What was the most influential development in scuba diving?

[OTF]

Would be interesting to compare real-money pricing of a "diving enthusiast's" kit in 1960's money/time (e.g. how many hours/days do you need to work to earn the money to buy the full kit) and the same in 2020's money/time.

I've been meaning to post a thread about exactly that - costs to dive "then and now" compared to income and cost of living.

 

[Wibble]

I think the rebreathers will get there eventually. The key features are going to be redundant monitoring systems and modular systems that can be user serviced with minimal failure points. Basically a system that will be able to self monitor & self correct with all key systems pull and replaceable by the average diver and an annual servicing, and a pricing of around $2,000.

Maybe. There's a load of things to fix though, such as some form of automatic DSV; maybe a BOV-like thing that clears the water using dil? The main issue is that a rebreather is a complicated bag of gas with hard and soft parts that just want to flood should something happen.

The biggest issue though is that rebreathers simply are not as robust as open circuit kit. If I decided to go dive OC, I'd literally throw the stuff together in the boot of the car and go. 15 mins and a lot of that's folding the drysuit.

For my (crappy shallow poor vis cold lake) dive tomorrow, I'm putting aside 2 hours tonight for prep. Maybe I won't need it, but I sure don't want to be rushed as my box will be just as happy killing me.

The difference in approach and attitude between OC and CCR is something that technology is unlikely to change.

 

[herman]

Timeframe was set at 1960, so the regulator, and SPG for that matter, had been invented and in use at that time.

That time frame was added after I posted...

 

[tridacna]

Why hasn’t @Sam Miller III responded? I’ll trust his answer on this question before most others.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Timeframe was set at 1960, so the regulator, and SPG for that matter, had been invented and in use at that time.

In 1960 the regulator had been invented, but was not in wide use.
Scuba diving here was done mostly with the ARO (CC oxygen rebreather), as you can see in the films of the time.
The regulator started to be popular only at the end of the sixties.
But during my first diving course, in 1975, the training was still done almost entirely using the ARO.
So the regulator was the real invention which changed the world of scuba diving, at least in countries where diving was already popular (also thanks to the low cost, small size and weight and long autonomy of the CC rebreathers).
Of course in some countries scuba diving did not see a wide usage of CC rebreathers before the regulator did replace them, during the seventies.

 

[rx7diver]

As a young diver I would think the PDC and BCD really make diving so much more safe and enjoyable. I can't imagine diving without a BCD or computer

I did my open water course in 1986. We learned to dive using analog gauges and tables (and no octopus), instead of a PDC. Diving this way is really straightforward. And safe. I still dive using that 1986 approach.

A couple of years ago I did my first dive in open water (well, in a local quarry) without a BCD (shallow, without an exposure suit). So easy. And so much fun. And I felt safe enough. More recently, I did a similar dive, but wearing a 3 mm jumpsuit wetsuit, and diving a bit deeper (though still shallow). And, again I felt safe enough and enjoyed the dive immensely. So liberating!

Modern scuba instruction is built around what seems to be modern "standard" scuba kit. However, IMHO, one can dive quite safely using an earlier, simpler, minimalistic approach.

rx7diver

 

[rvojr]

If it weren't for video and pictures underwater, I don't think as many people would be diving. Similar to hole card cams in poker, it allows people to see what they are missing. You can talk about it and have stills, but video of animals and of wrecks inspires aww.

 

[Akimbo]

The poll is really difficult & tough unless you specify a timeframe

I agree. In the grand scheme, wetsuits are right up there after half-masks, fins, and demand regulators. Computers are very nice conveniences but don't really allow that much more diving than was possible than before.

The innovation isn't really the drysuit, it is the waterproof zipper developed by NASA. Drysuits go back to the 1830s.

 

[broncobowsher]

If it were not for compressed air nobody would be diving (except freediving)

 

[tursiops]

The innovation isn't really the drysuit, it is the waterproof zipper developed by NASA. Drysuits go back to the 1830s.