Diving equipment, or underwater diving equipment, is equipment used by underwater divers to make diving activities possible, easier, safer and/or more comfortable. This may be equipment primarily intended for this purpose, or equipment intended for other purposes which is found to be suitable for diving use.
Surface supplied commercial diving equipment on display at a trade show
A US Navy diver at work. The umbilical supplying air from the surface is clearly visible
Diver in standard diving dress entering the water at Stoney Cove, England
Scuba diver with single cylinder and open circuit regulator
Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context.
Immersion in water and exposure to high ambient pressure have physiological effects that limit the depths and duration possible in ambient pressure diving. Humans are not physiologically and anatomically well-adapted to the environmental conditions of diving, and various equipment has been developed to extend the depth and duration of human dives, and allow different types of work to be done.
Surface-supplied divers riding a stage to the underwater workplace
Mild barotrauma to a diver caused by mask squeeze
Views through a flat mask, above and below water
Recreational breath-hold divers in basic equipment with floats and catch bags suitable for collecting lobster or shellfish