Tactical to Practical--Zeagle does it again!

[Greg D.]

Where is the joke?

Gary D.

Must be one of those inside jokes?

 

[The Chairman]

It's just a thinly veiled put-down. I am so used to those that they just don't bother me.

 

[Web Monkey]

And how many police and firefighters will this thing kill? It's not that it's inherently more dangerous than normal SCUBA gear, it's that it uses a tiny tank and is aimed at people with little or no training.

I have no problem with an all-in-one jump-in-and-go type of thing, however, I have a big problem with giving an inexperienced diver 1/3 of a normal sized tank, and letting him jump solo into an unknown environment, dive to an unknown depth and go into an overhead environment that contains one or more panicing victims.

If you want to train and certify police and firefighters, keep them im practice and let them keep a weight-integrated BC with a full-sized tank and reg already mounted in their trunk, I think it's a great idea as long as they have training and equipment that's up to the task and don't go in alone.

Terry

Not if you are the one trapped and drowning.

I also see this as a great tool for going down and freeing an anchor, or for having several aboard for shallow water exploring by a group. Too many times, people put blinders on and dismiss any type of diving that THEY don't do as a "joke". No one's loss but your own!

 

[Greg D.]

And how many police and firefighters will this thing kill? It's not that it's inherently more dangerous than normal SCUBA gear, it's that it uses a tiny tank and is aimed at people with little or no training.

I have no problem with an all-in-one jump-in-and-go type of thing, however, I have a big problem with giving an inexperienced diver 1/3 of a normal sized tank, and letting him jump solo into an unknown environment, dive to an unknown depth and go into an overhead environment that contains one or more panicing victims.

If you want to train and certify police and firefighters, keep them im practice and let them keep a weight-integrated BC with a full-sized tank and reg already mounted in their trunk, I think it's a great idea as long as they have training and equipment that's up to the task and don't go in alone.

Terry

I think this just goes back to the..."competently trained" thing again doesnt it?

 

[The Chairman]

and is aimed at people with little or no training.

That's one humongous assumption. I "assume" you have this in writing?

 

[Web Monkey]

It's aimed at getting people who don't know any better into a hazardous environment, like people who want to keep one around to unfoul their props every couple of years, or go down and get tangled up in whatever tangled their crab traps.

In a later message there was mention of police and firefighters using it to rescue underwater victims. If a cop sees a car go into a lake, do you really think he's going to sit there with the unit in his trunk while a buddy races to him from the other side of the county? No, he's going to jump into a 0-viz entanglement, solo with a 30 Cu Ft tank.

Terry

The super light weight system is an industry first and is now creating somewhat of a paradigm shift. The boating industry has displayed keen interest in the Rapid Diver for over the side hull checks and removing that unwanted crab trap line from the prop. With the dive industry stagnate there seems to be an opportunity to create more divers through the use of this type of equipment.

That's one humongous assumption. I "assume" you have this in writing?

 

[*Floater*]

The super light weight system is an industry first and is now creating somewhat of a paradigm shift. The boating industry has displayed keen interest in the Rapid Diver for over the side hull checks and removing that unwanted crab trap line from the prop.

If it's cheaper than just getting regular scuba gear for the job, then it may be a good idea.

With the dive industry stagnate there seems to be an opportunity to create more divers through the use of this type of equipment.

I didn't realize the dive industry had stagnated. What happened?

But if these units are reasonably priced then I think it would serve a certain niche market very well, mainly people who want something more than snorkling, but something less than full scuba during vacation. I presume that these could be used by tourists in shallow waters with minimal training and certainly no OW certification requirements.

Question is, will this technology converge the boating industry with the diving industry? Will this mean more boaters will become certified divers?

I don't think this will necessarily make a significant number of boat owner into scuba divers, but it could stimulate interest among tourists who could rent it for the type of diving I describe above and then become interested in full scuba. An interesting idea at least. Hope it works.

 

[Greg D.]

In a later message there was mention of police and firefighters using it to rescue underwater victims. If a cop sees a car go into a lake, do you really think he's going to sit there with the unit in his trunk while a buddy races to him from the other side of the county? No, he's going to jump into a 0-viz entanglement, solo with a 30 Cu Ft tank.

Terry

Again what you are aiming at is a training issue not a gear issue, and if you goto the rapid diver web site you can see that there is more than just the 30cuft tank set up you can get it with a steel 120 if you like

With the proper training that same cop will know that the risk he would take going in alone is not worth the benefit of it. its like anything is this sport, training is either your best friend or worst enemy.

Training not gear, say it with me..

Training not gear..

 

[Diver Dennis]

In my opinion, any tourist breathing compressed air under the water should have proper training. I don't consider a "Resort Course" proper training but I digress.
As far as emergency responders go, especially Police and Fire, one would think that their training with a unit like this would be on par with gun or breathing apparatus training they now do.

 

[Gary D.]

It's aimed at getting people who don't know any better into a hazardous environment, like people who want to keep one around to unfoul their props every couple of years, or go down and get tangled up in whatever tangled their crab traps.

In a later message there was mention of police and firefighters using it to rescue underwater victims. If a cop sees a car go into a lake, do you really think he's going to sit there with the unit in his trunk while a buddy races to him from the other side of the county? No, he's going to jump into a 0-viz entanglement, solo with a 30 Cu Ft tank.

Terry

Terry, I think you are just a bit miss-informed or just haven’t been informed on how PSD’s work.

Very little of what we do is related to sport. They have actually moved PSD’s more towards the bottom end of commercial diving.

First off I, along with up to 9 others in my department have full cold water rigs in our patrol cars ready to go 24-7-365.

If there is a situation where I, or one of the other members, get on scene and have to wait we wait. What you are referring to is a “Cowboy” operation which we don’t tolerate at all. Granted there are exceptions but it better be a good one for one of the team members to hit the water without another member on scene. Even so he will be tethered.

My gear takes up around 1/3 of my back seat plus a chunk of my trunk. My car is the exception as I carry the spares and tools to maintain an operation. Still a full set of gear takes up a lot of room. This new unit would be a blessing in the warmer water areas.

As it is now we can suit up in cold water gear and be wet within 3 minutes of our arrival on scene. If we know the depth is less that 40’ in the summer we can be wet in less than two minutes. But then again only if there are two or more on scene.

This could be a useful tool in the proper situation. If you are sport trained please don’t try and compare it to PSD’s. You might stroke out to see us work.

Gary D.