If you are still asking yourself if you really need DiverGuard for your next dive, let me ask you this: Do you use an “Octopus” (the alternate second stage regulator) for diving? Of course you do! Although the chances of a malfunction requiring an alternate second-stage regulator are ever-so-slim – even less than the likelihood of experiencing respiratory distress – you wouldn’t dream of diving without it. If you refuse o take even the smallest chance with the second stage regulator, can you afford to reject protection in case of respiratory distress? If you dive with an Octopus, it stands to reason that you will want to have DiverGuard protection.
According to the American Heart Association’s recommendation, as soon as respiratory distress is identified, the diver should be brought to the surface as quickly as possible: it is preferable to provide urgent ventilation than to prolong oxygen deprivation in order to surface gradually.
A quick rise to the surface does endanger the diver, but if DiverGuard has initiated the automatic inflation mechanism, it means that the diver is in respiratory distress, and remaining underwater would pose a greater danger than rising quickly to the surface.
The action of DiverGuard is comparable to the action of the airbag in a car: The airbag also causes damage to the passenger, but the damage prevented is much greater.
The greatest danger to the diver is the rupture of the lungs as a result of holding air in the lungs while rising to the surface. To avoid lung rupture, air should be expelled while rising to the water surface, in an emergency as well as in a normal situation.
In spite of all our efforts, any man-made device might malfunction. Troubleshooting for DiverGuard is essentially similar to the steps taken to address problems with any buoyancy compensator (BC) inflator. However, in DiverGuard we have to examine a larger number of systems than usual.
Obviously the major malfunction feared by divers is to be forced up to the water surface unnecessarily by a mechanism that cannot be controlled. Such a malfunction is possible with any standard inflator if the power inflation valve is stuck. In this case the diver needs to immediately disconnect the rupture from the inflator.
DiverGuard designers have invested the maximum effort to avoid such a scenario. However, if a floatation malfunction should occur, it can be halted by taking the same action required in the regular inflator: Disconnect the apparatus from the low pressure inflator hose. In this way, the apparatus does not have the capacity to force you to the surface.
According to the DAN data, the annual average number of diving deaths is 120, 86% of them from drowning. DiverGuard is mainly intended to prevent death by drowning among scuba divers, by reducing to a minimum their stay underwater after the accident.
DiverGuard weighs about 280 gr. Its length and width are similar to those of inflators currently in use around the world. In order to contain all the required systems in the device, the DiverGuard is 2.5 cm longer than the standard inflator.
DiverGuard is negatively buoyant, which makes it easier to carry and maneuver while diving.
Based on the comments of experienced divers, it may be concluded that DiverGuard’s design makes it convenient and easy to use.
The alarm system was especially developed for underwater and it is heard better underwater than on the surface. It is difficult to state exactly how far the sound can travel, since the data differ from one diver to the next, and the rate at which the sound travels is affected by the diver’s depth and by environmental and sea conditions.
