captain
Contributor
It will probably be easier to find a complete backback with metal band and buckle than to find just the band for the one you have. Ebay is the place to look.
Aqualung Conshelf VI and vintage rig questions
- Thread starter Slonda828
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pescador775
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About the "hog" harness. I presume that refers to Hogarthian. Twenty years ago, I was somewhat amused and pleased when I first read Hogarth's "philosophy", old fashioned stuff like a real harness, crotch straps and all. I had never stopped diving that way. To me, it looked retro and a kind of validation.
Ditto ;/.
It might get kinda hard to find a metal band unless you get the back pack with it, metal buckles were common until well into the 70s and more into the 80s.
N
4609franklin
Registered
If your still searching for some vintage and operational dive gear, I have (own) an Aqua Lung/US Divers Rocket fins and a Farallon snorkel (cira 1974). As well as a Dacor Olympic 400 regulator. For questions and pictures email me. Thanks, Raymond
Hello, reefdiver@att.net here, diving since 1956 when I converted an oxygen unit. Owned a dive shop in Michigan and a compressor sales as well. Now in Ft Lauderdale. Have a lot of old odds & ends. Double hose, back packs, vest, fins, and more. USD rocket fins also early years, Early vest UDT orange & black Co2 cartridge type, Larger small air tank on front of Fenzy was also early vest. A lot of divers full foot fins used Dacor, Check out an old Sportsways catalog 70's and Heathways. Voit had a blue full foot fin also. I do have soe old catalogs and parts books, will try to get up a list soon. email me if need. Cheers
David Wilson
Contributor
With respect to fins and masks, "vintage" (i.e. discontinued, historical lines) and "repro" (i.e. resurrected, "retro" lines) aren't the only options. Several "classics" of European origin also remain, having never been out of production.
In the case of masks, there's Cressi's rubber-skirted "Pinocchio", which has been around since the 1950s:
You'll find it in this roundup of Italian masks from the 1950s:
Viaggio nelle attrezzatura sportive degli anni '50
As for fins, below right are Hungary's Najade fins from 1960:
and below left as of 2008:
Many, many rubber-skirted masks and full-foot rubber fins are manufactured and marketed nowadays, so you can buy new. They're still made in the USA, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Japan. I can provide further details if you want.
In the USA, Scubapro seems to have quietly dropped its full-foot rubber fins, but you can still easily get hold of Oceanways Aquapros, which are "clones" of the popular 1970s pale blue Cressi Rondines, from Amazon.com:
I'll leave others to supply information about wetsuits, but if you're interested in vintage-style drysuits, there are at least two sources worth considering. One is Aquala, which makes an "historical" chest-entry one-piece suit, details at
Aquala
The other is Hydroglove, which manufactures a two-piece, waist-entry suit based on the Skooba Totes of the late 1950s and 1960s, details at
Hydroglove
I regularly snorkel in the North Sea either with a Hydroglove suit or an original Skooba Totes suit which I purchased earlier this year from Vintage Scuba Supply. They both keep me warm and dry so long as I take the trouble to roll the waist seals together properly.
A great source of information about early diving equipment is the "Early Manufacturers and Retailers" section of the Skin Diving History site at
Skin Diving History
It has numerous illustrations advertising gear from the 1950s. Most vintage diving sites seem to focus exclusively on regulators, while the Skin Diving History site covers a much wider range of gear.
In the case of masks, there's Cressi's rubber-skirted "Pinocchio", which has been around since the 1950s:
You'll find it in this roundup of Italian masks from the 1950s:
Viaggio nelle attrezzatura sportive degli anni '50
As for fins, below right are Hungary's Najade fins from 1960:
and below left as of 2008:
Many, many rubber-skirted masks and full-foot rubber fins are manufactured and marketed nowadays, so you can buy new. They're still made in the USA, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Japan. I can provide further details if you want.
