Overview of the action from atop the 10-meter diving platform. The cavernous YMCA “aquatorium” was a perfect place for the brands to showcase their latest technology.
More than 300 curious divers turned out to the event at the YMCA Family Aquatic Center in Orlando for the chance to see, talk about and try out the latest in tec diving and rebreather technology from a dozen innovative brands.
Each manufacturer maintained a schedule on which participants could sign up for a trial, like speed dating for tec divers.
Following a personalized overview and instruction on each product from the brand’s representative, divers hit the pool under the careful guidance of qualified staff.
Did you ever get the feeling that someone was following you?
With plenty of room to themselves, divers getting acquainted with the rebreathers and tec rigs could wander around the 25-meter diving well that’s 30 feet deep.
With no bubbles rising from the rebreathers, the lifeguards looked puzzled. “Is that guy still moving?”
IST Sports was well represented by their Dolphin Tech rigs, a modular system with several configurations.
Poseidon is leading the charge in recreational rebreather technology with their new Discovery MK VI, a fully closed, fully automated unit geared to the rest of us.
The rEvo booth showcased the rEvo III, a full closed circuit rebreather with a dual scrubber system, along with their original rEvo, Hybrid and Hybrid Mini models.
There was a lot of buzz surrounding the Hollis’ new Explorer Sport ESCR, which uses Nitrox to achieve an optimal balance of PPO2 and dive time controlled electronically.
The dance card filled quickly for AP Diving’s Evaluation CCR, a compact unit that’s light and streamlined.
The Titan CCR by Titan Dive Gear got a work out during the event, as did their super friendly staff.
Technical diving has always seemed a bit out of reach for me — too complicated, too difficult, too risky. But my mind has been seriously changed thanks to PADI’s recent Tec Xplor Days, a series of three events offering divers the chance to sample the latest in tec diving gear and rebreather technology in a safe, controlled — and free — environment.
Held in Seacaucus, New Jersey, in March, Rancho Santa Margarita, California, in June and most recently in Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 6, Tec Xplor Days presented divers with “test diving” opportunities not available at any single location, anywhere. Seminars by PADI pros, including Chief Operating Officer Dr. Drew Richardson and Karl Shreeves, PADI Technical Diving Division Director of Decompression Diving, informed guests about the latest Tec Rec training. And the camaraderie flowed like an ocean current.
In a single day, I was able to try the new tec lines from Scuba Pro and IST Dolphin Tech, experience sidemount diving with rigs by Hollis, and learn what it’s like to breathe without bubbles on rebreathers by Poseidon, rEvo, Silent Diving and Titan Dive Gear. Other brands represented at the events include Apeks, Suunto, Dive Rite, DUI, Fourth Element, Halcyon, KISS Rebreathers, Liquidvision, O’Three, Shearwater Research, TUSA and VR Technology. The nearly eight hours I spend in the pool was a mind-expanding experience. And now I’m chomping at the bit to dig into PADI’s new Tec Rec courses. Check padi.com for info on where and when the 2012 Tec Xplore Days will be held. And here’s a photo gallery from the Orlando event to whet your appetite.
