Avelo Dive Systems: Simply Better Scuba

Since the invention of the Aqualung by Jacques Cousteau and Émile Gagnan 80 years ago, divers have basically used the same equipment to attain neutral buoyancy: compressed air tanks, wet or dry suits, a BCD, mask, fins, and lead weights.

However, each of these components is heavy, adding up to about 32 kilos (69 lbs.) for divers, not including the extra weight that each must carry. But now, a revolutionary improvement is making waves out of Maui that lightens the load for divers by up to 2/3, extends bottom time by approximately 30%, and much more.
Aviad Cahana, a scuba instructor, chemical engineer, and scientist, created Avelo Dive Systems. Here’s the story behind this innovation from one of our Dive Pacific correspondents.

What Was Your “Lightbulb” Moment?

As a diver, I was fed up with carrying heavy and cumbersome gear. Our team began working on Avelo in earnest towards the end of 2019 near Lahaina, Maui, to attain perfectly neutral buoyancy at all times by solving these eternal riddles:·     How can we lighten the load for everything we wear and carry into the ocean?
·     Why can’t we use lighter tanks?
·     Why can’t we use smaller BCDs?
·     Why can’t our air last longer?
·     And why do we need to wear all that lead weight?

What followed was three years of making it a reality with tortuous product development, rigorous testing, failing, and correcting, greatly impacted by COVID-19 and supply chain issues for much-needed parts. But once the first real-world test of Avelo passed with flying colours, we knew that we could change the world of scuba forever.

How Does This Monumental Scuba Technology Work?

Our Avelo Dive System uses a smaller, lightweight carbon fiber hydrotank that includes an internal bladder, seawater pump, purge valve, and on/off button, along with a battery pack that takes about 40 minutes to charge. All of this helps divers maintain near-perfect buoyancy that doesn’t change with depth.
When you first walk in or jump into the water, you’re buoyant on the surface. But when you’re ready to descend, you just push a button to begin to fill your tank with ambient water for extra weight like a submarine. After about 20-30 seconds, you become a bit heavier so you can swim down without free-falling.

As you continue to breathe, you become more buoyant. About 20-25 minutes into your dive, you’ve consumed enough gas mass to become a little buoyant, so you press the button again for 20-30 seconds, and your tank fills with more water to maintain your buoyancy.

Finally, when you’re ready to ascend, you swim up, then open a purge valve on your tank and all the water is released, so you’re buoyant and lightweight, making the climb back aboard your boat extremely easy. This is especially attractive to older divers and this purging phase is not dependent on your battery power.

How Does Avelo Redefine Neutral Buoyancy?

Basically, it does this in two ways. First, there’s a significant reduction in equipment weight and BC/tank bulkiness. For the average diver, your wetsuit, BCD and tank are typically equal to about 32 kilos (69 lbs.) of buoyant weight, including a compressed air in a standard tank that weighs about 2.7 kilos (6 lbs.). However, the Avelo system weighs about 5.9 kilos (13 lbs.), so it’s about 2/3 lighter than a typical BC and tank.
Second, it provides effortless buoyancy control with no weights and no traditional BCD to dramatically improve air consumption and air capacity by up to 30% more (each hydrotank contains 4,350 psi (300 bar) and 106 cu.ft.air vs. 3,000 psi (200 bar) and 80 cu.ft.air).

By the way, the Avelo Dive System fits within the industry’s current infrastructure and supports future improvements.


What Have You Learned After 1,000 Training Dives?

Quite a bit and it’s all good news. New divers as well as experienced ones both say that Avelo is much more intuitive for them. Lung control becomes second nature in minutes.
Air consumption significantly improves, especially for inexperienced divers. Plus, your overall diving experience is boosted –– everything is effortless, hydrodynamics are improved, buoyancy is better above and below water, it’s easier to use and teach, and it’s safer than today’s system.

I Saw Dan Orr on Your Website’s Webinar. How Did He Help You?

As Chairman of The Board of DEMA, a past president of Divers Alert Network, and current president of the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences, Dan was invaluable to Avelo as a safety expert. He came to Maui to dive with us and really helped a lot.
Dan said, “There was no instance on my training dives in Maui when I was not neutrally buoyant. This system lets you focus on the enjoyment of the sport instead of worrying about controlling your buoyancy. It also eliminates the problem of overweighting and enjoy the comfort of a significantly lighter system.”

You’re Based in Maui. How Did The Catastrophic Lahaina Fire Affect Avelo?

It’s been a horrible experience. The fire consumed many dive businesses, including Dive with Harmony, where our first divers were certified. Maui is also where many dive shop owners and industry partners have visited to learn about this innovative system .
Unfortunately, we also lost our Avelo fleet on this island, though we’re thankful that no one from our team was hurt. It's been an emotional journey ever since. We will continue to support the Maui diving community as much as possible. We are hoping to re-establish Avelo operations in Maui soon.

Since then, we’ve launched our first dive centers around the world. The initial international Avelo Dive Center –- Dive Friends Bonaire –– opened in September 2023. Next, Catalina Divers Supply in the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast began operations a few weeks later, which was our first in the continental U.S.; it features spectacular diving in kelp forests and unique marine life.

In November 2023, we were showcased at DEMA in New Orleans, where we announced our partnerships with SCUBAPRO and Shearwater Research in creating new technology that optimizes diving efficiency. During Recreational Avelo Diver (RAD) courses, our students can try the Avelo Mode software on their air-integrated dive computers to enhance safety, efficiency, and enjoyment on Avelo system dives.

Finally, in late December last year, we opened our initial Avelo Dive Center in the Southern Hemisphere –– Abyss Scuba in Sydney, Australia, minutes away from about three dozen dive sites.


What Does Avelo Training Include?

Training is typically a one-day, two-tank dive, plus a few hours of coursework. But we’re realizing that most divers prefer to sign up for a second day to fully experience diving with our lighter, easier-to-use neutrally buoyant system.
Each Avelo Dive Center offers:
•      The Avelo Dive System
•      Diver education
•      Instructor education
•      Service technicians


When Will The Avelo Dive System Be Available?

In Q1 2024, we plan to make more Avelo Dive Systems available to more divers and instructors worldwide, so please keep checking our website’s Dive Centers page for more information.