is there anything missing from the dive industry?

[birdwrasse]

I'm wondering if any of you think that there is/are something(s) missing in the dive industry? it could be anything that you wish your dive shop did, your instructor did, what's missing from the online industry, etc. .
what lesson did it take you trials and tribulations to figure out on your own and then you saw someone else doing that very thing...? ...things you never knew.
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I stopped into a dive shop this morning and wanted my pony bottle topped off. when I was ready to pay, they told me that there was no charge for filling pony bottles as it was their way of helping the diver stay safe. I thought that this was the greatest idea that someone is and was implementing!
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my experience as a technical diver, cave diver, and instructor has been invaluable to me and a few of my students, but these great life lessons are sometimes missing to the students that I never see again after the open water certification dives.
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a friend took me diving this morning and on our way back, he asked me "xxx," and I responded, "zzz." he laughed out loud! it was the obvious answer to me but he never would have thought about it that way...
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...easy fixes or remedies; homemade defog recipes; ways to keep the weights sliding on the belt,the spring strap,the finger spool,clever ideas, things that work, silicone snorkel keepers, bungee cord, bolt snaps, carribeaners, duct tape, electrical tape...
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[birdwrasse]

 

[TMHeimer]

There are probably a lot of things. Here are 3 I can think of:

--Perhaps the cost of air/gas fills should vary according to tank size. Very little for a pony, etc.
--There should be something you can buy that is streamlined, that will add buoyancy to ones feet, legs, etc. You can buy ankle weights, but not ankle floats.
--Probably difficult to do, but regarding taking classes: It would be nice for shops to be able to get a commitment from a person that they will not cancel (or forfit some $). So that one can plan to take a course and not have it cancelled for lack of number of students. Of course that would affect instructors as well. People like to plan things, especially if they have day jobs.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I like the idea of free fills for pony bottles! Shops would probably sell more of them if they did that and they would probably make up for the little bit of air by the increase in VIP's and hydro's...

 

[Jerry_]

Some things I could think about:

- dive computer with GPS receiver. Won't obviously work in the water, but could record positions when starting dive (dive location, main purpose) and eventually when getting back to the surface (drift dive).

- (cheap) boeys with sonar sound. Purpose for lakes and quaries while using a wristmounted receiver. Would allow for making a 3D model of a given dive.

For full outline or business model, please PM me

 

[dumpsterDiver]

a laser scanning booth that you stand in for 3 minutes (in your underwear) and it generates a 3-D scan of your body which is Emailed to Asia, where they begin working on your custom exposure suit that evening and ship it to you within 7 days.

 

[emoreira]

View attachment 164843

This is something that I've been thinking of.
Not the idea of internet air, but a home compressor that can fill an AL80 tank in, say, 3 days of continuous run. A very silent tiny compressor.
I do not own tanks, but with a device like this I would thought twice to have my pair of tanks.

 

[chrpai]

With regard to "local" diving, what's missing (IMO) is a fundamental change in the business of dives shops and the introduction of true dive clubs and coops.

The model I see today is struggling to be profitable while churning out barely qualified underwater tourists who are unlikely to remain active divers. Each dive shop has people who think they are God's gift to diving with their one true way to dive which happens to be the most expensive item on the shelf. Anything else is wrong or dangerous.

But I'm guessing that's not the question you are asking. In that case I vote for ether fills.

 

[swimmer_spe]

Currently doing my AOW. I think there should be classroom time. We go over the chapter, then we go do the dive.

 

[jcaplins]

This is something that I've been thinking of.
Not the idea of internet air, but a home compressor that can fill an AL80 tank in, say, 3 days of continuous run. A very silent tiny compressor.
I do not own tanks, but with a device like this I would thought twice to have my pair of tanks.

a.u.b.

Home << ShoeBox Compressors - The World's Smallest & Lightest 4500 PSI Compressor

still need a small low(er) pressure compressor and some type of filter system.