Marine

$200 Scorkl offers 10 minutes of underwater breathing

View 36 Images
The Scorkl offers new worlds of exploration. Instead of holding your breath for 15 to 20 seconds for each exploratory venture underwater as you would do without assistance, the Scorkl expands your underwater range by 30 to 60 times.
Scorkl
The Scorkl offers new worlds of exploration. Instead of holding your breath for 15 to 20 seconds for each exploratory venture underwater as you would do without assistance, the Scorkl expands your underwater range by 30 to 60 times.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl offers new worlds of exploration. Instead of holding your breath for 15 to 20 seconds for each exploratory venture underwater as you would do without assistance, the Scorkl expands your underwater range by 30 to 60 times.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl offers new worlds of exploration. Instead of holding your breath for 15 to 20 seconds for each exploratory venture underwater as you would do without assistance, the Scorkl expands your underwater range by 30 to 60 times.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl offers new worlds of exploration. Instead of holding your breath for 15 to 20 seconds for each exploratory venture underwater as you would do without assistance, the Scorkl expands your underwater range by 30 to 60 times.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. 
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
We've been writing about the Subwing for several years, beginning in 2012 with Subwing – it's sort of like water-skiing underwater, winning a spot in our list of The Coolest Water Toys of 2014, and appearing regularly in features such as our pictorial coverage of Top Marques Monaco 2016.
Subwing
Scorkl's initial pricing structure
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl offers new worlds of exploration. Instead of holding your breath for 15 to 20 seconds for each exploratory venture underwater as you would do without assistance, the Scorkl expands your underwater range by 30 to 60 times.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl offers new worlds of exploration. Instead of holding your breath for 15 to 20 seconds for each exploratory venture underwater as you would do without assistance, the Scorkl expands your underwater range by 30 to 60 times.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl
The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl
View gallery - 36 images

Scorkl is small, lightweight breathing-device you can pump up yourself, meaning it is a one-time-cost to be able to swim underwater for 10 minutes at a time, or hang a couple of Scorkls on your belt and go much longer. The Scorkl regulator is always-on, so it is a breathe-on-demand system which combines with a built-in pressure gauge that tells you how much air is left at any time.

The Scorkl compact breathing device launches today on Kickstarter, with pledges starting at US$200. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump available so you can fill it yourself.

Hence the $400 outlay is a one-time-cost to enable you to swim underwater for 10 minutes forever more. If you hang a couple of Scorkls on your belt, you can go much longer adding $200 for each 10 minutes of underwater time – again, at a one-off cost.

The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl

The Scorkl could also be one of those items which might be very useful in an emergency. Such as dropping a pair of $400 sunglasses into 15 feet of water.

The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl

... or spending long enough underwater to clear a tangled propeller ... every boat owner will recall times when a Scorkl would have come in handy.

The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl

New worlds of exploration

The Scorkl offers new worlds of exploration. Instead of holding your breath for 10 to 20 seconds for each exploratory venture underwater as you would do without assistance, the Scorkl expands your underwater range by 30 to 60 times. You can see and do a lot more in that time frame.

Scorkl founder David Hallamore says of the claimed 10 minute range, "it's easier to say 'up to 10 minutes' because it's easily understandable, but it's a complex equation and how long you spend underwater on a Scorkl-full of air will depend on how fast you are breathing, how big your lungs are, how hard you're working, how cold it is, ... so it might be less than 10 minutes." It might also be more, and maybe a lot more depending on how you use it.

The Scorkl regulator is always-on, so it is a breathe-on-demand system which combines with the built-in pressure gauge to show how much air is left. Hence, you can use it as an on-demand, underwater range-extender.

Hallamore has tested the Scorkl in many different locations and applications since the first working samples were completed in August 2016, and cites spear-fishing as a Scorkl application with significant benefits for the user.

The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl

"If you're spear-fishing with a Skorkl on your belt, you're doing your normal exploration, going up and down and looking, and when you find what you're looking for, say a group of crayfish, then you deploy the Scorkl and you can go down and clean up in two minutes and the job is done," said Hallamore. "You put it back on your belt, go looking for another 10 minutes, find more crayfish and you can unclip it from your belt and go again.

