Who has watched "Into The Blue"?? Well since watching it I`ve always wondered if someone could actually breath directly off the cylinder pillar valve underwater and how on earth that Hottie Paul Walker got it right. So one sunny afternoon in South Africa I decided to jump in the pool and give it a go. Guess What: It does work!! Not extremely comfortable, but you could easily hide away from a bunch of bad guys on the surface using this method. :) Note: be careful of how wide you open up the air, could end up looking (and feeling) like an inflated balloon. LOL. PS This experiment was conducted in controlled conditions with help on stand by ;)

Comments

JollyRoger - 10/18/2007 5:13 PM Oops almost forgot the standard disclaimer to the BATF, FBI, Homeland Security, sticks in the mud, Squares, wet blankets, no-funnys and people with no sence of humor what so ever- I AM ONLY JOKING ABOUT THE HITTING THE CARS THING and I dont condone such behavior; unless their Hyundai`s or Dodges!!!

JollyRoger - 10/18/2007 5:04 PM After we resurface we`ll knock the valves of the partial empties and see if we can hit cars on the freeway with them!!! Whos bringing the beer???

JollyRoger - 10/18/2007 5:02 PM I`m throwin my regs away - who needs them!! With the proven research of Scuba Grl I`ve decided to just wear my BC backwards and breath off the valve!! Thanks Scuba Grl!! Now whos joining me and Scuba Grl for some hardcore reg-less diving ??

ScubaGrrl - 10/15/2007 4:07 AM Oh any other hard core divers know of any other "party tricks" lol Greg I am soooo gonna try your cylinder trick the next time!! hehe btw this is bugging me, does anyone notice that i am in like 1m deep water!! who do you think took the photo? Help was on hand, i ALMOST feel all guilty for not being a reposnsible adult and all!! NOOOOOO.

ScubaGrrl - 10/15/2007 4:02 AM Okay i thought it was pretty damn hilerious to try it out, and if me one of the biggest kids around tries it out after watching a movie i am pretty damn sure that quite a few kids will also try it. So RELAX and live a little, no one is saying that it should be taught on courses, I did it for experiemental purposes, if one of my students asks me about it again I can say its crap 2 dive like that. ;)

Coho - 10/13/2007 4:06 PM I don`t think anyone here is suggesting it`s a skill which should be taught. As for the concern that kids might get ideas from someone here having tried it, I hate to burst your balloon, but kids are much more likely to get the idea from the movie than from this blog. People reading this are also likely to read the wealth of related cautions also posted. But you knew that already. Either that, or you need to spend less time reading dive blogs. ;) That said, it sounds like a neat party trick! :)

seawolfdiving - 10/12/2007 9:04 PM Besides the obvious risk involved from the extreme pressure of the air escaping directly from the tank valve (3000psi or so), there is also a problem with task loading, complexity of the required skill, and practacality. When would this skill be used? Yea, it looks really cool "in the movies" but it really has no practical use in this day and age. As I said before, it`s not a skill that is sanctioned in recreational diving. This is greatly due to the fact that, in the realm of recreational diving, the risks are greater than any benefit gained by doing it. Short of total regulator failure, which is extremely rare with modern equipment, one would never need to do this skill. Even with this rare failure, if you are diving properly (ie, with alternate & a buddy) there is still no real need to breath directly off the bottle.

DiveRex - 10/12/2007 7:08 PM Just to clarify... the tanks used in the pool relay had regs on them!

SaskDiver - 10/12/2007 6:57 PM Am I mistaken or would it work out the same breathing off a cylinder as it would breathing off of a free flowing regulator? Of course there would be an extreme amount of pressure in comparison, but I am sure if you just tipped your head to the side and breathed as in doing the free flow regulator skills it should work out the same. And the story about moving from cylinder to cylinder in the pool sounds like a great excercise, I will definately have to try it sometime.

RedPolarBearRanger - 10/12/2007 1:58 PM I seen the movie in theaters when it was there it is a amazing movie. I especially like the moments where Jessica Aba and Paul Walker are diving together as they found treasure, discover the sunken drug DC3 and defeat the drug ring of course.

DiveRex - 10/10/2007 12:48 PM Wow, that brings back memories of a better day! Breathing off a bare tank and doing push-ups with a tank strapped to your back! We also had to do underwater relay races around the pool, from tank to tank with out surfacing. I loved those old hard core skill sets!

Greg - 10/10/2007 10:59 AM I`ve tried that also and it does work. Have you ever opened the tank valve in a pool and let it fly around?! That is fun too.

seawolfdiving - 10/10/2007 9:02 AM Yes, this technique does work. Way back in the dionsaur days, when I was a young diver, this was a skill that a diver was expected to be able to do. But then we were also expected to do push-ups with full gear in place. Now-a-days there is less emphasis on this type of training (except maybe in the special forces). Although, even back then this exercise was conducted mainly as a confidence builder. I guess the powers that be figure that even though this skill is a great confidence builder, the risks of performing it outweigh the benefits gained, in most cases. I guess... At present, I don`t know of any recreational scuba agency that sanctions teaching this particular skill.