Category: Aquatics

Categories
Aquatics Imaging

The Paralenz action camera is a breath of underwater air

The undersea wonders of the oceans house some incredible sights, which is why millions of scuba divers globally take the time to photograph, record and otherwise document their experiences in the deep blue. Unfortunately, clunky design and unimpressive depth tolerance have relegated the equipment now available to the not-quite-good-enough category.

A small team out of Delaware wants to change that. And with its Paralenz dedicated diving action camera, it has a very good chance of doing so. For one, the Paralenz looks like a creation born out of rapid prototyping principles: it oozes ruggedness with its tiny black anodized aluminum frame with a collection chunky and clicky magnetic switch buttons. This design is not only rugged and good looking but also practical, allowing the Paralenz to be used with any type of diving gloves. Another way the Paralenz was designed to be practical was through its attachments: it can be connected to any T-rail, an adapter can be used to attach it to other equipment, or a third-person viewer can float the Paralenz behind a diver sort of like an underwater drone for brand new underwater perspectives. 

Continue reading “The Paralenz action camera is a breath of underwater air”
Categories
Aquatics

The Bixpy Jet lets you move like Aquaman, won’t help fish communication

With the amount of innovation going on in the crowdfunding arena, the world of watersports has never been more exciting. Case in point: the Bixpy Jet, a portable, personal water propulsion device that, with the help of a wide variety of attachments, can be attached any type of kayak, SUPs or just simply held.

This level of versatility lets the Bixpy Jet propel watercraft to about seven miles per hour, allowing kayakers to reach places they otherwise couldn’t. Of particular note is the device’s submersible battery which completely transforms the experience of diving by helping propel swimmers to three miles per hour. In designing the Bixpy Jet, inventor Houman Nikmanesh thought it important that users not be forced to buy a new watercraft, which is why all its attachments were created.

Continue reading “The Bixpy Jet lets you move like Aquaman, won’t help fish communication”
Categories
Aquatics Chargers/Batteries

Estream uses running water to keep your devices running

Reconnecting with the great outdoors is a wonderful thing, but sharing those experiences with family and friends makes it even more memorable. But keeping the devices used to document these adventures can be pretty difficult without access to electricity. That’s why Enomad developed its Estream portable hydroelectric generator.

Small and compact enough for a backpack, the Estream sports a modular design that lets users easily ready it for power generation. Users need only to snap off its cover, unfold its turbines and lock them, hook it in with its base, then throw into the water. There, a run ning current will spin its turbines, powering the 6400 mAh battery in its base.

Continue reading “Estream uses running water to keep your devices running”
Categories
Aquatics

Breathe easy as you dive a bit deeper with the STEPDive SCUBA system

The beauty of SCUBA diving is undeniable — an underwater world full of wondrous, and oftentimes strange, environments and creatures that never fail to capture the imagination of any diver. The problem lies in actually getting to the point where the experience can be enjoyed as the complexity and heavy equipment involved with SCUBA diving has a way of scaring off newcomers.

patent-claimedTo help, the team at SnorkelDive Innovations designed the STEPDive, a lightweight and highly portable diving system for new and advanced users alike. The system is comprised of three parts: a base station raft that holds an oxygen tank and sports a deck and cargo net to hold gear, a floating depth control unit and a range control clip that controls how far an attached diver can go. Together, the system allows for a step-by-step SCUBA learning experience that eases newcomers into basic diving techniques and good habits and allows advanced divers to go along.

Continue reading “Breathe easy as you dive a bit deeper with the STEPDive SCUBA system”
Categories
Aquatics

AirBuddy makes diving experience a tankless job

The wonders below the surface of the sea are incredible sights, a glimpse to a world that is as unknown and alien as the galaxies that surround the planet. With so much to discover underneath the waves, the last thing anyone wants to do is spend time lugging around heavy scuba tanks and other equipment. Ultimately, more time is spent preparing for a dive than actually diving in most cases.

The team behind AirBuddy wants to make the entire diving experience more lightweight. To do this, its portable diving system ditches bulky tanks in favor of a surface-supplied diving approach (SSBA) reminiscent of old diving suit that used tubes to connect to boats that supplied oxygen. The AirBuddy concept is the same, but rather than deliver oxygen from a boat, it does so from an small air compressor that floats on the water’s surface.

