What's the school of tought on equipment color? Looking around, most everything comes in yellows, reds, blues, black, etc, etc... Is it just personal preference, or is there some science about this? I would think that you would want something bright in case you were seperated or lost, as it would stand out more than a darker color. Just curious... Thanks all!
Equipment Color
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I have adopted yellow, as it is easy for my clients and students to see at depth, against the back drop of a deep blue ocean. Bright yellow is one of the last colors to fade out at depth. However I find it hard to find yellow dive gear. What I like the most is my bright yellow scuba pro split fins that students, clients and dive buddies can easily see any time during a dive. Have you heard sharks are attracted to certain colors? Depending on wether you want to attract sharks or not might help you in your color determination. Most divers dive in black, as you stay warmer, it is common, and gear does not soil easily.
I was wondering about sharks being attracted to different colors, but then I thought that if that was the case that dive companies wouldn't make that color gear for that very reason. Apparantly I was way off on that one.
David Wilson
Contributor
Well, exactly fifty years ago, the US Divers company declared that for reasons of surface and underwater visibility, based on "careful research", yellow was their safety "line for '59":
The colour was also adopted around the same time by the manufacturer of the then popular "Skooba Totes" drysuit:
and here in England for Dunlop wetsuits of the same period.
Diving equipment colours later reverted to black, though, which has remained the default colour since the pioneer days. I remember 1960s diving manuals insisting that black items of diving gear, particularly masks and fins, were more durable than the coloured variety. I still have a blue rubber-skirted mask from the 1960s which shows no signs of decay, so I guess that the story was just a vicious rumour circulated by the very conservative diving instructors of the time, who regarded anything other than black equipment as frivolous.
I'm glad that modern gear comes in colours other than black, but I have to say I prefer solid colours. Gull of Japan manufacture fins in a whole range of solid colours:
I'd like to see solid-coloured mask skirts return to favour too. In silicone, only clear and black are on offer, while the choice in rubber is black or blue. No yellows, reds, greens or oranges, though, except vintage masks on eBay. Nowadays' choice of mask plastic frame colours is very much a second-best.
The use of multicoloured "panelling" in suits and fins, apparently today's younger generation "must-have", is an example of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should". Such colour combinations remind me of a medieval court jester's costume:
Court Jester
Design your own wetsuit
The colour was also adopted around the same time by the manufacturer of the then popular "Skooba Totes" drysuit:
and here in England for Dunlop wetsuits of the same period.
Diving equipment colours later reverted to black, though, which has remained the default colour since the pioneer days. I remember 1960s diving manuals insisting that black items of diving gear, particularly masks and fins, were more durable than the coloured variety. I still have a blue rubber-skirted mask from the 1960s which shows no signs of decay, so I guess that the story was just a vicious rumour circulated by the very conservative diving instructors of the time, who regarded anything other than black equipment as frivolous.
I'm glad that modern gear comes in colours other than black, but I have to say I prefer solid colours. Gull of Japan manufacture fins in a whole range of solid colours:
I'd like to see solid-coloured mask skirts return to favour too. In silicone, only clear and black are on offer, while the choice in rubber is black or blue. No yellows, reds, greens or oranges, though, except vintage masks on eBay. Nowadays' choice of mask plastic frame colours is very much a second-best.
The use of multicoloured "panelling" in suits and fins, apparently today's younger generation "must-have", is an example of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should". Such colour combinations remind me of a medieval court jester's costume:
Court Jester
Design your own wetsuit
diver 85
Contributor
anything but-----p a n k..........
The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
ScubaBoard Supporter
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Yellow is the most visible.
But then, if everyone wore yellow it would sort of defeat the purpose, other than that of just being more highly visible.
the K
But then, if everyone wore yellow it would sort of defeat the purpose, other than that of just being more highly visible.
the K
I remember the dreaded Yellow attracts sharks and shiney things will make barracuda bite you! -- Never stopped us from wearing expensive shiney watches though. The watch is more of an after dive lure anyhow.
The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
ScubaBoard Supporter
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
I do remember watching a truly anally compulsive diver go through mask after mask after mask, trying to match its color to the B/C she'd just purchased.
The diver was so distraught that the mask and snorkel weren't an exact match, too.
the K
The diver was so distraught that the mask and snorkel weren't an exact match, too.
the K
Any self-respecting diver would consider nothing but black, it never goes out of style. Look back at some of the goofy colorful suits people wore in the 1970s and 1980s. Ah, but those in black always look good....
In this photo you can see five divers at about 75 feet/ 24 meters. Most of these divers are wearing various colors. I am the diver on the far right of the photograph. As you can see from the photo the yellow really stands out at depth. This is why I use the color yellow in my diving. Today we dove in 10' vis and I had to help the instructor who was wearing all black several times to make sure all the students were accounted. The students mentioned that I was always easy to find. I also have an LED flashlight mounted on the side of my mask. The flash light also helps tremendously when working with students (just don't look them straight in the face as you will blind them). It is scary going underwater, it is even more scary getting lost underwater, so I make every effort to make sure that the students know where the instructor is at all times.
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