Scuba Gear Innovations

Posted on Jan, 2010 in Home/News and Events/Scuba Gear Innovations

Every year, every single SCUBA equipment manufacturer tries to come up with the next big thing. Each company wants to have their own unique piece of gear on the market where they are the only ones that have something like that. Sometimes it gets tiring trying to keep up with all the new “toys” on the market but hey, its part of what makes this job unique. Ive picked 5 pieces of gear that I feel are on the cutting edge of the SCUBA world.

First up is the Oceanic OC1 or the Oceanic Veo series, Oceanic is in the process of redesigning their entire scuba diving  computer line, most of the computers are still going to have the same features but some things have changed. Oceanic now offers 2 different computer algorithms to use, you must select an algorithm and are not allowed to switch until you have been out of the water for a day. The new algorithm is designed to be more conservative in terms of nitrogen loading, meaning it is going to give you less nitrogen time remaining than the current model, now many people say why would i want to be more conservative, well the answer for some people is they want to build more of a safety factor into their diving. Look for more models to come out in the next 12-18 months.

Second item is actually two different models made by two different manufacturers but do the same thing. How many times do you pack to go on a dive vacation to be told your bag is overweight, then you have to decide what your not taking with you on vacation. Aqualung and Zeagle have both come out with BC systems that are extremely lighweight and pack really small. Aqualung has created the Zuma, Zeagle the Express tech, the bc’s are completely different but are going to weigh in around 4 -5 lbs depending on size. The express tech does not have any sizes as it uses a continous webbing similar to a Backplate and Wing, it can be adjusted to fit multiple divers. The Zuma I believe comes in 4 sizes.

Third item, Whites Fusion Drysuit, you may have read some of the reviews ive posted about the Fusion, this is the most flexible suit i have ever worn, last night im sure my neighbors were wondering what i was doing as i went outside to try on my Whites MK3 undergarment and the suit. The best part is normally in a drysuit I wanna either get into the water ASAP! last night I walked around the yard, sat in chair, played with the dog for ten minutes, went inside and about a half hour later got out of the suit, my old drysuits i would wanna get out of that thing so fast it would make your head spin.

The next item is a broad subject but Color Dive computers are coming out, im not talking about color of the actual computer rather the screen that shows up in color. Mares, Atomic and Liquivision have all released computers with screens in color, they are sharp as well, you do not need a backlight in the computer anymore as the screen will always stay lit. The downside to these computers is cost, they are a tad expensive but I think as more companies put items out like this they will come down in price.

Last item, this was originally built mostly for the cave divers out there, the Dive Rite Nomad. The Nomad is a sidemount system, meaning the diver does not wear tanks on his or her back but they are rather bungeed to the sides, this allows the cave diver a lower level of clearance. This system also allows divers to put their gear on in the water, so for someone with back problems they can wait to get into the water. Divers have also used side mount for single tanks as well.

Now there is probably a lot of scuba diving equipment that i am leaving off but thsese are 5 that I feel have really changed the diving world.

Till Next Time

Alex

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Tags: Aqualung, Aqualung Zuma, Atomic, Dive Rite, Dive Rite Nomad, Liquivision, Mares, Oceanic, Oceanic OC1, Oceanic Veo, scuba diving equipment, White's Fusion, Whites, Zeagle, Zeagle Express Tech

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