Can we forget the macho crap?

[Louie]

Pink fins are great and as my Cressi Frogs are getting a bit worn, I'll go out of my way to get replacements in day-glo fuschia.

However, I am aware that there was a fad of making diving gear (and other sportswear) in pink in the early nineties that was stopped because women just weren't buying them. I resented having to buy items in a particular colour just because some marketing genius or design maestro assumed that if you are a smaller size, you love wearing pink.

So greater choice and availability would be great but in the meantime, I'll stick to black and blue and give the hawaiian print wetsuit a miss.

 

[SA Boy]

When I used to dive in South Africa (mid to late 1980s) that day-glo yellow was known as Yummy Yellow. Apparently because the Great White Sharks off Cape Town or Durban were more likely to attack if you were wearing said colour.

Seriously though...
Day-glo colours on hoods, if no-where else, is a good idea for the obvious reasons that it makes you visible on the surface and reduces the chances that an idiot in his jetski/speed boat is going to run you over. (Never under-estimate how many of them don't know what a diver-down flag looks like).

However, it is enshrined in law that any company's number one duty of care is to its shareholders. This means profit-maximisation. Therefore if they have to sell black suits with black highlights because thats what we, the customer demand, they will do so regardless of the safety issues. The only way to change their minds is to vote with your wallet.

I do a bit of sailing too, and all the sailing jackets I have ever seen (Henri Lloyd, Musto, Helly Hansen, Gill to name but a few) all have day-glo hoods and reflective strips on the shoulders regardless of the jacket colour itself. Probably because the object of the exercise when sailing to not to go in the water in the first place.

I never cease to be amazed by the emphasis on crew recovery and visibility in the water that takes place on sailing courses which just does not exist (in my experience) on diving courses.

 

[o2scuba]

Did someone say black hides dirt better.

Hmmmmmmm, maybe. Maybe black helps hide all those scuff marks from banging into reefs and wrecks

Perhaps we should all wear bright yellow or white. Then everyone will know who is killing stuff.

I overheard a conversation between two sharks, recently while diving. One said to the other " I hear the black ones taste like chicken".

But seriously......

Seems like some manufacturers have come out with some nice colors over the last couple of years. Most local stores stock mostly black though, Supply and demand.

I prefer a little color in my wardrobe. When working sales, I usually disuade the use of black mask/ snorkel and fins. For local divers here, finding a black fin at the bottom of a lake with poor vis and a silty bottom can be impossible.

There do seem to be a huge number of divers who like black, I too always wondered why. Our local Police Dive Team has black everything. Funny thing is they kick up soooooo much silt. I watched them training one day. I was truly shocked at the lack of training and skills.

 

[ttmac]

I agree with IrishDiver. I'd prefer to risk being unfashionable and safe than looking good at my funeral.

I think that any measure that improves a divers chances of survival is a good thing. As divers, everything that we do is geared towards safety, our safety and our buddy's safety.

Manufacturers go to the lengths of creating safety sausages (we call them Divers Condoms), strobes and epirbs for the diver to aid in recovery, so why is it wrong that we should expect that High Viz Hoods/suits should be available.

I wonder if Dive Bottles were only available in Dayglo Green, Pink and Orange would the number of Divers decrease?

IrishDiver, where did you get your unfashioable hood?

 

[dlwalke]

I find that black has a slimming effect. But seriously, I posted a similar question a while back. The only real advantage I can think of is, as a previous poster noted, that it absorbs and retains heat better than other colors. I do not feel that the visibility factor is insignificant. Occasionally, someone does get lost on a dive boat trip and they have to be searched for. I think about this a lot as an ocean kayaker. We tend to be quite aware of what we wear with a mind towards visibility. And...underwater, alot of people look pretty similar especially when wearing black. This can especially be a problem when you don't know you're buddy or as several others noted, your buddies buddy skills are suboptimal and/or there are alot of people in the water in close proximity. Of course, you should practice good buddy skills and do what you can to not get seperated from boat etc., but sh#t happens. I don't know why anyone would boat dive without a safety snausage or SMB, but that's not an argument for dismissing other safety-equipment choices (e.g., like a bright wetsuit). It just makes the argument that there is a need to pay attention to things such as visibility. Colors fade with depth, but not so much at recreational depths as to be useless and not with illumination at all.

 

[Lawman]

We hard livin', hard divin' Knights of the Sea
have to dress in a way that makes us visible.
I for one, wear a necktie in day glo orange with
a windsor knot. A beanie with rotating propeller
also adds a little extra something to my outfit.
Bright spats and garters holding up your booties
tell the world that you're not an ordinary diver.
Or an ordinary anything for that matter.

In fact I'm a symphony of black and day glo when
I take that giant stride....

Remember- Good taste is timeless..

 

[AzAtty]

Not like Lawman has to worry about the sharks. Shoot, they'd probably offer him a ride into the shore. Professional courtesy and all, you know.

 

[dc4bs]

Prety much everything I dive with except safety gear is blue or black.

Mostly bright blue with the drysuit on. (profile pic)

I've been told lots of times that I am, by far, the easiest guy to recognize in the group when I'm diving dry...
One of the recent drysuit certs at my LDS just got the same drysuit I have but done in 'safety day-glow orange' so I guess I've just lost my title to the 'most recognizable underwater' crown...

 

[The Pirate]

Rick Murchison once bubbled...
What? I'd awlays heard that the first rule was "color coordination."Rick

Actually, the first rule is "breathe continuously and never hold your breath." The second rule is "always look good in your dive gear." It really doesn't matter what color, as long as you look good.

 

[The Pirate]

kelpmermaid once bubbled...
... and I, for one, see nothing wrong with pink.

I agree! Pink is good.