Scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving and its various equipment have gone a long way. It began in 360 B.C. when divers first used the air underneath a crude diving bell as their source of air when submerged in the water. Guglielmo de Lorena then developed this ?technology? into a real diving bell that was fastened by slings on top of the shoulders. In the past, it took hundreds of years to develop the equipment that enabled man to explore the wonders of the underwater world.



Today, with modern science, every diver finds himself engulfed with newer tools, proof of man's eagerness to make underwater exploration easier and more secure. Newer and better equipment like masks, dry and wet suits, fins, lights, oxygen tanks, weights, regulators, bags, buoyancy compensators and other accessories are easily available today. Each has been designed to make moving, swimming, and breathing easier.

In purchasing equipment, the most important advice to remember is to ask experts on what to buy and why. Diving gears can be expensive, so, a few tips from other licensed divers and instructors would make the task of choosing less of a burden. But, on the other hand, the risks of the sport are often fatal and would depend on the quality of one's equipment. Take the breathing regulator for example. The machine is attached to the scuba tank. It decreases the pressure of the oxygen stored in the tank, making safe for the divers to breathe in the air. Another example is the wet suit. The durability and the strength of material ensure the body's protection from intense temperatures, specifically the coldness under the depths of the ocean.

No matter what the sport, the most important consideration that should be taken, is one's safety and freedom to fully enjoy the activity.