Hi all, first post, got a great idea for taking safety to the next level.

[Darkonos]

If your freediving with another person spotting you, it would be a great idea for everyone to wear an inflatable vest. That way if a freediver blacks out at the bottom and needs to be rescued, the spotter only has to swim down to pull the chord to inflate the freediver's vest. Spotters are usually still resting from there last dive so a shorter rescue mission for them could easily be a life saver overting a double tragedy. The spotter could also inflate his vest along with the freedivers vest, so they could ascend as soon as possible together to save precious time and begin cpr asap. But the spotter would definetly need to use a knife to burst his inflatable vest at or near the surface in order to be able to perform cpr without his own inflatable vest in the way. I have heard a story of a rescue spotter blacking out trying to carry the passed out diver he was saving to the surface. The two were saved by other friends in a boat, who noticed them floating back up on the surface motionless. In the worst case scenario, if both divers passout during assent with both inflatables activated, they will bring there heads to the surface above water in a recovery position; giving the chance of natural unnassisted recovery, of one or both of the divers. Also in the case where both divers like to dive at the same time(which is risky), if one finds the other blacked out or having a seizure for instance, he can send him to the surface immediatly and not have the dangerous burden of carrying his weight to the surface wasting more air. This seems like a precaution thats invaluable and a safety measure that shouldnt be passed up. All you need is the vest that will prop your head up in the correct position, a dive knife, and some co2 refils.

Also I read on this forum a story worth repeating, about guy who was free diving alone while wearing a inflatable vest. When he felt like he had surely been down to long, and a SWB might be coming on. He then pulled the chord and inflated the vest during ascent as a pre-caution. This guy did suffer SWB on ascent as he feared, and he woke up at surface. The guy would be dead if he didnt get cautious and inflate his vest. Some inflateable vests are only $4.00 to replace the co2 cartidge that instantly fills them. So if your ignorant and reckless enough to go freediving alone, a inflateable vest back up or $3000.00 FRV (FreeDiver Recovery Vest) is definetly a must for you.

 

[vasile]

If I had 3000 $, definitely the vest would be in my bag...

 

[johnnybuoy]

Ignorant and reckless? I think discipline plays a huge part in spearfishing alone. Everyone knows the dangers of going alone so where is the ignorance? and reckless?? I'm sorry but it's a personal choice to dive alone.
Don't get me wrong, the vest is a great idea. I wouldn't personally get one. Too expensive. I think I'll just stick to my limitations and be a disciplined diver. Not reckless or ignorant to the Possible dangers of pushing your limits.
You sound like a salesman. Do u produce these vests?

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Do u produce these vests?

Terry Maas produces the vests.

http://forums.deeperblue.com/freedi...rst-impressions-freedivers-recovery-vest.html

 

[Darkonos]

Sorry I forgot that free diving alone is safe as long as your not ignorant and reckless and you really know what your doing. My bad for the crummy comment. I found out that Whyte Islet is a protected area, well the park is protected, and you cant fish or spear anything there. I havent been there or seen it so I am assuming the Islet is protected. Does anyone know where some Greenling can be speared on the sunshine coast somewhere's at about 30 feet max?

 

[anthropisces]

I think blacking out at the bottom is nowhere near as common as blacking out near the surface.

If you want something that can bring a diver off the bottom, the amount of good that a vest will do depends on the depth. It might be a good adjunct, but there is no guarantee that it is going to make a diver positively bouyant. At 100 feet a single "standard" CO2 cartridge doesn't provide much bouyancy.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I think blacking out at the bottom is nowhere near as common as blacking out near the surface.

If you want something that can bring a diver off the bottom, the amount of good that a vest will do depends on the depth. It might be a good adjunct, but there is no guarantee that it is going to make a diver positively bouyant. At 100 feet a single "standard" CO2 cartridge doesn't provide much bouyancy.

The Freedive Recovery Vest accounts for blacking out at the surface. If you try to dive below 10 feet depth within 30 seconds of surfacing, it inflates. But if you are conscious and want to over ride that function, you can.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRKAlxKJBBw]Freedivers Recovery Vest (FRV) Training DVD: Dive Profile and Proper Weighting - YouTube[/ame]

With the air bottle filled to 3000 psi, the vest provides a lot of lift at 100 feet. I'll have to research it and tell you exactly how much, but it won't even let you select a trigger depth unless there is enough air to provide 18 pounds of lift at that depth.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

OK, here is a screenshot showing lift at different depths and pressures. It appears that a full bottle would provide 26.2 pounds of lift at 100 feet.

 

[anthropisces]

I


I wasnt referring to the FDV, which seems excellent. I was saying that a standard yeoolw inflatable vest with a CO2 cartridge wouldnt be much good at 100 feet.

 

[Darkonos]

Good point about standard co2 catridge at 100 feet. But it would still make saving your buddy at the bottom easier, if you dropped both your weight belts, and activated both vests. But like you guys said, blackouts dont happen at the bottom if you really know what your doing and your working within your limits.

 

[Mullins]

Just make sure you've got that knife handy for when you need to do CPR. And a shark prod. And foreign currency, in case of strong tidal movement.

 

[Darkonos]

and a jet pack to fly your buddy to safety.

 

[johnnybuoy]

Unlike a jetpack though, I can't see this taking off.......

 

[Darkonos]

no but seriously i think using the knife on the vest is a neccesity for performing cpr in the scenario i mentioned Unless safety vests are easy to remove.

 

[anthropisces]

I dont let my buddy descend unless hes in a hyperbaric chamber. That's when I give him the OK signal