How did quick release belts become a safety standard?

[carltona]

I wonder how the snorkel boat operators feel about this thread? Snorkelers have no weight belt but do have snorkels. They die too, usually at the surface, usually from a heart related issue. Panic makes them spit out the snorkel and rip off the mask. For a victim In a panic situation, all reason is gone, thinking has stopped, the monkey brain is engaged. Adrenaline is at 100%, heartbeat is off the chart, not a good place to be.
Maybe it's just people and water are sometimes a bad combination. People drown in the surf, in the pool and in the bathtub. There is usually no weight belt in the latter.

There are no records that show how many lives were saved because of a quick release belt or because of a snorkel, saved is saved. Getting saved has as much good luck associated with it as getting dead has bad luck. Even if you do everything right, you can still have a bad outcome. There are many people I've watched do something and wonder how they're still alive, and I'm not just talking about diving. Good luck, and blissful ignorance seems to work for some people.

 

[Bob DBF]

The buoyancy swing of a 15L 200 bar tank - the standard tank for many years in Metric county - is 3.6kg, i.e. 8lbs. Adjusting for that buoyancy swing by adjusting breathing range is pretty darned impressive, considering that the normal lung capacity of an adult male is about 3.5 liters.

I call BS.

Although I may concur on some of the BS called, he specifically mentioned AL 80's. AL80 from 3000 psi to 500 psi is about 5.5# more buoyant.(2.5kg) Assuming the average figures from the below quote, it could be done but I would not want to be the average guy doing it, I prefer 72's for that dive. I know one guy that would have no problem with it but he is not average.

Buoyancy by numbers - Divernet
Q: HOW MUCH DOES BUOYANCY VARY WHEN BREATHING IN AND OUT?
A: An average male at rest will breathe 1 litre in and out, so his buoyancy will vary by 1 kg.
Breathing in and out all the way is known as 'vital capacity'. For an average male this is about 5 litres, which equates to buoyancy adjustment of plus or minus 2.5kg.
Such a big range would not be easy to maintain, and could even carry a risk of burst lung if breathing in all the way during ascent.
The size of lungs obviously varies with size of diver. Even while resting, the buoyancy of our experimental animal varied by 2kg over each breath.
Breathing with almost full or empty lungs, he could adjust his buoyancy by plus or minus 3kg, though he would not be comfortable with this over more than a few breaths.

my emphases in red.

It doesn't take much research for either side to listen to the other and use facts to make their point.




Bob
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On the Internet you can choose to be anything you want. It's strange that so many people choose to be stupid.