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Scuba Equipment

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Scuba Equipment

Exploring the ocean depths has been described as entering another world by many divers throughout time. Even astronauts train for their space missions in huge pools to experience weightlessness. The feeling of being able to move in any direction, up, down, right, left, forward and backwards, is an incredible experience. It can only happen in a few known places, space and underwater.

The first recorded divers used reeds, the first piece of scuba equipment, and held their breath a lot, but very quickly innovation began and over time each variation has made underwater exploration easier and more comfortable which has allowed people to go deeper for longer. For most divers it isn’t about how deep they can get it’s how comfortable they are while diving. A deep dive takes a lot of extra air cylinders which encumbers the diver making them slower and wearing them out quickly. The amount of time it takes to descend and ascend also limits the bottom time of the diver. Light is also a big issue, the deeper you go the darker its going to get.

This is why most people choose dives that are closer to the surface. There is a plethora of life that gets progressively sparser as the light fades so some of the best diving can happen very close to the surface. Less scuba equipment is necessary so other gadgets and items can be carried. Lighter waters also allow for plenty of interesting photographs. In the past it was very difficult to get good underwater pictures, sure there were those waterproof disposable cameras and bulky enclosures for regular ones but those took incredibly poor quality pictures. Water proof digital cameras are now the norm. They are affordable and take amazing pictures with large buttons and view finders to accommodate the bulkiness of gloves and a mask.

One of the biggest problems underwater photographers have is the bubbles emanating from their regulator. Fish and other marine animals avoid the bubbles, they make a lot of noise and they obstruct the view of the lens. This is why most underwater photographers use a type of scuba equipment called a re-breather.  A closed re-breather captures all the exhaled carbon dioxide and recycles the exhaled air as well. This allows the diver to conserve air as well as prevent any bubbles from scaring wildlife or obstructing the cameras view.

Other innovations that are making scuba equipment more user friendly are dive computers that display dive information on the glass of the mask. It’s very similar to the heads up display that is most noticeably found on fighter jets. Dive time, depth, air levels and other important information is visible at any moment right at the edge of the diver’s vision. This eliminates the need to compile and follow inaccurate dive tables as the work is all done in the computer and instantly displayed. Some of these masks incorporate the regulator and a “vox-box” that allows for communication without obstructing the divers mouth and look like a space helmet.

Whatever type of diving you choose to do there are innovative companies and people that are constantly endeavoring to provide more comfort, even livability, underwater.