Some of you will already know that I'm in the States right now at the annual Dive Equipment and Marketing Show. This is a trade-only show and the biggest of its kind in the World. It's the forum for announcement of major product launches and advertising of dive travel deals for the next season. The Show also provides the facility for manufacturers and training agencies to centralize seminars, workshops and classes that update or inform their dealers, members or interested trade representatives. Dive retailers come here to benefit from special deals on equipment for next season and to catch up with news and meet colleagues. There's way too much here to describe everything, but what I'll try and do is give a flavour of themes and general trends. The first general trend here is towards rebreathers. All the major manufacturers are here - and there must be about a dozen now. There's no question, rebreather makers are increasingly striving for a mainstream market. Failsafe devices are being introduced to minimize risk and aim for idiot proofing; and prices are coming down. The other noticeable trend is towards manufacturers leaving their traditional lanes in the road to diversify. A sign of hard times in the industry perhaps - or the economic downturn depressing orders? BARE is a good example. Traditionally, a company that has been all about exposure protection, they have released their own buoyancy compensator.
On the travel side, there's a huge showing here at the Show from the Far East. What was once largely inaccessible, for reasons of cost and airline reach, is now opening up. Equipment manufacturers from the Far East are also much more in evidence. If experience of other industries holds good, the quality of their gear should be pretty high and their challenge will be gaining a foothold. Talking about footholds, here's an interesting observation. If you were asked to name the biggest, most prestigious name in scuba gear, the odds are you would say Scubapro. And they're not here - at all. They've actually skipped DEMA for several years. That shows some confidence. They don't seem to see the need to promote their equipment to the trade.
On the seminar and workshop side, I've attended a couple of excellent DAN lectures. These dealt with hazards of breath-hold diving and myths of dive physiology. I also listened to two great illustrated talks on video techniques and the use of underwater filters. These are given by some of the industry's best known and most respected figures.
With conservation writ large at the event, there have also been some great talks on specific issues and projects. One of these was work to save the Pacific Leatherback Turtle, which is on the verge of extinction. More tomorrow, if the time is available - and I'll try to focus on some of the dive equipment developments.
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