What do you consider "gimmick" gear?

[tech_diver]

I went through this thread a couple of times and was surprised that no one yet pointed out that virtually every advance in sport diving was considered a gimmick at one time. An SPG was a dangerous gimmick that could blow out causing you to lose your whole air supply. An octo was a gear solution to the skill of buddy-breathing. BCD's were for people who were too weak to tread water with a steel tank on their back. Of course, dive computers! electronics and saltwater, a failure waiting to happen!

We've become such wussies over the decades with all these newfangled gadgets!

 

[Akimbo]

... An SPG was a dangerous gimmick that could blow out causing you to lose your whole air supply…

That was true before tiny flow-restricting holes were drilled in regulator HP port. There were SPGs on the market before there were standard HP ports on regulators. You had to buy the SPG that fit your regulator. Unfortunately the perception lasted much longer than the availability of problem regulators and SPGs. Some depended on flow restricting holes in the fitting that screwed into the regulator, which “probably” would work but is not totally failsafe.

... An octo was a gear solution to the skill of buddy-breathing…

That is true, as I recall when they were introduced. For-profit training agencies jumped on them because teaching buddy-breathing was labor intensive and disconcerting for a small percentage of paying students. Unfortunately more was lost by eliminating the skill than just sharing air.

... BCD's were for people who were too weak to tread water with a steel tank on their back…

That’s not really the way I remember it, at least in the circles I ran in. Remember that the first BCDs were horse collars, not poodle jackets. They were a natural evolution the Bouée Fenzy that was the first horse collar with an OPV (Over Pressure Valve). The “power inflator” was a small dedicated HP bottle that was for emergency use only, but it didn’t take long to discover that you could orally inflate at depth and get buoyancy compensation out of the deal. Except for photographers with big cameras, they were mostly used for demanding/deep dives since BC functions weren’t really necessary because wetsuit compression was much less.

Also true is BCs, especially poodle jackets, were a significant new revenue stream for dive shops that were much easier to sell than horse collars. Donning horse collars was a PITA.

... Of course, dive computers! electronics and saltwater, a failure waiting to happen! …

Sadly, that is still true. It has just gotten to the point that the desirable features compensate the lack of reliability. Plus expectations seem to be lower. Who would have accepted the Cell phone’s crappy audio quality and connection reliability on a landline?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

If you want to see gimmicky just look a the evolution of the automobile. Pretty soon we won't even have to drive if we don't want, then it will become that they won't let you drive on a public road because we will have become so incompetent at driving from no practice that nobody will be trusted. The only people that will really benefit are the blind and severely disabled (which is a good thing).

I see some parallels in diving. If you look at the invention of each incremental item you will see that it was developed to either make money, solve a skills problem (allow more people into the sport who otherwise wouldn't be able to cut it) try and reduce task loading, solve some sort of safety issue, or increase physical comfort level.

So things like the BC - solved the problem of wetsuit squeeze and heaviness at depth. Many variations of BC's were toyed with before the modern poodle jacket was finally invented. Why did the poodle jacket stick?.. Comfort, looked nice in the store, cozy, pretty...You have to realize the "new" diver that they were catering to also. Does it work the best, certainly not, not in my opinion.
I think the modern bcd one of the most gimmicky pieces of gear that has been distorted and warped very far away from what it really needs to be. I think the reason for this is because it's one of the things that's very easy to be fluffed and added to with more gimmickry.

A tank can't really be fluffed and added to, for excetion of creating bigger more high pressure tanks but to me that's good.

A reg is basically the same over the last 40 years and can't really be added to internally although some of them continue to try and impress with fancy outer coverings and big prices (the "must be better if it's more expensive" mentality).

Masks have actually become simpler and better. They are now more low volume and simpler than at times in the past. The freedivers can be thanked for that. I'm not seeing the big multi window jobs like I used to see.

They've tried to fluff fins or come up with different ideas, but it appears to me that the basic ones still win out. Fins are one of those things that people have direct and immediate feedback from. Splits are actually losing favor. For instance, a large chain in Southern California has discontinued selling them and sells regular paddle fins again.

Computers are perhaps the most controversial. They do relieve a task load but where is the line between a valuable practical tool and a huge gimmicky waste of money?

CCR's - No comment, I know absolutely zero about them.

So what's next? There's already talk of a computer controlled BC that adds and dumps air automatically so you don't have to touch any buttons or do a thing except just go where you want. It keeps you neutral throughout the entire dive.
Are there going to be propeller boots next? With these high power long range batteries it's probably possible. Then people won't have to fin anymore. Scooters have done a pretty good job of that already.

I'm not really a fan of all the gear (as people might have gathered already). If I had a way to remain down for an hour freediving on breath hold believe me I would. However that's impossible so I need some form of S.C.U.B.A.
I really like the dirt simple approach and have made a conscious effort to eliminate as much as I possibly can to increase my pleasure of the sport. I didn't think being stuffed into all the gear like a sausage and then having to clean all of it was very much fun, kind of took away from the joy.
So looking at it that way anything beyond just holding onto the tank and breathing off the valve would be gimmicky, but lets be realistic.
Like the Russians say, "Man can't live on Vodka alone".

So I'm of the school, KIDS (keep it dirt simple)...and have fun.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I had forgotten about Jetboots!

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

Another vote for the Mares Hub system! That thing looked hilarious. My husband dove one once, when he had to borrow gear to do a dive. Laugh? I thought I would never stop.


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[The Laconic]

I went through this thread a couple of times and was surprised that no one yet pointed out that virtually every advance in sport diving was considered a gimmick at one time.

That doesn't mean that the vast majority of innovations that are considered gimmicks aren't, in fact, gimmicks.

Put more laconically, P(A|B) != P(B|A) in general.

 

[WhiteSands]

Sidemount for open water diving.

 

[Brandon]

That doesn't mean that the vast majority of innovations that are considered gimmicks aren't, in fact, gimmicks.

Put more laconically, P(A|B) != P(B|A) in general.

I'm wondering if half the people in this thread even know what the definition of gimmick is, or if they're just posting gear that they personally don't like...

 

[Dhboner]

Sidemount for open water diving.

I hear this all the time and I still don't get it. In sidemount all my failure points are right in front of me, I can isolate a freeflow without contorting and I can feather the valve to continue breathing off a freeflowing regulator. The advantages of sidemount go much further than navigating restrictions in a cave. There is nothing gimmicky about it.

 

[The Laconic]

I'm wondering if half the people in this thread even know what the definition of gimmick is, or if they're just posting gear that they personally don't like...

From La Wik:

In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. Thus, a gimmick is a special feature for the sake of having a special feature.

So I'd say you have a very good point. While some of the things listed are arguably gimmicks (IMHO, almost anything to do with fins), nearly all are just things people don't like, albeit things people don't like because they're useless or irritating. I think the Air 2 is a bad idea, but it's not a gimmick.