camel pack underwater

[darkmoon3d]

I know the subject of cotten mouth and drinking underwater has has been asked alot here but thought I'd ask a more specific question. Has anyone used a camel pack or bladder hydration system underwater without any problems with leaking?

 

[jrs_diesel]

I am interested in finding out too. I hate getting cotton mouth underwater. My second stage (sherwood) has some metal fins on the inside to help retain some moisture from your breath, its helps some but I still get dry mouth.

 

[dilligaf368]

One of the reasons for "Cotton Mouth" is because the air is too dry. Change LDC and You will see that the air will be better. B

 

[Tom Smedley]

Probably in the 1989 to 1990 range there was a device called the Self Contained Underwater Drinking Apparatus (SCUDA). It was a mouthpiece with a hose attachment on the side and a hose that connected to a flexible bag that you could fill with water or juice or whatever cranked your tractor. I still have one out in my nostalgia box. You attached the flexible bag to your intermediate pressure hose and squeezed it to get a refreshing drink. We used the same principal with the canteen connectors on gas masks.

The little juice containers that are sealed and you puncture them with a straw work good too. One can consume a carbonated bottle drink underwater by opening it upside down and holding a thumb over the opening shake the drink and let it squirt into your mouth.

The camel backs are a relatively new invention and I believe that they would work very well for underwater thrist quenching. It would be almost the same as the scuda with the exception of being connected to a hole in your mouthpiece. The camelback would not be extra weight hanging on your IP hose either.

i think its a great idea. I knew a dive shop once with wet air - it was nice but mold and mildew kept growing in my tank.......

 

[otter-cat]

Although I have not seen it personally, I have heard of people using camelbak/platypus style hydration pack, with the hose routed along the power inflator. They reported it was quite successful. If you do a search on "SCUDA" here in scuba board, you will find more threads with more suggestions as well.

 

[Stryker]

They still sell these.... Like $50 for them... not quite sure if its somethign worthwhile unless you are doing Deco diving..

http://www.scuda.com/

 

[Charlie99]

I know the subject of cotten mouth and drinking underwater has has been asked alot here but thought I'd ask a more specific question. Has anyone used a camel pack or bladder hydration system underwater without any problems with leaking?

I've seen a couple of people use them with no problem.

I use the much easier solution of 200ml Capri Sun juice in foil pouches.

Both the Camelback and the foil juice packs collapse as you drink, so it's easy to keep out the saltwater. OTOH, if you try to drink from something in a more solid container (such as 1/2 liter plastic water bottle or those rectangular cardboard juice boxes), the container will partially collaspe as you drink, but unless you are really skilled at blowing air back up into them, once you have drunk about 1/2 of the contents, the container will suck in seawater as it expands back towards the original size.

The 200ml Capri Sun pouches are big enough to cure my cotton mouth, yet not so large that they take up much room in my BC pocket.

Charlie

 

[Rick Murchison]

Before trying to drink anything underwater, and especially before trying to eat anything under water, I recommend you first try it above water - by clipping your nose closed (just wearing your mask won't work as you can invariably pull a little air by the skirt) while you eat or drink - and keep that mouth closed!
Then try it in the pool before trying it in the ocean.
Some folks have no difficulty at all; for some it's quite a task to avoid aspirating what they're drinking/eating.
Rick

 

[Mandy3206]

A friend of mine was trying to develop the SCUSA (Self Contained Underwater Smoking Aparatus) go figure ............

He never got the fire starting devisce to work !!!!

Why in earth would you want to smoke underwater?

 

[SDAnderson]

One of the reasons for "Cotton Mouth" is because the air is too dry. Change LDC and You will see that the air will be better. B

No such thing as air that is too dry - that's how we avoid getting condensate, rust and mold inside our tanks.

I routinely use a camelback on longer dives - they work just fine. Rick's advice to practice on land and in the pool is a good one, though I didn't find it difficult to learn how. It's a little bit of a trick to do so without popping your ears - but that's not always a bad thing.

Oh, yeah, and be prepared to pee. What goes in one end will, sooner or later, come out the other.