The Flexibuoy is mounted on the arm and blows inwards underwater to provide buoyance, and is available in 400 ml , 800 ml and 1500ml sizes.
400ml: Weight 72.7g, Length 15cm, Diameter 7cm.
800ml: Weight 81.6g, Length 15cm, Diameter 10cm.
1500ml: Weight 90.5g, Length 20cm, Diameter 10cm.
Flexibuoy is a very successful and innovative product, you will be surprised how such a low cost product can help in underwater photography.
Usually, photographers need carry lots of heavy equipments, housing with camera, lens inside ports, domes, arms, strobes, video lights, target lights, all these add up together can be very heavy both on land and underwater, to use different kinds of floats to offset the underwater weight and achieve neutral buoyancy is a big challenge.
Traditional way is use solid foam, or aluminum or carbon floats etc, these floats sure can work, but all of them has same issue:
Float itself is heavy, and bulky, occupying big space in travel suite cases, and adding travel expenses.
Most floats in market are with fixed size, not adjustable, so if users need achieve or close to be underwater neutral buoyancy, then need choose and calculate the buoyancy the floats can provide, also the underwater weight of equipment, one set of floats only can fit for a certain set of equipment, any change of the equipment will end up lost of balance.
Solid and reliable Floats in market are expensive, foam are easy get eroded or damaged.
Based on these facts, marelux created flexibuoy, to end all these troubles.
1. Uses a very simple and low cost structure, flexibuoy can adjust buoyancy by blowing in air or release air into the soft chamber , when underwater. The buoyancy can be from 0 to the full size when blowed up equivalent value, like we provide 400ml, 800ml, 1500ml, equvalent to 400 grams, 800 grams and 1500 grams of net buoyancy. With its much lighter weight comparing to traditional floats, this is a far more efficient products.
2. Flexibuoy can be used independently without other floats, perfect for marco shooting, of some wide angle dive, when users no need to descend or ascend very often. As when depth changes, some time you will need to adjust the airbag size by adding or reducing air to keep perfect balance,
3. Flexibuoy also can be combined with other solid floats, to make precise adjustment for neutral buoyancy. When you need more buoyancy, simple blow some air into the bag, when you want to reduce buoyancy, simple squeeze some air out of the airbag. When descending, airbag will shrink in size, by bigger water pressure, when ascending, airbag will automatically enlarge by the expanding size of the airbag, caused by lower water pressure. This is the reason flexibuoy can be so simple and made of slim and soft material, pressure inside and out side the airbag is automatically balances, the airbag will not sustain any thrust of pressure. What ever is the depth, the airbag will not be damaged by water pressure.
4. Users simple need fix the 2 hooks from both ends of flexibuoy to any where on housing or arms, make sure the side with a tube on the flexibuoy shall stay lower than the other end, so as to make sure air will not be released when underwater.
5. Simple blow air into the tube then goes into the soft chamber, make its expand, the enlarged size of soft air chamber will increase the buoyance, vice versa if squeeze the soft air chamber, let air go out, the size of camber will reduce then buoyancy will reduce too.
6. We made a aluminum ring on the end of the air tube, to make sure the ring drag the end of tube shall face downwards, so as to avoid air released accidentally
7. Make sure don’t pull the tube, avoid damage, also tighten the covering net on both ends, don’t let the air chamber goes out of the net, as the covering net will shoulder all drags and thrusts, to protect the soft airbag.
During the traveling, users can simple make the flexibuoy flat, put into a soft bag for protection, and put into travel luggage. It only occupy very small space.
