Avelo continues to reshape buoyancy control with its closed, pump-driven system that replaces the traditional BCD and weight setup.
The Avelo Dive System is designed to keep divers perfectly neutrally buoyant throughout the entire dive with minimal adjustment.
The lightweight system consists of two components: the Hydrotank and Jetpack. The Hydrotank uses a flexible rubber bladder that holds up to 40% nitrox, housed inside a carbon-fiber shell with an aluminum lining.
The Jetpack houses a sealed, quick-charging battery and a single button that activates an internal pump. When pressed, the pump moves water into the Hydrotank, between the shell and the bladder, compressing the bladder and neautralizing buoyancy. Each pump cycle adds the equivalent of roughly two pounds.
As a diver breathes down their gas and becomes more positively buoyant, they simply press the button again for another pump cycle to return to perfect neutral buoyancy.
Because the system doesn’t rely on an expanding air bubble, divers no longer experience the typical changes in buoyancy associated with ascending or descending in the water column. The design eliminates the risk of rapid, uncontrolled ascents or descents, and does not create an emergency scenario if the battery fails; divers remain neutrally buoyant and can safely swim to the surface.
The Avelo Dive System retails for US$3,999/~€3,439, which includes the Hydrotank, Jetpack, two batteries and a charger. The system has been on the market for two years and is now used at more than 55 Avelo Dive Centers (ADCs) worldwide.
Certified divers can pursue the Recreational Avelo Diver (RAD) course, which includes eLearning, a brief classroom session and two dives. The first dive introduces the system’s “wow” capabilities; the second simulates easy to maneuver failure scenarios. Students then review data logs including breathing rate, tidal volume, and water pumped or purged from the Hydrotank. The course runs approximately $450/~€387 for a one-day program with two dives or $650/~€559 for a two-day, four-dive version.
Dive centers wishing to become an Avelo Dive Center must have both an Avelo Instructor and Avelo Technician. Instructor candidates must complete the RAD course and log at least 10 Avelo dives; training focuses on the specifics of teaching the Avelo system, assuming candidates are already certified scuba instructors.
More information and a list of ADC locations can be found at DiveAvelo.com.
