Point of NO return?

[Simon Blampied]

My only concern with taking down spare air would that it would lead to you pushing yourself past your limits. It's all very well to say I wouldn't and that it is only there for an emergency, but personally if I had the canister with me and had a good dive I'd be tempted to take on an extra few metres sub conciously thinking 'no worries if something goes wrong I've always got the spare air'. Maybe that's just me, but can anyone truely say they wouldn't be tempted??

 

[Okke]

Originally posted by Simon Blampied


...taking down spare air would that it would lead to you pushing yourself past your limits.

I think it will indeed push your limits in a negative way. I hear nobody about having a safety jacket! That seems a pretty good solution to me. Even for the buddie who's with you at the moment. For example, when you get a SWB at 7 m. he can swim down to you and pop the jacket up, swoosh your in no seconds at the surface... Is this not a more safe solution? Do they exist (the jackets)?

:kingkke

 

[tuomo]

Safety jackets

You can propably get those jackets from any store specialized in sailing. Although youd have to remove little 'salt' cube from trigger so that it wont inflate the jacket when you go in the water.
I dont knnow if using such jacket would differ much from ditching the weight belt, but in situations where you're not heavily weighted this could be usefull.
Has anyone used such thing for freediving?

Tuomo

 

[thin_air]

when my dad was a chopper pilot for the reserve they used some of those jackets. Its a small CO2 cartrige on the botytom right of the jacket and you flip a switch and the jacket is filled. Poof...

even in a pool the guy breaking the surface from the bottom looks cool, i know it has noting to do with anything but...

oh and ya you probably would push your limits but we were talkin of using it for cave and tunnel diving in the previous thread so i dont think people go very far into those

oh well,
im out

 

[Kirk Krack]

Just to comment on something the crazy frenshmen said :>)

"We are basically bouyant". Not totally true. If you freedive without a wetsuit you probably feel bouyant because your 80% water and the "grease and air". I like the grease part :>) +

We are usually buoyant with a FULL lung full of air. Without a suit on in the water exahale to a relaxed normal volume or at the bottom of what is called your tidal volume. You'll sink! Unless of course your an mesomorph and are more towards the fatter side.

When you blackout in the water you'll probably let go of the full inhaled breath and sink. As you sink the air within your lungs compresses and you become more negative.

I veiw wearing a wetsuit even in warm-water as a safety piece of equipment. If you weight yourself for nuetral bouyancy at a minimum 10m with a full breath, then if you exhaled your neutral bouyancy is now probably around 7-8m depending on suit thickness, etc. It's a great thing to try. Go down to your neutral bouyancy and then exhale to a normal volume of air and now ascend until you find your new nuetral depth. Try again with no belt and find where your new neutral depth is and where if you exhaled you would be nuetral. What are your two safety depths in which you'll at least float to the surface for your buddy to help you?

If your buddy isn't meeting you and you don't drop your belt, you better make it to that depth and have a buddy that could reach you there. Most people could always make it to 15m on a deep target dive as an experienced or competitive freediver and basic or beginners could probably always make it to around 5m. where do you want to be able to signal to your buddy that they need to help you so as to avoid a blackout?

Most people would make at least 5m on a normal dive where they encountered problems. If not then you should have had your buddy meeting you between 20-10m depending on your dive or atleast have dropped your weight belt.

It's true that most people are still found with their weight belt on. Like the crazy frenshmen say's, "think about it", program it as an option in your head by visualization of your freediving before you enter the water. Don't just visualize the good stuff, but how about the possible problems that could occur. This really works and when it comes to mind, don't hesitate to at the minimum to undue the buckle.

Sincerely,

 

[Kirk Krack]

Oh ya,

A friend of mine who used to work at the IAFD office has developed a system he calls S.A.F.E.R. I forget what it stands for but basically it's a streamlined fitting vest that has a "deadmans" switch and a CO2 cartridge.

If your having problems, hit the switch and inflate the vest. If you "think" you might be having problems, engage the switch by keeping your hand on it and if you black out and release your hand the vest will inflate. If you inflate and don't have a problem, simply swtich out the cartridge with another and continue diving.

Great for all types of freedivers but especially for spearfisherman who might get caught at depth a little longer or deeper or are fighting a fish to the surface and need the assistance.

Unfortunatley with spearfishing your attention is out in the water "hunting" rather that listening to what you body is telling you or that voice screaming in the back of your head :>)

Sincerely,

 

[sebastian]

Hi every body.

After this coment from Kirk I wanted to coment another simpler but I still dont know how efective "dead man switch"

I stitched a big piece of cloth with velcrom in it to my belt, then I wraped a 2 kg weight with the other part of the velcrom, so I can remove that weight wenever I want and then replace it.
I also carry a spare weight in my float.
Every time I started to ascend I would remove the weight and keep it in my hand, if something happens to me I would jast drop it, becoming much more buoyant. If nothing happens I place it back in the belt.

I tried it last weekend, unfortunately in the second day diving it got released in the descend and went to the bottom. As the bottom of this reservoir is about 100 mts I might leave it there for some time.

I continued diving with the spare weight. Later this week I´ll buy a better quyality velcrom (3m) and keep working on it.


Regards,
Sebastian