NEW Underwater Sport Or No?

[ricki]

Nothing new about free diving with scooters, been around for decades. I used to play myself with DPVs and breathhold drops in the 1970's. Guys were probably doing long before that time too.

Despite all that, IT SEEMS NEW. There's playing and then there is doing new things or perhaps old things better. It might be free diving more efficiently, with technique developments and better scooters. I know there are mixed feelings about it but the sit on top aspect of the Apollo is a deal maker for me. I think Dive-X has developed an add on to make theirs sit on top as well. Only seen it in a video never in person. Sit on top has a lot going for it particularly when shooting pictures/video. Hands free and minute position control through unconscious fin steering are the way to go in my opinion. I wouldn't go back to a conventional scooter tow setup myself at this point despite using that system for over 15 years previously.

The mobility and freedom are amazing both in lateral and vertical dives. I am an average free diver and yet the boost in capability is sure a lot of fun. A scooter is the only way many wrecks in deeper water can be dived in this area, there is too much current for conventional diving. There are downsides and cautions of course, things like planning for and coping with power failures, DCS issues, UW collisions, etc.. Still, all types of diving have problems, contingencies, technological and technique solutions and management strategies. As you are practicing something like apnea at rest, it is easy to achieve more than practical with fins and without pushing that hard. For this later reason the degree of safety "might" exceed conventional fin swimming in some dives?

I am still learning about free diving with scooters but the more I do it, the more I like it. Something addictive about it. There are a lot of videos showing dives on a variety of sites at: Something Rich And Strange ... Diving Tales From The Water Underworld - FKA Kiteboarding Forums Not pushing anything but the novelty of scooter free diving but if I were in retail or instruction, I would take a hard look at it. One thing is for sure, doing this without proper training and preparation it has the potential to be particularly dangerous. With proper preparation and technique, different story I think.

Does anyone else feel this way about scooter free diving at this point?

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