Required Equipment Needed For Any Dive
When Jacques Cousteau slipped beneath the waves on what was the world’s first scuba dive, he did so with the essential equipment of the time. He had a tank with a backpack, a newly invented regulator and a mask and fins. Little changed for years until the advent of the ‘J’ valve that warned the diver of a low air supply and when tripped gave him a small reserve; this became part of the required equipment utilized on any dive. Later came the submersible pressure gauge that read the available air supply much as a gas gauge on a car and the Mae West vest that allowed no buoyancy control, but provided floatation on the surface with the pop of a Co2 cartridge. These both became required equipment on any dive.
In this second decade of the 21st century, technology has taken the fledgling frogman into the realm of aquanaut and although the equipment has been much advanced, the essential equipment on any dive remains not far off from the beginnings. The tank and regulator are the basis of the diver’s life support system and is now equipped with an additional second stage. The diver now utilizes a buoyancy compensating device that allows positive, negative and neutral buoyancy and dive computers have replaced the depth gauge, watch and dive tables as an essential tool to keep track of time and depth considerations. These along with the mask and fins are required equipment on any dive.
Many dive operators around the world require divers to carry a signaling device be it a safety sausage or a whistle and individual needs may require corrective lenses in dive masks and others wouldn’t consider diving without a pair of gloves. Divers know what’s needed on any dive and they don’t leave home without it.