cool_hardware52
Contributor
Combo Octo/Inflators remain popular largely because they are a dealer installed option. They provide much better margins than the base BC. That, IMO, is why they are pushed so hard.
Do they kill people? No. If that was true there would be bodies washing up at every popular dive site. The fact remains that very few divers actually practice genuine air share ascents after being certified, and given the high reliability of modern gear most casual recreational divers will never experience any sort of gear failure. That helps to hide less than optimal gear choices.
For me the list of "benefits" of the Combo Octo/Inflator ends with "saving" one LP hose.
The cons:
Stopping any free flow of the Octo also disables the power inflator
Ascending with a real OOA diver will require that you manage the buoyancy of Two divers while also breathing from the device. Managing the buoyancy of two divers alone is not all that easy......
Non standard Reg hose. Failure of the Octo/Inflator may be harder to deal in the field (there are some means to mitigate this if you have the adapters)
Tobin
Do they kill people? No. If that was true there would be bodies washing up at every popular dive site. The fact remains that very few divers actually practice genuine air share ascents after being certified, and given the high reliability of modern gear most casual recreational divers will never experience any sort of gear failure. That helps to hide less than optimal gear choices.
For me the list of "benefits" of the Combo Octo/Inflator ends with "saving" one LP hose.
The cons:
Stopping any free flow of the Octo also disables the power inflator
Ascending with a real OOA diver will require that you manage the buoyancy of Two divers while also breathing from the device. Managing the buoyancy of two divers alone is not all that easy......
Non standard Reg hose. Failure of the Octo/Inflator may be harder to deal in the field (there are some means to mitigate this if you have the adapters)
Tobin
