Hot take: I think the push for closed-circuit rebreathers on shallow dives is overblown

I found a study from the Diving Diseases Research Centre showing that 60% of CCR incidents happen in under 30 feet of water, not the deep stuff everyone talks about. It made me wonder why we're spending $15,000 on gear for something that still has high risk in basic conditions. Has anyone else looked at incident data that challenged what the industry pushes?

3 comments

3 Comments

piper77924d ago

Haven't you noticed how many of the rental rebreather classes push that gear for wreck diving in 20 feet of water? I remember trying one on a shallow reef dive and the whole thing felt like overkill, especially when a simple open circuit setup would have worked fine. The shop instructor kept talking about how it gives you longer bottom time, but in 25 feet of water you don't need that kind of extension. I started paying more attention to the incident reports after that, and it really opened my eyes to how often problems happen at the surface or just below it. It just seems like a lot of fancy gear for something that can still get you in trouble in the simplest conditions.

cora51823d ago

Did you ever feel like the shop was just trying to justify the price tag on that rental gear because it sounds cooler than it actually is? I used to think rebreathers were just the next step for serious divers, but your point about incident reports changing your view really hit home for me. It's kind of wild how much we overcomplicate things when the real risks are always hiding in the simple stuff like finning up from 20 feet.

west.richard23d ago

Did you ever think that maybe the shop is just trying to get you to try something new, not scam you? @cora518 it sounds like you are taking a few bad incidents and making the whole idea of rebreathers sound riskier than it really is.