Dumb scuba products

[formernuke]

ide recon their chances of being found are 10000x better at the surface than they would be 60' under water.....even if it is just a body recovery at that point.

frankly ide just be worried about it malfunctioning and blasting me to the surface unintentionally.

ive not seen any statistics on how many divers die underwater by not being able to consciously make it to the surface...but doing some quick googling lead me to this:

Diving fatality data published in Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers (2015)[3]

• 90% died with their weight belt on.
• 86% were alone when they died (either diving solo or separated from their buddy).
• 50% did not inflate their buoyancy compensator.
• 25% first got into difficulty on the surface
• 50% died on the surface.
• 10% were under training when they died.
• 10% had been advised that they were medically unfit to dive.
• 5% were cave diving.
• 1% of rescuers died.

DAN was notified of 127 recreational scuba deaths during 2015. 67 were actively investigated by DAN[10]

so if 25% first got into distress on the surface, that means 96 divers were in trouble underwater......and if 50% of them died on the surface, then 48 died underwater......

so this device would have potentially saved around 30-70 people annually....


in a sport where the fatality rate is 1.8 per million recreational dives.....it honestly seems like a greater liability than anything else.

This tells me to have some ditchable weight and always have a buddy close by.

 

[Snoweman]

I have one of these. It works great. No dry mouth.

If I dove more, I would buy one. Right now, I pop a breath strip in my mouth just before putting my reg in my mouth. It's a PIA, but it's cheap and keeps my mouth lubricated long enough to not gag while getting acclimated to the dry air.

 

[formernuke]

Dang. I thought you were making that up. Then I saw the Tri-mix Spare Air. Unbelievable.

Ok I'm not a tec diver but I'm assuming if you are on trimix your deep and have deco obligations. Assuming a spare air has 5 minutes of air you are supposed to meet your deco and ascend in 5 minutes.....

I vote for gold medal for dumbest.

 

[tridacna]

Ok I'm not a tec diver but I'm assuming if you are on trimix your deep and have deco obligations. Assuming a spare air has 5 minutes of air you are supposed to meet your deco and ascend in 5 minutes.....

I vote for gold medal for dumbest.

It's much worse than that. US Federal safety guidelines dictate that you can only get Trimix fills in a Spare Air tank in the spring time and only on April 1 every year.

 

[Bob DBF]

This tells me to have some ditchable weight and always have a buddy close by.

A good idea, and by the book. However, if the outcome is a fatality, bullet point one gives an idea of actual execution of a belt drop when incapacitated and/or panicked. Bullet point two points out the chances you will be alone.

On the good side, you will most likely survive if you are able to ditch weight and/or have a buddy that assists you. At least it's worked out that way for me.

I'm going to go with the CO2 backup for inflating a BCD.

I was sad when I found out they were no longer standard equipment on BCs.

Bob

 

[tarponchik]

Diving fatality data published in Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers (2015)[3]

• 90% died with their weight belt on.

• 
  It certainly seems to me that an automatic weight drop would be a better idea than autoinflation!

 

[JackD342]

• 
  It certainly seems to me that an automatic weight drop would be a better idea than autoinflation!

Really? Dropping weights can't be undone/reversed. That's at least one reason why it is a last resort.
An auto-inflation can be modified. At the very least, by disconnecting the LP hose.

 

[tarponchik]

Really? Dropping weights can't be undone/reversed. That's at least one reason why it is a last resort.
An auto-inflation can be modified. At the very least, by disconnecting the LP hose.

Just think about it: If 90% divers died with their weights still on, how many lives could be saved by AutoDrop (TM)? (Sorry, I sometimes forget to place a smile in the end).

 

[M-Cameron]

Just think about it: If 90% divers died with their weights still on, how many lives could be saved by AutoDrop (TM)? (Sorry, I sometimes forget to place a smile in the end).

There’s also no correlation between the weights and the cause of death.

if your bcd can float you to the surface with all your lead, there’s no NEED to drop the weights to get you to a safe state.

the only exception I can think of would be if you ran out of air, and for one reason or other couldn’t inflate your BCD.... dump the weights so your wetsuit can provide buoyancy on the surface

 

[Bob DBF]

the only exception I can think of would be if you ran out of air, and for one reason or other couldn’t inflate your BCD.... dump the weights so your wetsuit can provide buoyancy on the surface

If one is about neutral, as a diver should be, one good kick up should take care of business.


Bob