This DEMA saw the launch of the Sheppard Rebreather. Arkansas based manufacturer KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) named their bailout breather after Jack Sheppard, a pioneering British cave explorer and diver. Jack was one of the first men in the World to make a cave dive, almost 80 years ago, in the mid 1930s.
“We called our latest unit the ‘Sheppard’ for a couple of reasons”, said Mike Young, inventor and owner of KISS Rebreathers. “It seemed a fitting tribute to Jack Sheppard because he helped develop new techniques and special equipment for cave diving. Secondly the very nature of bailing out can be quite a stressful situation. Especially when you are doing extreme exploration or diving. A shepherd protects, guides and escorts their charges to safety, and this is exactly what this little unit does.”
The Sheppard is a very light rebreather, weighting in at 10lbs / 4.5kg in its ‘ready to dive’ state. It is a true bailout semi-closed rebreather, being small, easy to use and highly portable. When a diver secures this to their body, they are not really going to be aware of it. This is important when you are diving several stage cylinders. It is a handy gas extender, and depending on the temperature of the water you are diving, the Extendair scrubber cannister has a 1.5 hour to 2.5 hour duration. It is a tool that any technical rebreather diver could learn to use.
