Technical diving requires divers to use a variety equipment. For instance, backplates used with a harness are made of aluminum, carbon fiber or stainless steel. Diver tools such as lights, rebreathers and stage tanks, safety buoys and bailout bottles are all part of technical diving gear. These items are necessary to ensure your safety while diving.
Equipment used by technical divers
Technical divers often have more advanced equipment than those who are recreational divers. This equipment includes sophisticated gear that can be used in dangerous conditions and computers that monitor and record their dive data and decompression. Multigas dive computers are able to allow divers the ability to alter gas blends as they go and also control their decompression times. Submersible pressure gauges, which allow divers to monitor the level of air in their cylinders, are also important. For long-duration dives, dry suits provide insulation and are essential. You can also use a compass, slate, or delayed surface marker buoy as diving equipment. A decompression trapeze can help divers maintain correct depth during in-water decompression stops. To transport the equipment, a lift bag can also be used.
Technical divers also use a full-face mask, which covers the nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. A safety harness is also essential, as it can be used to lift the diver out of the water. A buddy line or shotline is another item technical divers may require. A shotline can be a line attached to a gun weight to give divers a point of reference during their descent. A buddy line connects two divers in water to prevent them from getting separated. A buddy line ties the diver to a shotline and a surface marker buoy signals the location of the divers to others at the surface.
Equipment used for ice divers
Divers using ice diving equipment use multiple types of equipment to ensure safety. They typically use two first-stage regulators. This allows them to switch between the regulators without the need of a second tank. In the event that the first-stage regulator fails, the diver can easily attach the second stage regulator to the damaged one. Ice divers frequently use double tanks which offer redundant air delivery and supplies.
Support personnel must be accessible above the ice when ice diving. The safety line is clipped to the diver's harness and acts as a communication device in case of an emergency. The safety line can reach up to 150 feet. Sometimes, the two-person team may have separate lines. If the diver is separated from the line tenders, they may have to be covered in thermal protection.
Before going ice diving, teams must prepare the area by cutting a hole in the Ice. Although the most common tool for cutting ice is the chainsaw it must be properly used. To avoid damage to equipment and divers, the hole should be smooth. Many ice divers use triangle-shaped holes to provide safer entry and exit.
Decompression divers' equipment
When diving underwater, decompression divers need to use special equipment. Multigas dive computers are used to track decompression needs and allow divers to switch between different types of gas in a cylinder. The submersible pressure indicator shows how much air is left in the cylinder. Another equipment used by decompression divers is a drysuit, which provides insulation during long diving.
Divers can use equipment that connects with a surface support platform in addition to their self-contained breathing apparatus. Divers can adjust their stop depth, monitor their depth, and many other underwater tasks with this equipment. The umbilical supplies the breathing gas to the diver's helmet and may also contain two-way communications, a depth measurement tube, a camera, and hot water to warm the diver's dive suit.
Another important piece of equipment used by decompression divers is the jonline, which is a long line that is used to guide the diver during a search and work session. The lifting bag is another equipment piece. This bag is attached to an airtight line and suspended in the bottom of the dive chamber. These tools allow divers to lift heavy objects out of the water and then use them as floats when filled with air. Shot lines are also used by decompression divers. They consist of a weight and a line that allow them to navigate to the surface, and then make a safety stop.