"Using it that way, it's possible to end up using it for an hour and a half, but only intermittently when you need it. It can significantly increase your catch working that way because you're using it like a range-extender. The 10 minute range can be greatly extended if you use it in bursts."

The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl

"Scorkl opens up a whole new world of underwater adventures at a fraction of the cost and hassle of traditional diving equipment, so it is going to be used by many people who want the capability but could never justify the cost, or weight, or inconvenience," Hallamore explained.

"If you're a recreational snorkeler, we've just made your day, because you can now move in three dimensions instead of two for 10 minutes at a time."

The Scorkl offers new worlds of exploration. Instead of holding your breath for 15 to 20 seconds for each exploratory venture underwater as you would do without assistance, the Scorkl expands your underwater range by 30 to 60 times.
Scorkl

"There are millions of spearfishing enthusiasts in the world too, and their capabilities just increased too."

"I can't wait to see what Freedivers do with it too, but we believe the people who will benefit most, and be our biggest customers, will be boat-owners," said Hallamore.

"People have been suggesting there are many marketplaces that will see benefits from the Scorkl. Things like Special Forces, rescue helicopters, and the surf life saving movement are all logical end users, though there is specialist military equipment in this space for this purpose already, so it might be that we're not expensive enough for the military.

"For any kind of first responder, there are potential uses, because you don't need to be underwater to need clean air. It might be useful for firemen to have one on their belt in case they come across people in a burning building who are struggling for air.

"A pre-filled Scorkl will most likely become another tool to go in the emergency toolkit alongside the defibrillator and other tools you might only use occasionally, though I can see many situations where having one clipped to your belt might be a lifesaver.

"With boat owners though, it makes everything more convenient. If you just want to unfurl an anchor from a reef, it's there to provide you the few minutes you need to do the work in one take."

The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl

"If you have a yacht, the keel can get dirty, and before a race, you need to get under the water and scrub it because it can give you an extra few knots of speed," continued Hallamore. "So a lot of boaties have seen the Skorkl and become very excited because instead of bringing in a scuba diver to clean the hull and keel, or just not do it at all, you can now do it yourself very easily.

"Once it is pumped up, a Scorkl will sit happily in your toolbox waiting for an opportunity to be of use."

So where did the idea come from?

We've been writing about the Subwing for several years, beginning in 2012 with Subwing – it's sort of like water-skiing underwater, winning a spot in our list of The Coolest Water Toys of 2014, and appearing regularly in features such as our pictorial coverage of Top Marques Monaco 2016.
Subwing

Hallamore got the idea while looking at another product. "The catalyst for the idea came from my interest in a product called Subwing which is towed behind a boat and enables you to move up and down and left-right using the flaps ... and I was wondering if there any point in buying one if you could only stay underwater for 15 to 30 seconds at a time."

The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes.
Scorkl

"That led to me thinking about a way to be able to stay underwater longer. If I was going to buy a Subwing, I wanted to be able to stay underwater for at least a few minutes and nothing was available in the marketplace that really fit the bill of being portable and small enough to not get in the way."

So that was the kernel of the idea for the Scorkl, we asked what took it from there into a commercial product?

"The lightbulb moment was working out that I could build my own high pressure pump and turn the whole thing into a completely independent, off-the-grid, adventure kit."

The Scorkl is a lightweight compact breathing device that enables you to breathe underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you don't have a compressor to recharge the $200 Scorkl, there's a $200 high pressure pump so you can fill it yourself.
Scorkl

"There are smaller scuba tanks available but you have to fill them with a compressor or another scuba tank and if you don't have all that expensive equipment lying around, then you just can't do it.

"So being able to pair the Scorkl with this high pressure hand pump was the point where we recognized the product fully.

"It wasn't easy, but high pressure hand pumps already existed for pneumatic rifles so once we'd looked at that, we knew we had the technology to complete the adventure kit. We added a filter which is important because you're breathing that air, and set about making it work."

The Scorkl launches today on Kickstarter at $200. If all goes to plan it will launch with a $300 list price for a single unit.

