Freedivers Recovery Vest--First look at prototype in action

[pehtran]

First big respect to the developers.
I see a lot of thought has been put into this device.
Just a small thing to say :

How obout different types of vests fot different types of dives.
As a spearo, I think, I would prefer a vest that would inflate ONLY when I would fail to disarm it after say 10 seconds after surfacing. That would also mean a more symplified version that would be cheaper and more failproof. This kind of vest it would be possible to produce and sell with no hand unit I suppose.

Miha

 

[trux]

ONLY when I would fail to disarm it after say 10 seconds after surfacing. That would also mean a more symplified version that would be cheaper and more failproof. This kind of vest it would be possible to produce and sell with no hand unit I suppose.

I am afraid this method as well as the method mentioned by rxcnc2 (having to push a button each 30s) are not really good solutions. The situations where you either forget to press the button, will be distracted, or simply unable to do it (full hands, fighting a fish, working on something, ...) will be too frequent and it would lead to too many unnecessary inflations. And in some situation it could be right dangerous - imagine the vest explosively inflating in an overhead situation, working with a speargun, or a knife, just in a moment you are ready to shoot a fish (and possibly spearing a buddy instead), etc, etc. I think the developers though through all those scenarios very well, and already chose the best methods.

 

[Seacidal]

The avalanche device is a very different product. The FRV does not require manual activation.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I just returned from the Spearfishing Expo in Fort Lauderdale. Terry Maas did a presentation on this vest, and for the rest of the two days he was at a vendor's booth letting everyone who wanted to do so try it on and have it inflated. It is a very impressive product, with a lot of thought and engineering in it.

I'll try to find a photo of the vest when not inflated. Its pretty sleek.

 

[Erik]

Looks awesome. I know this might sound ironic, but are there weight pockets? Or even pockets?

 

[Phil C]

Any indication of the likely price?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Looks awesome. I know this might sound ironic, but are there weight pockets? Or even pockets?

No pockets. After all, its for Freedivers, and they are trying to keep it as streamlined as possible.

Price is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $3000. Terry said they they have some prototypes to send to very good divers to evaluate, and then they hope to be in production in about a year.

 

[Jon]

Price is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $3000

OUCH!

I was thinking it would top out at half that price- that's how much I told my wife it would cost for me to get one. That puts it out of my price range.

I have friends who bought rebreathers for not much more than that.

Jon

 

[Erik]

I'd sure try to find a way to get the $$ together. I'd sew some pockets on it too lol. With the belt, weight vest, knife and gun in hand I don't feel very streamlined at the best of times.
Hopefully all the rich guys could buy the 1st run and the price would come down a tad, but I'm sure R&D and patenting etc runs into the 100's of 1000's of dollars.

 

[Jon]

I'd sure try to find a way to get the $$ together.

As soon as I start pulling down the crazy big bucks that you social workers do I'll be able to buy one. roflroflrofl

Any photos of what the final wrist unit looks like?

Jon

 

[samdive]

does it add quite a lot of bouyancy uninflated? I only ask as the guy in the video seems to be wearing a huge amount of lead!

 

[Seacidal]

I'm one of the guys in the video clip. I was wearing a full 7mm two-piece suit and my usual amount of lead. I found that I didn't have to add any lead with the vest. It's very close to neutral.

Of course, this is a prototype that will be used for field testing and refinement toward the final design. It is anticipated that the final design will have some significant changes in regard to size and appearance. There are opportunities for shrinking the volume occupied by components and therefore reducing the size of the wrist unit and back mounted inflation module. That's what prototypes are used for.

It is truly amazing to be descending toward the "depth limit" and to feel the vest begin to rapidly inflate, rolling you over and face up, reversing your descent and returning you rapidly to the surface. During these tests, I imagined how an unconscious diver might be ferried back to the surface. When the body relaxes the laryngeal spasm and gasps its (possibly) last gasp for air, a diver is much better off on the surface than to be left lying on the bottom.

I am very excited about the progress and promise of this recovery vest. Terry Maas has invested a tremendous amount of time, effort and resources toward making this safety device a reality. A large team of experienced divers, medical professionals, engineers and others have contributed to making this happen. It is time.

Thank you all for your ongoing input and support.
Chip

 

[azapa]

Terry, Chip,

have a look at the end of the video mentioned in this thread:
http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-stories/83291-animated-freediving-short-movie.html

how are things going?

 

[tmaas]

What an amazing animation!

Progress continues on the vest. We have completed phase-1 testing and are in the process of manufacturing the second set of prototypes. The new units are vastly simpler than the first. A wired monitor on the diver's left arm connects directly with the back unit. This eliminates over 50% of the parts used in the first generation and provides for real-time feedback from the user. We are very excited to begin testing these new units, which we expect to be ready in the Fall of this year.

Thank you for your interest.
Terry Maas The Freedivers Recovery Vest; A device to assist those who suffer freediver blackout (shallow water blackout) by bringing them to the surface