Met up with Ryan at his display this weekend at the Tacoma show. His collection always has a lot to offer in the way of eye candy and I felt a bit like an industrial spy as I snapped close up pictures of many of the rigs while he was away (for reference purposes I swear). A great discussion with Ryan all around including his beginning the Cousteau collection. Way too many pics to post but a highlight of some of the talking points were:
A look inside the RAID to see how the reserve mechanism works and how the tanks are mounted:
A look at the AquaLung Mentor:
The amazing story of how Ryan reproduced this entire rig (including a late night hotel episode):
A look at the Constant Volume Suit including a very narrow method of entry (ah, to be young again):
You can always tell a vintage diver when they go to a tradeshow that is intended to highlight the cutting edge of diving because they spend all their time looking at the old gear. They also manage to find the only old stuff actually for sale. In my case I walked away with the following:
First Edition
First Edition
First Edition
A new book, but on an old subject! Antique Diver would like this book as Ivor used inverted SG's like his.