Improving equipment!!

[Neil32]

Hi! I am a product designer from the uk and am at present embarking on a project where i will be adressing the ergonomics of diving equipment, inparticular BCD' s and cylinders. Do any of you feel your present equipment hinders you in anyway when in or out of the water; weight, size, safety, position, would you like to carry less etc. If any of you do have a problem please post a reply and tell me what it is and even what you would like to change if you have any thoughts! Hopefully together we can produce better equipment that will improve the sport for all! Thanks

[REastman]

Hi! I am a product designer from the uk and am at present embarking on a project where i will be adressing the ergonomics of diving equipment, inparticular BCD' s and cylinders. Do any of you feel your present equipment hinders you in anyway when in or out of the water; weight, size, safety, position, would you like to carry less etc. If any of you do have a problem please post a reply and tell me what it is and even what you would like to change if you have any thoughts! Hopefully together we can produce better equipment that will improve the sport for all! Thanks

I would love to have tanks that carry 2000 cu.ft. a piece (open circuit, no rebreather), weigh a constant -20 lbs. underwater and can be easily sidemounted. 100w HID lights that can burn for 20 hours, and still be mounted on your waist would be nice as well.

Seriously, this question probably needs to be reworded. I don't think you will find one cave diver out there that would not like to be able to carry smaller lighter tanks, fewer stage bottles, and still have the necessary air and other things such as lights to do the diving they do.

[Deep-Thief]

Me, I'll just take the gills and some eyes that focus underwater.

[REastman]

Yeah....that's what we really need...That little device they used in Star War's episode one, where they could breathe underwater with no tanks.

[John L.]

How about a one piece unit thats lightweight, and has the air and bouyancy all incorporated in one unit. With redundancy in bouyancy, and impervious to punctures from sharp objects, and contain a large air capacity. Strap it on and go. Even a built in ballast system.

[Widiver_Paul]

I think that's already been done, I remember seeing some hokey thing (marketed for noobies) that was only good to 20 feet or something. It was like a BC with a mini-tank, reg and hoses coming out of a pocket or something. Great for the pool.

Personally i'd like to see a better designed sidemount BC that doesn't hang to your kneecaps and can handle stage bottles. Or even better yet a "kit" to turn something like a backplate system (how about a Halcyon 45lb. explorer?) into a sidemount system. Now that would be da bomb. And with the number of divers going to sidemount, it would probably sell pretty well. What was it that Bernie Chowdhury said about sales of tech stuff, that tech divers account for a third of the entire gross sales of scuba equipment? You're smart in asking the tech and cave divers first what they're looking for...

[sdalcher]

PM sent

[Tegg]

Personally i'd like to see a better designed sidemount BC that doesn't hang to your kneecaps and can handle stage bottles. Or even better yet a "kit" to turn something like a backplate system (how about a Halcyon 45lb. explorer?) into a sidemount system. Now that would be da bomb. And with the number of divers going to sidemount, it would probably sell pretty well. What was it that Bernie Chowdhury said about sales of tech stuff, that tech divers account for a third of the entire gross sales of scuba equipment? You're smart in asking the tech and cave divers first what they're looking for...

The Armadillo seems like a good rig. I have several friends that dive it. Personally I made my own rig, but used the Armadillo as a "guide".

My rig handles my heavy 108s + 3 fully pumped stages and a deco bottle...

Are you having issues with the current sidemount system you use?

[jammer]

Well since you can improve equipment can you make my air integrated single gas computer into a multi gas computer please so I will not have to spend $1,000 on a nitek He?

[ARY]

Personally i'd like to see a better designed sidemount BC that doesn't hang to your kneecaps and can handle stage bottles. Or even better yet a "kit" to turn something like a backplate system (how about a Halcyon 45lb. explorer?) into a sidemount system.

What is wrong with BR's butt plate and standard backplate-wing configuration, seems to be pretty robust? It would be interesting though to see easy demountable in a water set of doubles (with independent small BC|weights ??) that you can use as a travel gas module. Once you arrived to the point of interest - drop stage module and do your wormhole. After return - lock it back on your back and exit. Dreaming...... And it should be integrated with propulsion device too