In the USA, Scubapro seems to have quietly dropped its full-foot rubber fins, but you can still easily get hold of Oceanways Aquapros, which are "clones" of the popular 1970s pale blue Cressi Rondines, from Amazon.com:
I'll leave others to supply information about wetsuits, but if you're interested in vintage-style drysuits, there are at least two sources worth considering. One is Aquala, which makes an "historical" chest-entry one-piece suit, details at
Aquala
The other is Hydroglove, which manufactures a two-piece, waist-entry suit based on the Skooba Totes of the late 1950s and 1960s, details at
Hydroglove
I regularly snorkel in the North Sea either with a Hydroglove suit or an original Skooba Totes suit which I purchased earlier this year from Vintage Scuba Supply. They both keep me warm and dry so long as I take the trouble to roll the waist seals together properly.
A great source of information about early diving equipment is the "Early Manufacturers and Retailers" section of the Skin Diving History site at
Skin Diving History
It has numerous illustrations advertising gear from the 1950s. Most vintage diving sites seem to focus exclusively on regulators, while the Skin Diving History site covers a much wider range of gear.
I just thought I would post a reply to this, as I sort of left this thread hanging as it were. I had my U.S. Divers Conshelf VI (circa 1966) rebuilt by a guy I know who is a USD tech. For those of you who are interested in getting a good breathing single hose regulator that won't break the bank, I recommend the Conshelf series. I've dove it a few times now, and in my opinion it breathes great. It may be a tad bit higher on the WOB scale than my latest greatest Atomic Z1 regs, but it functions awesome. Also, any regulator in the Conshelf series can be rebuilt using modern Conshelf parts, all the way back to the Conshelf VI, which was the first one in the line. Total, with rebuild, I have under 100 dollars invested in a great breathing balanced diaphragm first and second stage regulator.
The point is, you can still dive vintage gear (properly serviced) and you won't explode....no matter what anyone tells you.
For those of you who do not have your own gear, you could get a completely rebuilt and serviced regulator set (single hose) from the vintage era for around $150. This would include two second stages (if you want to use an octo, but who does), one first stage, and a submersible pressure gauge (if you want to use one, but who does). That definitely beats the $900 bucks I spent on my modern gear.
As a bonus, the Conshelf is U.S. Navy approved to 190 feet, which means for recreational use it's pretty nifty.
The point is, you can still dive vintage gear (properly serviced) and you won't explode....no matter what anyone tells you.
For those of you who do not have your own gear, you could get a completely rebuilt and serviced regulator set (single hose) from the vintage era for around $150. This would include two second stages (if you want to use an octo, but who does), one first stage, and a submersible pressure gauge (if you want to use one, but who does). That definitely beats the $900 bucks I spent on my modern gear.
As a bonus, the Conshelf is U.S. Navy approved to 190 feet, which means for recreational use it's pretty nifty.
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captain
Contributor
This guy has a lot of vintage single hose 1st and 2nd stages, SPG, etc at good prices. I have bought from him with no issues. The Calypso and Conshelf 2nd stages are the same other than the label.
http://stores.ebay.com/One-More-Chance-Scuba_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZQ2d999QQftidZ2QQtZkm
http://stores.ebay.com/One-More-Chance-Scuba_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZQ2d999QQftidZ2QQtZkm
pescador775
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When I started using a single hose in 1976, I bought an R109 and hooked it up to a Conshelf. I used this until 1999 when I purchased a MK 20/G250HP. I set aside the MK20 and connected the second stage to a Cousteau/SEA first stage which is similar to the Conshelf. When using single hose, I still dive these combinations. These Conshelf based first stages are proven and there is plenty of documentation/manuals. I lost the diaphragm depressor for the R109 and made several by cutting "rings" from a piece of clear vinyl hose. I split the rings on one side and thread the ends through the diaphragm cover leaving a loop exposed. Works well and costs nothing. The SEA uses a large diameter hose which is not always comfortable, it seems stiff when turning right but the whole assembly breaths smoothly. I have bought brand new Conshelf 22 and SE for about 25 bucks each. I still carry an Conshelf/R109 wherever I go diving. It is oxygen clean for emergency use. I got bent 9 years ago and learned to be more cautious. In this regard, the Conshelf mechanism won't let you drown in a common "out of air" situation. Its orifice is only 0.1 inch and therefore provides some air on the way up even if one thought that the tank was empty.
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