Continue reading “AirBuddy makes diving experience a tankless job”
Categories
Aquatics

GoBoat floats your body in nearly any body of water

Fishing: one of the many great American past times. Still, even if actually being out on the lake has the potential to be a soothing, meditative experience, all the set up to transport both the boat and the equipment necessary can be a hassle.

Inventor Dave Yonce wants to help with the boat part of the problem with his GoBoat, an untraportable inflatable boat that can be stored in the back of pretty much any car, quickly assembled, and rapidly inflated on the spot with the included high-velocity hand pump. Its construction — a foldable center portion surrounded by a thick rubber inflatable tube — allows it still be a durable vessel and retain portability and a light weight at just 15 lbs.

Continue reading “GoBoat floats your body in nearly any body of water”
Categories
Aquatics

Triton lets you breathe underwater like Aquaman, ignore small talk with fish

editors-choiceWitnessing the aquatic nature underneath lapping island waves is an activity imbued with wonder. But while it’s easy to marvel wonder at the unique, vibrant underwater life teeming below, it can be a little uncomfortable having to wear huge tanks with a limited supply of oxygen to explore.

Way back when, Sean Connery’s 007 was given the solution to this problem in the form of a small device that could be worn underwater to breathe normally while swimming. Now, that device is actually here. Titled the Triton, the lightweight re-breather allows anyone from snorkelers to lifeguards to breathe underwater without any addition equipment. A clever implementation of technology works to make this happen, with the device’s microporous hollow fiber keeping out water molecules while still letting in oxygen.

Continue reading “Triton lets you breathe underwater like Aquaman, ignore small talk with fish”
Categories
Aquatics Wearables

Swimmerix wearable swim coach pools your aquatic performance metrics

The myriad of health benefits from swimming are well-documented, with pools all around the world packed with both young and old stroking their way to fitter bodies. The wearable revolution so commonly found above water has lagged when it comes to swimming, though, due to data accuracy and connectivity issues. The team behind Swimmerix believe it has created the answer to these issues.

Swimmerix is a system that tracks swimming performance and helps facilitate improvement. Made up of a smartband, base station, a companion app and cloud technology connecting it all together, it tracks everything from heart rate and calories burned to number of strokes, speed and distance. Training doesn’t achieve much without previously set goals, though, so the Swimmerix app lets users set their own so they can improve in real-time.

Continue reading “Swimmerix wearable swim coach pools your aquatic performance metrics”
Categories
Aquatics

The BomBoard modular watercraft lets you customize your own beastly jet ski

Personal aquatic transport options like the Coast kayak refine established designs while products like the Waterblade and Schiller S1 introduce new ways of getting across water. The BomBoard, on the hand, not only introduces a brand new way of getting around on water but turns up the extreme factor by 100.

The BomBoard is a modular, high-performance personal watercraft. It splits into three distinct parts making it much easier to move than traditional watercraft like jet skis. But the magic really happens when peering into each of its parts. Module 2, side sponsons that add buoyancy, and Module 3, the bow in which the BomBoard’s removable gas tank and the steering arm is attached, are pretty ho-hum.

Continue reading “The BomBoard modular watercraft lets you customize your own beastly jet ski”
Categories
Aquatics Health and Wellness Smartwatches/Bands

Surfers ride the fitness band wave with the Glassy Zone tracker

Although it seems that fitness and activity trackers exist for every sport, their conquest is not quite complete. Curiously, there’s nothing out there specifically for surfers which means an entire population of athletes that don’t have a choice at all when it comes to wearables.

GlassyPro’s Glassy Zone is that wearable device specifically designed with these board enthusiasts in mind. Its Fitbit band-like exterior houses a set of three LED lights for different notifications. Glassy Zone covers a wide range of variables so that users don’t have to fill their wrists up with different bands.

In conjunction with a companion iOS or Android app, Glassy Zone tracks sleep, monitors forecasts and keeps an eye on UV levels to ensure users received healthy amounts of sun. When it comes to actual surfing, the band tracks distance, time, speed and the actual conditions of both the weather and the waters at the time, all saved for review later on.

Continue reading “Surfers ride the fitness band wave with the Glassy Zone tracker”