Recent Advances in Scuba Diving Equipment

Today, there are between one and three million certified scuba divers worldwide. From humble beginnings, the diving experience has developed to now include a vast array of high-tech devices. Over the past twenty years alone, technological advances have led to continual alterations in scuba diving equipment, improving functionality, safety and comfort for aquatic enthusiasts.

Swim Fins

Since Louis De Corlieu's wartime prototype, swim fins have come a long way. The availability of materials varies from rubber and plastic to glass fibre. Improved production of carbon fibre has made the material more affordable for the mass market, and since it has a high strength-to-weight ratio, it is a popular choice for manufacturers of modern swim fins. Recent years have also witnessed a sharp rise in the popularity of monofins, which comprise one fin piece to which both feet are attached. Monofins are increasingly popular in competitive fin swimming, where swimmers can increase their speed by up to thirty-three percent. Modern fin designs include amphibian fins, which can hinge upwards towards the shins, allowing the wearer to walk easily when out of the water.

Dive Computers

Dive computers reduce the risk of decompression sickness, as they measure time and depth to allow a safe ascent to the surface. First manufactured in the 1950s, it was not until 2008 that the Underwater Digital Interface (UDI) became widely accessible. The UDI device displays a tailored decompression plan and allows the diver to send text messages and SOS signals. Features also include a three-dimensional compass for both convenience and safety. The applicability of diving equipment depends largely on the purpose of the diver. Tourists on diving holidays catering for beginners will begin with basic equipment training in safe, enclosed surroundings. In general, the deeper the dive the more thought must be given to equipment safety features.

Wetsuits

When wetsuits were manufactured in the 1950s, they were made from raw sheets of foam rubber neoprene. Neoprene allowed divers some movement and flexibility, while remaining waterproof. However, early models stuck to the skin and could be fragile enough to tear when being put on, so both the body and the wetsuit needed to be powdered with talc before diving. By the 1980s, double-backed neoprene made wetsuits less likely to tear and more flexible in the water. It also allowed designers to add an additional outer layer with colours and designs. The contribution of this outer layer on modern wetsuits is not only aesthetic – bright colours increase visibility in the water and provide a useful safety feature. Wetsuits are also available in varying levels of thickness according to water temperature. On diving holidays Egypt and the Red Sea are examples of warmer water temperatures which require different wetsuits to colder destinations to the north, in these areas where sea temperatures are in the upper 20'Cs very thin wetsuits are typically worn.

Diving Regulators and Rebreathers

The majority of modern divers use two-stage, single-hose regulators. Regulators use valves to adjust the pressure of pressurised gas from a cylinder (in the case of scuba diving), to allow the diver to inhale using the mouthpiece. This is the case in open-circuit diving, which is the most common modern method. Divers in professional industries sometimes use rebreathers instead of an open-circuit scuba system. This involves a counterlung, which expands as the diver exhales, and a carbon dioxide absorbent canister to prevent CO2 build-up. Combined with an additional release of oxygen and a one-way valve circuit, rebreathers prove more efficient, as air is recycled rather than exhaled into the surrounding water.