Manufacturers Directory Do a head count on any resort's dive boat these days and you'll see the same thing we do - families. Men and women, married and un-, kids and grandparents. Mike Nelson is history. Scuba is as mainstream as shopping malls, embracing a crazy quilt mixture of ages, sizes, lifestyles and physical abilities. Dive gear, which makes our sport possible, where fit and comfort are essential to performance and safety, is still in most instances designed for the prototype male diver.
Young people are smaller, yet still growing, further complicating the fit equation.
Older people usually experience a decrease in fitness, strength and flexibility with age, and can be more prone to physical and mental stress. Sedentary people have less strength and flexibility, are often overweight and can have difficulty breathing effectively. Physically handicapped divers have specific limitations. But it's a long road from engineer's computer to company test lab and finally to retail store shelf. In the meantime, here's what we found when we shopped for dive gear for the whole family.