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No, in general (there may be circumstances where a snorkel may fit in to the definition, but those are anomalies, not the norm), a snorkel is not life-support equipment. It's a convenience device. You're on the surface, just lift your face out of the water and breath.
Regulators are important, clearly. They should be maintained very well, of course. But saying a regulator is "life-support equipment" amounts to creating an overly-dramatic scare tactic phrase, pure and simple.
Just because some folks choose to abuse a definition doesn't mean we should cave in to their BS and change it, or negate it in favor of something less distortable. It is what it is. I think most people understand when someone is attempting to use the term to play on their emotions. They might as well start screaming, "won't somebody please think of the children!"
Here's another perspective...
Since most new divers base their class choice on lowest price, shortest time and convenience isn't it lucky that there isn't a regulator on the market that doesn't provide adequate "life support".
Yes, some regulators perform better than others, and yes, you do take into account what kind of diving you do and fit the reg to that requirement ... but You make it sound as if an inferior regulator is an unsafe regulator .. just which ones do you think are unsafe
I have a Scubapro MK V retro fitted with the mods made to the MK V by Sucbapro down through the years. Only reg I've owned and only dove once with a different reg. The reg is 41 years old and still going strong. Which "modern" regulators will still be working and worth keeping 40 years from now? I know there are some, are they the cheap ones?
Dmoore, I think he was speaking of a tire failing while driving not how to change a tire. Ever see the aftermath of blown tire at 70+ mph? It ain't pretty, especially when it is an SUV or other vehicle with a high center of gravity.
I am aware of that, that is why I commented on it being an attempt at humor. Though personally, I would rather have the tire problem, been there and done that, just practiced what would happen if I had a reg failure at depth, though I belive I know how to handle both.
I have a Scubapro MK V retro fitted with the mods made to the MK V by Sucbapro down through the years. Only reg I've owned and only dove once with a different reg. The reg is 41 years old and still going strong. Which "modern" regulators will still be working and worth keeping 40 years from now? I know there are some, are they the cheap ones?
I'm sure you will find Mk2s with 108s of the same vintage as your Mk5 ands still in service (or perfectly capable of returning to service). They were the cheap ones. As long as the ,manufacturers don't pull parts support, most regs are capable of outlasting their owners. They are just not that complex and wear parts are replaceable.
I read your blog article. No offense, but you might have a more realistic view of regulators if you had a better understanding of how they work rather than simply regurgitating some of the basic fallacies about regulators and continuing the fear-mongering of "life support." Your article contains several errors; balanced regs do not "compensate for environmental pressure" any differently than unbalanced regs, and unbalanced are not by design "more durable" than balanced. "Divers prefer diaphragm regs for their ease of gas delivery" is a false statement; even if you meant to say 'piston' rather than 'diaphragm' due to the higher flow capabilities of some balanced piston regs, it's still a false statement because there is no practical difference in the ability to deliver sufficient gas between diaphragm and piston regs.
I understand you are trying to send a message about how seriously you take diving and dive training, and that's understandable, but consider learning a little more about the actual topics of regulator design and performance before publishing articles about them.
Oh, and one other thing, it's misleading to students to tell them that their life depends on their regulator. In fact, it tends to negate all the training you are giving them in how to deal with equipment failure safely.
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