H.u.b.

[Paul Evans]

Oh..... yeah....

I'm confused. I thought that he wanted information on how the HUB WORKS, rather than how it LOOKS.

With regard to its looks, its great if the look you're going for is the "I'm-a-newbie-with-more-money-than-brains" look, coupled with the "I'm-a-risk-taker-who-likes-multiple-failure-points" thing.

With regard to how it works, suffice to say that I've had two divers show up in classes with them. One needed to be rescued because the primary reg is a POS that didn't breathe well on a shallow (80 fsw) dive. The other diver had some type of problem with his joystick and had to sit out a day of dives until we were able to cobble together enough equipment to build a regulator. Why? Because you can't separate the reg from the BC and we weren't about to try disassembling the joystick. If he had had a just about any other type of rig, I could have swapped the inflator out in less then 10 minutes.

Incidentally, the reg we built (using my old POS OMS piston deco reg, someone else's extra SPG and and an octopus that someone had in their bag), breathed better then the primary on the HUB.

I respectfully disagree with any suggestion that the back plate is complicated. The rig comprises one piece of metal, one piece of webbing and one wing with straps. If bought from a decent shop, they should be able to fit it to the diver in about 45 minutes. After that, its fun and easy to dive. It also grows with the diver. I'm using the same plate for staged decompression dives in doubles that I used with my singles wing several years ago.

As for it being inappropriate for newer divers, I've probably fit 20 new divers for BP&W this season. I fit about 45 last season. All of these divers have had the chance to try jackets, and some owned their own gear, so they do know the difference. So far, not one has complained or returned the gear, even though the shop offers a 100 day return policy.

Overall, I can't think of a worse choice for diving gear than a HUB. I'd stop diving before I'd use one.

Which reg was this Hub fitted with?

 

[Northeastwrecks]

Which reg was this Hub fitted with?

I don't know. I didn't spend much time after the incident checking out the reg, except to check for obvious problems (torn diaphragm, etc...). I do know that the rig as a traditional HUB, not the Avant-Garde.

The next day, I did another dive with that diver. I wanted to see if it was a problem with the reg or with the diver. I donated my primary, came close and tried to breath the HUB primary. I found it significantly more difficult to breath than either my own regs (dual ATX 200) or, for that matter, the Sherwood Bruts I had been using for pool sessions.

Incidentally, I'm not knocking Mares products in general. My wife dives a Mares reg and is quite pleased with it. In the case of the HUB, however, I firmly believe that it is a solution in search of a nonexistent problem

 

[Robert Phillips]

My little brother called me recently and asked me what I thought of the HUB as he had some one offer to trade him for his Scubapro MK10 and a dive knife. Anyway, one of the points I made to him was this: When you are underwater, the only REAL emergency is a diver OOA. If you are diving a HUB and your buddy is out of air, do you, as most people are trained as new divers, unzip the pocket your backup(octo) is stored in, dig around and hope to find the oct with minimal effort and after finding it, donate it to your now very in need of air buddy, or do you give him your primary, and then dig the backup out for yourself? If you choose the former method, you are escalating an emergency by not addressing it immediatley. Or do you choose the later and become the OOA diver yourself?
I see it as causing more problems than it should.
I am sure there are many more scenarios than the ones listed in this and other replies so far to dissuade you from asting your money on this piece of shiquipment.
Robert

 

[Diver0001]

I am a novice diver and am interested in the Mare's
H.U.B. I have, of course, heard as many positive things as I have negative. Some feedback please!!!

In my opinion the HUB is not suitable for use as diving equipment.

The reason being that you can't see the regulator hoses to inspect them and there are a couple of single ponits of failure in the hose routing which could potentially put you in a situation that both of your regulators AND your BCD all simultaneous fail.

And on top of it all they expect you to pay big bucks for this.

If you like the looks of the HUB then take a look at the dragonfly. It's like the HUB in terms of design but it takes a normal regulator and is much less dangerous looking to me.

R..

 

[Tamas]

Very good points! I can see all the comments being 100% valid with the HUB - about the failure points and all.....but as I wrote, I was simply saying what my buddy has experienced so far, he has not had any issues with his rig at all, loves the reg that is on there (Proton Ice) and feels very comfortable diving it. The octo is not that hard to grab, it's simply behind a velcro tab, heck it almost seems easier to get to then some of those little octo holders that people use.

Every person has to make up their own minds and choose the gear that is right for them.

 

[Joffren]

Thanks everyone...what I mean by novice is...umm....someone who hasn't got much experience diving...;-) just kidding... My last trip was 2yrs ago and i've been a total of 2x's in my life...Baltimore is not the best place to dive! Also, thanx for telling me how it works more so than what it looks like. I think i would prefer to custom build something for myself and the bp/w sounds like the way to go. Thnx again

 

[Quarrior]

Thanks everyone...what I mean by novice is...umm....someone who hasn't got much experience diving...;-) just kidding... My last trip was 2yrs ago and i've been a total of 2x's in my life...Baltimore is not the best place to dive! Also, thanx for telling me how it works more so than what it looks like. I think i would prefer to custom build something for myself and the bp/w sounds like the way to go. Thnx again

You'll love the BP/W.

Another BP/W convert is born.

 

[DandyDon]

Howdy!

Welcome to SB!! :happywave Put us in your computer's favorites and check in often. This is a great place to learn, compare, argue Look around our various forums - everything from New-To-Scuba to Instructors-Only to Dive Medicine.

Ask anything - in the appropriate forum, and we'll make up an answer...

don

 

[Bayou Platypus]

Welcome aboard...enjoy your time here on ScubaBoard!