jay@telesoft.UUCP (Jay Schlegel @eldest) (05/21/85)
Question #1: Do you dive deeper than you would care to make an emergency ascent if necessary? Question #2: Realistically, how often are you actually in close enough contact with your buddy to comfortably reach him/her for aid in the event of equipment failure or an out of air emergency? (I, for one, am rarely looking under the same rock!!!) If the answers to the above are 'yes' and 'not all of the time', you may be interested in the EBS, a small pony bottle equipped with it's own regulator manufactured by Submersible Systems, a Huntington Beach Ca. company. I've recently purchased one of these units and find myself breathing a little easier on deep dives. The unit stashes neatly inside my bc belt, secured by a neoprene collar (supplied) and is pretty much not noticable in the water. I have the smallest model (1.7cf) which is reported to yield up to 30 breaths at the surface. I found that I can get 20 DEEP breaths with the standard fill of 1800 psi. This amount should be adequate to make a NORMAL ascent (deep breathing all the way) from 60 or 70 feet. From deeper, it's a whole lot better than nothing!!! The regulator, which is attached without hoses directly to the tank, seems to be sturdily built, and the tank has a special DOT rating making it hydro exempt... FOR LIFE!!! I KNOW THIS SOUNDS A BIT LIKE A COMMERCIAL!!! No, I do not work for, nor am I in any way affiliated with Submersible Systems. I do, however, feel that a product of this sort has great value in increasing the safety of the sport, and wish to raise it's visibility (no pun intended [yuk yuk]). For more info, check out the ad in the May issue of Skin Diver magazine. They also did a product review on the EBS in one of last years issues. Happy Diving!!!