Here's the promo video:

Read more...

Kickstarter Page: Scorkl

View gallery - 36 images
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
19 comments
History Nut
So this is a "SpareAir" with a hand pump? I have had a SpareAir for years as a backup for SCUBA diving. What he really developed was the pump to refill it. He is right that the device has many potential users/uses and I will check it out for the pump. Obviously, the writer of the article is not familiar with SCUBA diving equipment. Good luck with the campaign.
attoman
What is the top pressure obtainable with the pump? Time to reach pressure? Number of strokes to full pressure? Expected pump lifetime?
Is there any novel element to the pump?
Fred's Brother
So where do I go for a chance to purchase one?
ChgoSTrider
Several points:
#1: As "History Nut" stated that this is just "SpareAir" with a handpump. He may be quite right. Don't be surprised if SpareAir jumps on you with a patent infringement claim.
#2: Due to liability issues no Scuba shop will refill these unless you display a valid dive certification card.
#3: It appears that this is being marketed at casual divers. To promote this to people with no training in its use is courting legal disaster. Hopefully people will get proper instruction in proper use.
#4: Regarding the pump: Is any type of lubricant used in it? The high pressure could cause oxidation of the oil, resulting in CO being produced. A very minute amount, to be sure. But breathing CO can be extremely dangerous as the body's blood has an affinity for CO over O2. Is there any scrubber for the pump?
#5: Is the cylinder DOT approved? Required?
#6: If the fill pressure is 3,000psi, filling that tank with a hand pump can be a LOT of work.
Tend to see this a lot on KickStarter: People come out with "new ideas" that really aren't new but copies of products already on market. Or ideas abandoned due liability reasons.
chase
Other comments have remarked on a couple of the same points i was going to bring up. And a couple i didn't consider. Personally, i do like the hand pump idea, but it seems to me there's a hack that does the same using a SpareAir tank i saw years back. $200 bucks for a single micro spare air tank... That just seems way too high for what it is. You could pressurize a plastic bottle and probably get some spare air for snorkeling for next to nothing cost wise. Even make two bottles for double the air worn on your arm. And yes, it's been done. There's actually a video tutorial on how to do just that. I'd it that route before going with this option. But that's me... Cheers...
liui
$100 for the pump. I would assume it is something like this high pressure, multiple-stage air pump used for pneumatic air rifles. http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCP-Gun-3-Stage-Hand-Pump-310bar-4500psi-for-Air-Rifle/182318148331
D[]
"... hassle of traditional diving equipment, so it is going to be used by many people who want the capability but could never justify the cost, or weight, or inconvenience..." Or education?!? This is a liability waiting to happen. Boyle's Law says that every atmosphere reduces pressure by 1/2. An atmosphere is about 32 or 33 feet, recreational snorkelers with no SCUBA education can easily dive to 30 feet and fill their lungs. An ascent from 32 feet with full lungs will double the air in the lungs and cause an embolism. Selling these to non-educated divers is a disaster in the making. Imagine using the "wing" with one of these and gliding along the bottom taking a big breath and then deciding to shoot up to the surface....
DAN
Your asking for DCS with this thing. Oh you want to stay down longer strap 5 of these things on your belt. Don't worry about an ascent rate from 30-40ft. Just swim straight up to the surface get an embolism and die because of the nitrogen build up in my blood just expanded. Not to mention in other post about CO2. Any trace amount of CO2 because of lubricant or oil at depth is toxic and can cause DEATH!! This thing should not be sold to anyone who doesn't understand dive theory or what the physiology of the body goes through while breathing underwater. DANGER DANGER DANGER!!!
Former Dive Instr.
I didn't see anywhere that people have to have a open water diver certification to purchase. Basically you took a spare-air and made it so that unqualified people can purchase. This is super irresponsible and will result in death, I guarantee it.
Ed Llorca
Duration claims are HIGHLY doubtful. I own a couple of spare airs (and used them) and I am a cyclist so I have familiarity with both tanks of that size and bike pumps. I cant imagine pumping enough air into that tank to get more than a couple of breaths which for the average person is going to be 3 minutes under water.