What has changed in the Scuba industry in the last 10-15 years?

[Tracy]

In some cases I wonder WHY some things are still around. Yoke regulator-tank interfaces, for example

They are faster and tougher. For a large open water operation, they are just better.

 

[OTF]

GPS is a good one. Although 15 years ago was only 2008 and we certainly had affordable GPS then. Although the smartphone revolution with GPS apps good enough for navigation is something. Navionics app is amazing. Weather forecasting is significantly better too. The tech in consumer sonars/sidescan got ridiculously good in the last 10 years.

I think it's also interesting to note how slow many things change. The basics for recreational diving - techniques, wetsuits, regulators, tanks, etc. are virtually unchanged. Sounds like other time periods saw faster changes. The technical side of things might move a little faster.

Compare to other gear-oriented sports... mountain bikes come to mind - a new bike today is very different from a bike 15 years ago. The standard wheel size changed, totally different geometries, more carbon fiber, more advanced suspension mechanics, ebikes. And a LOT more people seem ride or at least buy multi-thousand dollar bikes. It used to be rare to see a fancy mountain bike on the back of a car, now they're everywhere.

PS here's a good one - air fills 15 years ago cost like 5 bucks around here. Now they're 10-12.

 

[mcohen1021]

What's changed... hmmm

1. Backplate and wing divers have been declared the best divers in the world

2. Evil Cozumel Downcurrents are responsible for every lost diver in Cozumel

3. Scuba shops in Plano Tx say US Diver regulator parts are not available and never bring it in again

4. Shesrwater owners are elitists

5. There are tech divers and then there's everyone else

6. Tethering yourself to your buddy on a drift dive is best practice

7. Cave diving is safer than wall diving

8. Everyone knows the best dive op in Cozumel

9. Anything is better than a jacket style BC

10. Closing Guadalupe 2 years after a shark died makes perfect sense

 

[Marie13]

Can not beat a computer for fun as a tool to extend your ease at diving when you're outside square profiles
every dive

Remember you don't have to spend the entire dive fiddling with them, just know and understand what they
are doing

Mark the calendar! A post from happy/hippy diver that is mostly coherent. Extreme lack of punctuation, though.

 

[tursiops]

After all, every dive is a (minimum) deco dive.

This was never true, and still isn't.

 

[lowwall]

One change is that Nitrox is used more and more, even for relatively shallow dives.

As an aside, on my last drift dives off Boynton Beach (where you can't go beyond 65'), the boat had a 45 minute limit if you were diving on air while you were allowed an hour on Nitrox. They did this so they could minimize the SI.

 

[xan]

This was never true, and still isn't.

I'd appreciate a bit more detail on this, if you think I've misspoken, happy to be corrected with better/more current information than what I might have access to.

 

[tursiops]

I'd appreciate a bit more detail on this, if you think I've misspoken, happy to be corrected with better/more current information than what I might have access to.

There is a whole thread on it on SB recently. The point is that "deco dive" in common usage means a mandatory ceiling at some depth. What you mean is every dive involves some decompression.....

 

[NarkedPanda]

Teaching tables in now optional. Most are taught to just use computers.

Yep! I still remember diving with my table clipped to me lol

 

[Belzelbub]

I'll Hijack this thread with a hard left. If you dive from ANY boat big or small the biggest 15yr change has been affordable cheap.....

G P S ...


...Even today, captains have to plead with passengers not to 'set a pin' on their phone and steal the secret dive spot.

Agreed. This has been a big change, and a related tangent, radar. That seems to have become a way some boaters use to locate fishing or diving spots. They see the dive flag and set the location based on the radar overlay.

Back to the GPS, not too long ago, if a diver were to take a charter, and wanted to set the spot, they would need to take out a dedicated GPS unit as GPS receivers in other devices were pretty rare. As smartphones became more and more prevalent, divers could steal the secret spot more easily. Setting a pin, or even just taking a picture would provide the GPS data needed. Today, there are so many GPS receivers around that it's pretty much impossible for a charter to prevent divers from recording the location. Lots of dive computers offer GPS data. My backup provides start and end locations automatically.

To the OP's original question. Dive computers seem to be the biggest change. They existed many years ago, but have really gained popularity as has the use of EAN. Dive computers are now pretty much integrated into new diver open water training. EAN is still a separate course, but I wonder how long. Yes, right now it's a separate course and extra revenue, but it will only take one agency to begin the push.

When I was first certified (1990 & 1997) both computers and EAN existed. I recall my instructor mentioning both, but he didn't seem to think they were worthwhile for recreational divers. The use of both has shifted significantly. Many charters require computers, and some are also going that way with EAN. For the most part, this is for easier scheduling for multiple dives. Using tables would be OK on dive 1, but dive 2 would likely be real short unless you have a long SI. Likewise for EAN. The charters want their divers to be able to maximize their dive time (happy divers return for future charters), and minimizing surface intervals makes the work day shorter.

One other thing that I've seen change, or at least become more prevalent, is the use of weight integrated BCs. They existed back then, but weren't quite as prevalent as today. Today, it's rare to see a non-integrated new BC, they do exist, but the model lineups have flipped to more weight integration. I remember that in my OW certification classes, I had to provide mask, fins, snorkel, and weight belt. The shop provided everything else. When my daughters were certified, the weight belt was dropped as required gear. They used their own gear, but if not shop would provide weight integrated BCs.