November 16, 2005

Hood Thermo-Pad Canada Ltd.
Summerland, British Columbia

Attn. John Hood

Dear Sir:

Please be advised that we have completed testing of the Thermo-Pad re-usable heating pads, model #404, and #808. The results are as follows:

On October 18th and 19th 2005, four dives were made to a depth of 167fsw. Each diver wore a model #808 heating pad in the small of his back. The heating pads were activated in the final dress-in stage, prior to the diver entering the water. The duration of each dive was 30 minutes, the maximum allowed on a surface decompression using oxygen dive. The water temperature was 53 degrees farenheit, and normally the diver would have a slight chill by the end of his last water stop, prior to entering the decompression chamber. Two of the divers reported being very comfortable, and two actually sweated slightly. Upon entering the decompression chamber, the divers were given model #404 heating pads. These pads were placed in their booties during surface decompression, keeping the divers’ feet warm, and thereby ensuring good circulation for proper decompression.

On November 14th and 15th, two dives were made to a depth of 43fsw. Each diver wore a model #808 heating pad in the small of his back. Again the heating pads were activated in the final dress-in stage. The duration of one of these dives was 98 minutes, the other was 108 minutes, with a decompression stop. The water temperature was 48 degrees. On both of these dives, the diver was slightly warm until after one hour, and comfortable for the duration of the dive.

These heating pads seem to work well at various depths of water, and I could see where they could be a very valuable item in the diving contractor’s toolbox by extending bottom times in colder water temperatures. They also proved useful for the chamber occupant in surface decompression operations. The pads were found to be very user friendly, with clear, easy to understand instructions. I would recommend these heating pads to every commercial diver or diving contractor working in colder water.

Also, we plan to continue testing these pads throughout the winter as the water temperature drops, and we will advise you of those results as they become available.
You are welcome to use this product assessment in any future advertisement if you so desire.

Sincerely,

Hal Lomax,
Diving Program Co-ordinator,
Commercial Diving College Inc.                                              RETURN TO THERMO-PAD HOMEPAGE