Practical New Gear You'd Like To See?

[drrich2]

Hi:

Recently we've had threads talking about advancements in scuba gear over time. Some are alleged to be 'equipment solutions to skills problems,' but some are said to make diving safer or more enjoyable. I've been delighted with the intuitive interface on my Atomic Aquatic Cobalt dive computer vs. my 2 prior computers. Never used an Oceanic Data Mask but like the idea, and there's a mask with a built-in camera you can use...

Anyway, my question is, what new technology would you like to see introduced to change the way many people dive? Keep it practical; things that might be 'inventible' in the next few years.

My choice: dive computers that can guide you back to the charter boat (like a GPS on land, though GPS signals don't penetrate water well enough). Navigation on land was not my thing (I love GPS's!!!!) long before I took up scuba diving. A unit that could tell me the direction of the boat & how many feet I am from it would be very nice.

What would others like to see invented?

Richard.

P.S.: I'm mainly looking for new product categories, more so than minor improvements on old stuff, but whatever floats your boat.

 

[merxlin]

As a photographer, either a double hose reg that breathes as well as a single hose (I know some of the recently modified units do but I believe they still must have the can above you to work properly), or a way to divert the exhaust bubbles away from my face and behind me without inhibiting the breath-ability of the reg.

And yes, in water GPS is something many divers would like.

 

[nimoh]

As a photographer, either a double hose reg that breathes as well as a single hose (I know some of the recently modified units do but I believe they still must have the can above you to work properly), or a way to divert the exhaust bubbles away from my face and behind me without inhibiting the breath-ability of the reg.

And yes, in water GPS is something many divers would like.

I agree, in water GPS would be awesome. It was very short-sighted on the military's part to put up all those fancy satellites and not have a strong enough signal to get to their submarines

 

[Mustard Dave]

As a photographer, either a double hose reg that breathes as well as a single hose (I know some of the recently modified units do but I believe they still must have the can above you to work properly), or a way to divert the exhaust bubbles away from my face and behind me without inhibiting the breath-ability of the reg.

And yes, in water GPS is something many divers would like.

Ahem! :cool2:

Rebreather Diving

 

[uncfnp]

Artificial gills! :blinking:

 

[merxlin]

Ahem! :cool2:

Rebreather Diving

Yeah, I know. But I'm just not sold on the technology yet. Way too cumbersome and I am afraid of the safety issues the new round of "recreational rebreathers" will bring. I lost a good friend last year who was an accomplished rebreather diver. We still do not know what happened to him. I'll stick with open circuit, until those artificial gills arrive!

 

[KeithG]

How about a system that allows my tank to be refilled without having to unmount and remount my reg?

On a live aboard we leave our BC on the same tank all week, but we still have to touch our regs every dive. Land based is even more effort as I have to Completely switch tanks every dive.

Or anything else that would allow me to be more lazy...

 

[drrich2]

You know, with the varied 'missing diver' threads that show up in the Accidents/Incidents section of the forum, imagine a reverse take on the 'return to boat' navigation system for divers.

Each diver in a charter boat gets a small watch-style or 'hockey-puck' wrist unit that gives out a signal of something - steady, pinging, whatever. On the dive boat is a main unit that looks like a 'fish finder' and can show a 2-D graph depicting each wrist unit in terms of depth, direction & approximate distance.

Now wouldn't THAT be useful tech. in some of these missing diver scenarios?

Makes you think.

Richard.

 

[herman]

As a photographer, either a double hose reg that breathes as well as a single hose (I know some of the recently modified units do but I believe they still must have the can above you to work properly), or a way to divert the exhaust bubbles away from my face and behind me without inhibiting the breath-ability of the reg.

And yes, in water GPS is something many divers would like.

The upgraded vintage DH regs have an incredible breathing performance and rival a good single hose when properly set up and dove. If you don’t want to restore and upgrade an old reg, there is an all new DH reg coming on the market soon that incorporates all that we have learned into one new package. It will have all the attachments required by dive ops. Once you get the hang of them, DH regs are no more difficult to dive with than a single hose reg. Just as a rebreather does, they do require you properly wear the regulator and dive it with an appropriate BC, a modern BC which was designed specifically for DH’s is already available. With a little instruction from someone who actually knows how to dive a DH they become second nature. They are pretty much all I dive unless I am with a class, I find fish a much less afraid of my bubbles when on a double hose and frankly more comfortable to boot.
Jothathan Bird likes his. Tools: Doublehose Regulator | Jonathan Bird's Blue World

---------- Post added January 21st, 2013 at 08:54 PM ----------

How about a system that allows my tank to be refilled without having to unmount and remount my reg?

On a live aboard we leave our BC on the same tank all week, but we still have to touch our regs every dive. Land based is even more effort as I have to Completely switch tanks every dive.

Or anything else that would allow me to be more lazy...

It's already been done back in the mid 70s, it was called the Technisub Raid....blasted thing was heavy with twin steel 80s in it but you could refill it without removing the reg.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

How about a system that allows my tank to be refilled without having to unmount and remount my reg?

On a live aboard we leave our BC on the same tank all week, but we still have to touch our regs every dive. Land based is even more effort as I have to Completely switch tanks every dive.

Or anything else that would allow me to be more lazy...

Zeagle's RaZor first stage/valve combo (usually used on pony bottles) offers this functionality.