SCUBA For Whitewater Kayakers

[Dive Kayak]

I’m a certified diver and new to this forum. I began whitewater kayaking seven years ago. Every year, whitewater kayakers drown from being trapped in sieves and recirculating holes, flush drowning after swimming out of their boat in big rapids, and various other hazards. I believe that in most of these situations the kayakers would survive if they had just a few of minutes of air to enable a self-rescue or rescue by others.

Standard Pony tanks are too big and impractical for kayaking. There is a product on the market, which I own, called Spare Air that provides about 25 breaths, but it is cumbersome to use, mainly due to the absence of a hose connected regulator, but also because of its cylindrical shape.

I read another thread on this forum about alternative shapes for scuba tanks. The consensus was that there are carbon fiber and other high tech materials from which scuba tanks are made, but are very expensive and not widely needed. What would be ideal for kayaking is a scuba tank shaped like a fanny pack that is worn below a kayakers flotation vest either on his stomach or the small of his back. The regulator would be velcroed to the flotation vest for quick access. I do not know much about tank manufacturing, but since most kayakers drown just below the surface, the strength of the tank and pressure requirement would not need to be the same as a regular scuba tank that is manufactured and certified for much deeper use.

The key to safety in kayaking is scouting and avoiding hazards. Nevertheless, it’s a tragedy that so many kayakers drown unnecessarily. Does anyone have any thoughts about a fanny pack shaped tank that would use a standard regulator?

Thanks very much.

[Hashime]

In Scuba we only (mostly) use metal tanks. The only people who use carbon fibre or fiberglass tanks are firefighters using SCBA. That is not to say a SCBA tank could not be adapted for SCUBA, but the tanks have a very limited lifespan compared to steel or aluminum tanks. You could possible use an aluminum 13 cubic ft tank, or even a 6 cuft tank. A 13 is 4.5'' in diameter and is 16" long. A 6 is 3.25" in diameter by 14" long. If you used an integrated first stage you could make a very small system with whatever length of hose you need.