BC integrated octo's

[billeelou]

I trolled this question a year ago, and with the same results. those that like a minimalist set upD me) prefer the Air II ( or whatever else non-scubapros have)...
and
those that have to be stuck in the 80's with hoses hanging everywhere, prefer the Octo set-up...

And both sides will give every specious arguement to "prove" their side is right...:no

Preference is all it comes down to, preference.....

 

[ClayJar]

I trolled

Indeed.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I trolled this question a year ago, and with the same results. those that like a minimalist set upD me) prefer the Air II ( or whatever else non-scubapros have)...
and
those that have to be stuck in the 80's with hoses hanging everywhere, prefer the Octo set-up...

And both sides will give every specious arguement to "prove" their side is right...:no

Preference is all it comes down to, preference.....

I teach and guide at a resort and I can say that the preference you speak of is not always the preference of the diver that owns the octo-inflator. I often get OW referal students with considerably expensive set-ups that they have no experience to form a preference on. The salesperson or instructor may have had a preference, but the not yet certified diver has only made a decision based on sales pitches and others personal bias.

If you are able to logically analyse; compared to an octo-inflator, a left-handed yellow alternate second stage on a longer than normal yellow hose attached to the right front of the chest (semi-traditional) is safer and easier to use in an ooa emergency. It is also much easier to use to get a loa/ooa diver back to a proper ascent area if direct ascent is not the best option. The octo-inflator is not as safe and easy to use even when both divers have training with the equipment.

Additionally, if you try a scooter dive, octo-inflators are a royal PITA. With a traditional or semi-traditional rig, the alternate can be stowed in the BC pocket so the prop wash and/or speed of travel does not cause the alternate to free flow. With an octo-inflator, the alternate hangs directly in the prop wash and free flows often! The only successful scooter dives I have had with octo-inflator divers is if they have Seaquest/Aqua-Lung gear so I can change out parts with my rental gear to make their rig traditional for the scooter dive!

I would say it is not so much preferences as priorities; if your priorities are as safe as possible, dir or gue, if your priorities are minimalist, as in just barely getting the job done, go wireless octo-inflator, with traditional falling safely in-between.

Final edit; most wireless computers will not work while using an Appolo/Dacor scooter. You must shut down the scooter and wait a while for signal to be re-established in order to check pressure and nitrogen loading, where-as an analog gauge and non-wireless computer may be resting on the running scooter and still work.

 

[J.R.]

I've got an AirII... only thing I have against it is that when practicing with it I find that the hose covering seems to make the whole contraption a bit "stiff" and it seems to require more "bite pressure" to hang on to it. Now... I'd like to believe that if I ever needed it in a *crunch*... this wouldn't represent any major issue.

But... as things turned out... about a year ago I'd put one of those nifty "molded to your mouth" mouth pieces on my primary... a local dive shop owner looked at the rig one day and asked, "So... is your wife gonna' be able to use that molded mouthpiece if you need to share air?"

... impulse response would be "Well... if ya' really need air... yea', probably..." ... but thinkin' a bit more about it, if ya' have a buddy in trouble... getting a mouthpiece that's molded for somebody else's face could be just another point of confusion. So... I added a regular octo.

... oh... as a side note... no noticable increase in drag, bouyancy characteristics, snagging on quarry toys, increased sighting of aliens or Elvis... Might just loose the Air II at some point simply because its redundant and is just another point where something could go wrong at this time... but, currently it's still there.

 

[BTravlin]

My wife/dive buddy and I both have the Atomic SS1's and are quite satisfied with them. We practiced using them together on our last trip and all went well with no problems. We also used scooters and had no free flow problems either.

 

[BKP]

I would say it is not so much preferences as priorities; if your priorities are as safe as possible, dir or gue, if your priorities are minimalist, as in just barely getting the job done, go wireless octo-inflator, with traditional falling safely in-between.

Cool... where can I get one of *those* (and will it work with my laptop???)

 

[Michael Folise]

I have been diving with an integrated alternate air source (Aeris Air Link) for three years and love it for travel purposes. If done up right, it improves diver separation and reduces potential for error over a conventional system. The modern IAAs breath great and that should not be a concern. However, I would not switch to this system without considering the following two issues. First, the integrated alternate air source must have a way of venting the BC without taking the IAA our of your mouth. Aeris/Ocanic (and Aqualung I belive) accomplish this by placing a ball or the like in the center of the corrugated hose that you can pull on to vent the BC. In the laternative, if your BC has a second shoulder dump (mine doesn't) that would work. Second, I would not use an IAA source without an ambidextrous primary second stage (Omega II, Posiedon, Viper, etc.) because this system relys on you donating your primary second stage to the other diver . The consequenses of the donee getting it upside down are simply too great even though the risk is small.

Also, consider putting the primary second stage on a long (48" min.) yellow hose and routing it under your arm DIR style. See photo at left. With the donated primary second stage on a swivel, this will allow your buddy to swim along side you comfortably and makes facing ascents/safety stops easier.

Of course, if diving with a new buddy you must explain all of this.

We pracitce an out of air exercise at least every year. When set up like this, OOA training exercises have gone much smoother. Unfortunately, my buddy hates breathing off my Omega II reg. and thus prefers her conventional set up.

 

[floridanewbe]

air 2 for me

 

[shoturtle]

Does anybody use a BC integrated octo? I don't think it's for me. I like to have control of my BC when ascending. Maybe I'm missing the boat here. Anybody had good luck with there's?

I tried one, think is was a air2, you need to pay bit more attention when using one. It adds more thinking to a ooa situration. I also push the button incorrectly I think, and got a wiff of salty air from the BC instead of clean air from the tank.

Some people like them, but I perfer a simple oct. I also like the smaller power inflater on the left shoulder and the octo out of the way on the waist d-ring.