Yeh, I must admit I don't know if I would like that dangly thing hanging from my leg either, but I suppose it must be necessary for the device to work. Although I guess some would see it as a way to tempt fate and do shark feeding dives and poke at great whites with sticks and not get hurt, I got the impression the device is more for those unexpected nibbles that people get. So surfers or swimmers or divers could wear them as extra insurance that even if they are mistaken for food, the shark won't approach. Interesting that you say people end up leaving them in their garage (guess that means you could get 'em cheap on e-bay). I guess it's like car insurance though. Some people pay for it their entire lives and never use it. I don't think you would ever need one around our waters here, either. Sightings of sharks while diving are extremely rare.
Originally Posted by rubber chicken
Snake,
Sharkshields are fairly common over here in Oz. I know a few people who have them. Oddly, a lot of folks buy them, do a few dives with them and then don't bother with them again. The units just sit in the garage or are advertised for sale.
One reported problem seems to be, unwanted shocks from the cable, especially when kneeling on the bottom or ferreting around in a cave. There also seems to be a bit of, "I never see any sharks anyway so why am I carrying this bit of extra kit ?".
The manufacturers site seems to contain some quite impressive footage of the units working as advertised, (But, then, I wouldn't expect to see anything else on a manufacturers website!), but I have never heard of anybody actually using one 'in anger'.
Of course, they do say that the shark you need to fear is the one you can't see!
