Dano with MAKO on the Freedive Recovery Vest:

[MAKO Spearguns]

Hey Guys,

This is something that I want to share with all of you. But, before reading this, please pay special attention to the following paragraph:

“I do not make a penny from the sale or from advertising the Freedive Recovery Vest. And, to my understanding, Terry does not profit from the product either. That’s right! The most valuable piece of gear you can own, designed and produced to actually save your life, is NOT SOLD FOR PROFIT!”

The vest can be viewed on my site or seen directly at Terry’s site:

http://www.makospearguns.com/Freedive-Recovery-Vest-a/341.htm
http://oceanicss.com/

We have all done it. While kicking to the surface, this familiar thought goes through your mind. “Man, I stayed down a bit too long on that one.”

A quick glance at your watch confirms it. It was a good dive. A really good dive. Perhaps too good.

Midway to the surface, you begin talking to yourself. You look up and see how much farther you have to go. It’s still quite a ways away. “Be calm. You got this. Just 30 more seconds. Relax.”

You start counting. “Almost there…. 24, 25, 26.” You made it. You reach the surface like you have done a million times, series a few hook breaths and then it hits you.

“Man, that was stupid!”

The fact is, you can try to fix stupid and we should always dive with a buddy.

But, things don’t always go as planned. Even when buddy diving in good vis (one up, one down), when I dive deep, my buddy cannot see me at the bottom. And, when I dive shallow, in bad vis, my buddy can’t see me either. Add some current to the equation and things can get tricky.

Let’s face it. We all have loved ones. But a Freedive Recovery Vest? Really?

• But, it’s bulky.
• It will hinder my breath up.
• Too much drag.
• It will scare fish.
• It’s a pain to travel with.
• It’s expensive.

WRONG ON ALL ACCOUNTS!!

• This thing is not bulky.
• It will not hinder your breath up.
• There is no drag.
• It won’t scare fish.
• It is a breeze to travel with.

And for what this thing does, it is the least expensive piece of gear you can own!

Guys, I am blessed to live near the ocean. I dive a lot. When I am not diving, I’m surfing. Like most of you guys, I am on Windy every day, in fact multiple times per day. How bad is that? The fact is, it could happen to me or you, any one of us at any time, on any dive.

So, for anyone who thought for a minute that the Freedive Recovery Vest was too this, or too that, nothing could be further from the truth. I promise, you won’t even know you have it on. And, it will save your life.

Thanks Guys for taking time to read this.
Dive safe,

dano

 

[cdavis]

STRONG agreement. I wear mine whenever the vis is less that diving depth or I don't have a competent buddy. One slight disagreement, drag. Wearing a suit and carrying a big gun, the additional drag is unnoticable. Without the gun and in only a light suit (or none), I feel the drag. Not nearly enough to keep me from using it, but its there. Mine is the second edition, newer versions may be even less drag.

Its a very high quality, durable piece of kit.

We all think BO won't happen to us or our diving buddies, but it can. Four times, that I know of, buddies of mine have BOed during open water dives, not all spearing, twice in my presence. Nobodies dead yet, but thats pure luck. GET ONE and WEAR IT.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Very strong agreement. I won't dive without my vest. I'm always carrying a gun and wearing a suit, so I can truly say I never notice any drag. I've owned every version since the first one, and they are getting sleeker and sleeker.

 

[J Campbell]

Conner, Bill - have you ever been saved by your vest ?

 

[cdavis]

No, I,ve set it off by accident a couple of times, staying down too long, but never needed it. Its a hoot when it goes off unintentionally. Also a good reminder of how easy it is to overstay a dive.

I think I'm one of those guys with low c02 tolerance, who aren't likely to BO. Not willing to depend on that.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Hey cdavis,
Interesting take on diving with no gun and a light suit. I have the most recent version and it is quite small. Additionally, I weight about 235lbs, so in comparison to my body size, it’s pretty small.

Hey Bill,
How are you? Yeah, they have come a long way since the first version. Good to see you wearing yours. We like having you around!

Thanks
dano

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Conner, Bill - have you ever been saved by your vest ?

No I haven't. I've had a couple of accidental inflations when I screwed up setting the trigger depth, and of course I've purposely tested every way to set it off.

 

[cdavis]

Dano,

I'm skinny and light, so that probably makes a difference. Most of my diving is warm water,either with a sling, gopro, or most often nothing, and I don't like to expend much energy on the way down, so I'm probably more sensitive to drag than most. I think divers with a light suit who are doing significant depth would notice the drag, most spearos probably not. For sure I did not in a 3 mil with a 100 cm gun.