these days). Nitrox is "new", but again, that didn't feature in our dive.
It got me wondering two unrelated thoughts: First, in 2030, will we see weird retro "vintage" divers who insist on using jacket-style BCDs and analogue depth gauges? Second, what will mainstream recreational divers all be diving with as standard in 2030 that is not standard today (by "standard" I mean down in the PADI open water manual under 'dive equipment')?
It got me wondering two unrelated thoughts: First, in 2030, will we see weird retro "vintage" divers who insist on using jacket-style BCDs and analogue depth gauges? Second, what will mainstream recreational divers all be diving with as standard in 2030 that is not standard today (by "standard" I mean down in the PADI open water manual under 'dive equipment')?