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Kirby Morgan 57 Risky Diving Helmet Is Zissou-Worthy
Posted by Jesus Diaz at 6:15 AM on May 15, 2008
At US$5,900, the Kirby Morgan 57 Diving Helmet is way out of the budget of most scuba diving lovers and Jacques Costeau-wannabes. But don't worry because you don't need one of these underwater wonders unless you want to get down to the pits of hell or dive into biologically contaminated water—like the bottom of a sewage treating tank, shipwrecks with dangerous cargo, public swimming pools, and my bathtub. This is why you need its fiberglass and carbon fibre shell with temperature and electrical charge insulation, defogging valve, ultra-secure latch system, and a quad-valve exhaust system that apparently makes the helmet extremely dry with no breathing performance penalty. Amazing, but—does it have FM radio receiver? That's what we really want to know.
At US$5,900, the Kirby Morgan 57 Diving Helmet is way out of the budget of most scuba diving lovers and Jacques Costeau-wannabes. But don't worry because you don't need one of these underwater wonders unless you want to get down to the pits of hell or dive into biologically contaminated water—like the bottom of a sewage treating tank, shipwrecks with dangerous cargo, public swimming pools, and my bathtub. This is why you need its fiberglass and carbon fibre shell with temperature and electrical charge insulation, defogging valve, ultra-secure latch system, and a quad-valve exhaust system that apparently makes the helmet extremely dry with no breathing performance penalty. Amazing, but—does it have FM radio receiver? That's what we really want to know.
A dive computer by any other name, the Sea Instrument is a square and (sort of) attractive piece of kit for rich divers. Launched this month by Danish watch designers Linde Werdelin, it clips onto the Biformeter watch and gives you all the info you need while you're blowing bubbles a hundred feet below the surface. So, it may be nice-looking, but is there anything there that would persuade me to get rid of my Suunto Mosquito, a snip at US$300?
I wouldn't—well, I would just once, like to see what it's like to dive with The Hives singing along while I fin down to a reef —because I like to live out my Darth Vader fantasies, but this MP3 player could just persuade me otherwise. What is remarkable about this iRiver iFP-380T, with its waterproof case and headset, is that you can go down to 200 feet with it clipped onto your mask. The device runs on one 9-volt battery and one AA and it costs US$199. [
Although only waterproof to 15 feet, and therefore not exactly serious underwater snapper gear, this Liquid Image digital camera-mask is not a bad idea for kids or snorkelers as it lets you take hands-free images of the Big Blue. Full details will be released at CES next month, but we've got a bit more info after the jump.
This crazy fin thing was developed by DARPA for scuba divers to swim 150% faster and with less effort than regular fins, helping to get places quicker and preserve oxygen along the way. Modeled after observing swimming habits of penguins and dolphins, it takes the strain away from smaller leg muscles, instead working the glutes and quads. It was intended for Navy SEALs (duh), but maybe one day we'll all get a crack at it. The shot above is newly released on CNet. After the jump is a schematic rendering from the original Popular Mechanics story.
