Diving in 1970

Can you imagine paying $44.95 for a custom made wetsuit? In the 1970 May issue of Skin Diver Magazine you could find an ad and order form to buy a custom wetsuit with a jacket and pants for $44.95 from Central Skindivers. Wetsuits 44 years ago were two pieces held together with a diaper-esque flap attaching the two pieces with rivets in the front. Underwater cameras were really booming and the majority of the new diving products for that year were camera-related. Products included the “Hydro-Blitz” underwater strobe system and an all- aluminum housing for the Kodak K-100 camera. As of February 1970, NAUI was just coming out with a “new plastic embossed certification card.” It was “blue and gold with a full color NAUI Qualified Scuba Diver crest and embossed with the diver’s name, total scuba course hours, date of certification, NAUI registration number and the instructor’s NAUI number.” The BCD as we know it did not exist. The popular buoyancy compensator also known as a “horse collar” resembled the life jackets on airplanes that slip over your head, only with these you did not “pull firmly on the tabs to inflate” because they had to be manually inflated. Tanks were fastened to a metal plate attached to your back similar, in some ways, to technical diving rigs now but with no padding or added floatation. The newest speargun, the S.M.G. Mark II, was just being released. The advertisement read “some people still think you need rubber bands for underwater power . . . some people still think Columbus was wrong!” This speargun used “sub-ammo” instead of rubber band power. All of the masks pictured in the magazine had a circular frame that covered most of your face, giving the fish a great view of your forehead. It was an interesting world of scuba diving in the 1970s . . .        

            Technology makes our diving experience much easier and, more importantly, safer than diving in the 1970s. Wetsuits are extremely comfortable and universal to the point most people do not need to order a custom suit. Plus, they are much more stylish with the removal of the diaper. Underwater cameras have evolved significantly. They are much smaller and more streamlined (you could fit five GoPros in the aluminum housing for the Kodak K-100) and offer more settings than you could possibly ever use. I do not know anyone who manually inflates his or her BC. That is a component reserved for if your gear malfunctions. We maintain our buoyancy with the push of a button, and the technology exists to make a BCD that inflates and deflates on its own, depending on your orientation in the water. Spear guns are still extremely popular but personally I never hear the word “sub-ammo” used to describe their power. Masks are fitted and cover the correct part of your face, leaving your eyes centered in the mask and your forehead off display. Feel lucky divers of the 21st century; diving these days, in the grand scheme of things, is pretty darn easy.