That must be the ultimate dream of each diver. With the Exolung it is supposed to happen!… Really!!! We are not kidding. According to the developer it will become reality! Being underwater without a scuba tank and unlimited air-supply simply sounds too good to be true. This, of course, got the full attention of the Dive Monsters. While the Exolung is an interesting approach to air supply under water, it is also pretty much a “Kick or Die” concept. But we don´t want to get ahead of ourselves. Before we get into details, you need to know what we are actually talking about.
What is the Exolung?
The Exolung is an underwater breathing device, which delivers air from the surface down to a depth of 5 meters. The air gets pumped into a container which you wear on your chest like an external lung, hence the name Exolung. With each stroke of your legs, you fill this container with more air.
This is the difference to Hookah or Snooba diving, where tanks, a battery or gas-powered compressor on the surface delivers the air. Another version is the Helmet diving, which is a great tourist attraction in Boracay. The Exolung is still in development and not for sale yet. The clips we used for this episode of Surface interval are from the inventor and from Cristian Wedoy, a magician and escape artist who tested an Exolung prototype.
According to some sources, the Exolung cost between 300 and 500 Euro, depending on the model. During our research, we came up with plenty of reasons, why this prototype will need some extensive remodeling.
Exolung – A Kick or Die Concept
At this stage, the “unlimited air supply underwater” remains in a far distance, and if you are really seeing a light at the end of the tunnel regarding the Exolung, it is more likely a fast train speeding towards you.
However, the concept of “kick or die” sound more like an ancient torture device, but definitely not like an invention to fulfill a diver´s dream of unlimited underwater air supply via a surface air supply.
That being said, a lot of inventions started with a funny idea, plenty of failures, trials and errors, improvement and finally were maybe successful. We wish the developer all improvement-ideas he needs to make out of this suicidal-device a usable unlimited surface air supply for diving. And who knows, maybe the Exolung stands one day proud on the shelfs of your local shop and yells across the aisle: “Hey Swiss Cheese! Your time with housing the best things in the world (the holes) are over, make space for the Exolung! Now it is my time to shine”
