True vintage dive kit options

[antique diver]

I left the depth gauge submerged in water at test pressure equivalent to 60' for over an hour. I don't see water drops, but a little fogging has developed and the crack has noticeably lengthened. Maybe the plastic has weakened with age.

Looks like it's only good for display use.

[Tusker]

Hi Bill, thanks for the update. That's unfortunate to hear, but perhaps a helpful cautionary tale — I will be sure to avoid cracked crystals since that seems to be an issue.

Jacob

[Tusker]

The Churchills and Duck Feet have arrived. Luckily both fit!

I was a little apprehensive on the UDTs because of terrible pictures. I thought it was an original pair but it turns out it's one of the recent Made in Malaysia pairs — no cracks in the still very supple rubber! I'm quite pleased with that turn of events. 

I'll update more after dive testing them tomorrow. 







Jacob

[nikeajax]

Jacob, since their new, you can beat the heck out of them and not worry 'bout babying them, eh? Looks good my friend, t'anks for sharing your hunting adventure with us

Jaybird

[nikeajax]

Huh! Jacob... call some watch shops, see if they can put a new crystal in it, you never know: they make some big funky watches nowadays.

Jaybird

[SeaRat]

Aug 18, 2023 16:51:16 GMT -8 nikeajax said:

Huh! Jacob... call some watch shops, see if they can put a new crystal in it, you never know: they make some big funky watches nowadays.

Jaybird

JB,

I think Bill still has that depth gauge. Jacob will have mine very shortly. It hasn't been used in decades, but has no problem with the crystal. Also he should know that the orange ones were the ones we were issued in the U.S. Air Force Pararescue in the late 1960s.

Jacob,

The Duck Feet fins we had were the original ones from Swimaster, before AMF Voit bought them out. The ones you have are the second generation Duckfeet, with the curved foot pocket. You can see the difference in this ad and the photo:

988705C1-DDF1-4AAA-A9AB-B1333652D127 by John Ratliff, on Flickr

Now, about those booties. We had some fun with those. Here's a paragraph from my book, Between Air and Water, the Memoir of an USAF Pararescueman":

Robert Means became my diving buddy, and was in this position, as the instructor stood close to his feet and barked orders for more flutter kicks and singing. We wore diving booties, made of compressed rubber to keep the fins from chafing our feet and the coral from cutting our soles. These booties had a loose top, which collected water. Means' feet were next to the instructor's leg, and the instructor was wearing leather boots which were loosely tied around his ankles, and cotton stockings. I watched from beside Means as he lifted his leg, as ordered, and deftly poured the cup full of water from his right bootie into the instructor's right boot as he began his flutter kicks. The instructor jumped back, barked "Means, attention!" and Means got up for his ass-chewing, then dropped for twenty-five pushups. We then began our flutter kicks again, with the instructor having sloshed to a safe distance.
Copyright 2023, John C. Ratliff

I would recommend either socks or a neoprene bootie when you use the Duck Feet fins.

Fin Collection 10-2012 by John Ratliff, on Flickr
Here are my collection of fins, in a photo taken some ten years ago (when we still had grass out back). The Duck Feet Fins are at about 9:00 in the first row.

John

[nikeajax]

John, yeah, I'm hip daddy-o, I just know he reaaaalllly wants a black one though...

JB

[Tusker]

Exactly that, the newness of the UDTs makes them a lot more usable. They only fit when I'm wearing my neoprene socks so all is well. Even still, they're possibly a bit off in sizing. With my 5mm socks they put an odd pressure on the foot when kicking. Boy can they really move though! I was so caught up in getting a feel for the Duck Feet I completely neglected to try the Churchills. 





As for the Calypso, I'll take some measurements when I it in hand. If replacement crystals are available that could get a lot of these gauges back into service. 

Jacob