Almost one year ago, KISS rebreathers and The Darkwater Group agreed terms, and now the transition is finally complete.
This acquisition gives KISS access to new technologies, extensive logistics and capital for growth.
The Darkwater Group – which manages three brands in the diving industry now, xDEEP, Seal Drysuits and now KISS – was formed in 2020 by passionate technical and cave divers, explorers and investors.
Darkwater aims to provide the most-innovative and high-quality dive equipment and technologies to the diving community.
Mike Young, Kim Mikusch and Lynette Qualls remain as part of the KISS team, and will be the US representatives. Manufacturing remains US-based, with improvements to some component manufacturing (e.g counterlungs) in Poland, but no major changes are planned to the current KISS units or portfolio.
Regarding EU product availability, Darkwater begins the CE approval process in May 2021 and expect to complete this mammoth task in time for a mid-2022 launch of KISS on the EU market.
In addition, in the first half of 2022, they expect to launch the new KISS Training Portal, an e-learning tool that will revolutionise how instructors interact with KISS, facilitating information, evaluation and examinations globally.
In early 2022, expect to see a new Factory Approved Training Programme with updated training standards being developed by Patrick Widman, the new Training Director. Free workshops for instructors and instructor trainers will be available across the globe to unify how divers learn to dive with KISS CCRs.
Does this mean KISS rebreather will be available in the UK ?
Yes once it’s been through CE
is it now available in the uk? who are the instructors? where can i get one, and the training