Technical diving requires a variety of different equipment. For example, backplates for harnesses are made from stainless steel, carbon fibre, or aluminum. Diver gear that isn't technical includes lights, rebreathers stage tanks, safety boss buoys, bailout bottles, and dive knives. These items are used to ensure your safety and comfort while diving.
Equipment used by technical divers
Technical divers use more sophisticated equipment than 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. For instance, multigas dive computers allow divers to change gas blends on the fly and control their decompression time. Submersible pressure gauges, which allow divers to monitor the level of air in their cylinders, are also important. Dry suits provide insulation for long-duration dives. Additional equipment include a compass (or a delayed surface marker buoy), a slate and compass. A decompression trapeze can help divers maintain correct depth during in-water decompression stops. The equipment can be carried in a lift bag.
Technical divers also use a full-face mask, which covers the nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. Safety harnesses are also important as they can be used to lift divers out of the water. A buddy line and shotline are two other items technical divers might need. A shotline connects to a shotweight to provide a reference point to the diver for their descent. A buddyline connects two divers in shallow water to one another and prevents them getting separated. A jonline ties the diver onto a shotline. An underwater marker buoy marks the divers' position to those at the surface.
Equipment used for ice divers
Divers using ice diving equipment use multiple types of equipment to ensure safety. They generally use two-stage regulators. Divers can easily switch between the two, without having to purchase a second tank. When the first stage regulator is damaged, the diver simply needs to attach the second-stage controller to the broken one. Double tanks, which are redundant air supply systems and air delivery systems for ice divers, are common.
While ice diving, support personnel must be available above the ice. The safety line attaches to the diver’s harness and serves as a communication device in an emergency. Safety lines can extend up to 150 feet. The two-person team might use separate lines in some instances. Line tenders should be wearing thermal protection, and may need to get into the water if they become separated from the diver.
Before diving, it is important to prepare the area and make a hole in ice. Although the most common tool for cutting ice is the chainsaw it must be properly used. The hole should be smooth, so as to prevent damage to the equipment or diver. Many ice divers prefer to make triangle-shaped holes. This allows for safer entry and exit.
Decompression divers use equipment
Divers who are decompression certified use specialized equipment underwater. Multigas dive computers track divers' decompression needs, and permit them to switch between the different gases in a tank. You can also see the remaining air level in the tank with the submersible tension gauge. Other equipment used by decompression divers includes a dry suit, which provides insulation during long dives.
In addition to a self-contained breathing device, divers also use equipment that connects to a surface support platform. Divers can also use this equipment to adjust their stop depth or monitor their depth. The umbilical supplies breathing gas to the helmet of the diver. It may also have two-way communication, a depth measuring tube, a camera and hot water to warm the suit.
Another piece of equipment that decompression divers use is the jonline. This is a long rope that is used to guide the diver in a search and/or work session. Another piece of equipment is the lifting bag, which is an airtight bag attached to a weighted line and suspended at the bottom of the diving chamber. These tools will allow the diver to lift heavy objects from the bottom of the ocean and use them as a float when they are filled with air. Decompression divers also use a shot line, which is made up of a weight and line that allows them to navigate to the surface and perform a decompression stop at a safe place.