Thanks for all the replies so far. I'm pleased that you think I'm analytical--that I am! It's hard not to be when your extracurriculars for the last 20 years typically involve life and death.
I'm not reading too much I didn't expect to read, which is a good thing, that means I'm making relatively good choices!
Things that stand out for me so far:
- Try a backplate/wings. I'm surprised at the number of proponents for this. I'm typically a very minimalistic guy, except when it comes to computer convenience, e.g. I like my cockpits full of (well designed) glass. Being minimalistic a BP/W setup should appeal, but I also like the idea of a bit of padding on my back, that's why I kind of almost went "all the way" but "wimped out" with the Transpac.
- A lot of folks are not that excited by split fins. I thought they were all the rage. Apparently not! I will rethink the choice. Unfortunately I bet that fins are one of those items that everyone's got a box full of they don't use anymore. Why should I be any different?
- Clearly there are fans of the Light Cannon. I will look into that. An extra light makes sense to me at night, and there are some very small ones, so we will always each have a small one too. Something small enough so it can always live in a BC pocket and therefore is less likely to be forgotten.
- Why a marker and strobe someone asks? I like the idea of a markers so that we can uniquely identify our buddies, in this case my wife, at night, not that I plan on getting that far from her, but we all know what happens to plans. Perhaps a unique combination of Cylumes might be a better choice than the ubiquitous red marker light. I will have to think on that a while. My desire for a strobe comes from my offshore sailing background. Strobes work much better than flashlights when you are a gray smudge on the water in the middle of the night and wanting someone's attention. I've even considered one of the OMS canisters to put a couple of Skyblazer flares or a smoke marker in. I always have 3 flares and 1 marker in my harness pocket when sailing offshore--if you need a harness, you might need the signals, too!
- Backup pressure gauge: I'm surprised only one person mentioned that. I realized I had forgotten that after I posted, but then just let it lay like that instead of editing my post. I kind of expected more than one ding on that!
- No worries about computer backups. We each own a watch. I own a "whiz wheel". My buddy effectively has another depth gauge at a minimum, unless we have dual computer failures! We will abort as a team if necessary.
- We've got lots of EMT shears already, all colors!
OK, now that we've made it past the easy stuff, I guess I'm ready to talk about the Air 2
...
- In an out-of-air I might be relied upon to calmly ask for my wife's primary, but I know how I'm going to find out if she's got a problem: the reg will be taken out of my mouth for me
. Other than that, that's about as excited as either one of us will likely get unless we foolishly get separated from each other. After learning to skydive together, and after 10 years on a fairly busy ambulance service together, and married 13 years, we have that great married couple/partner ability to act as one mind. So from that perspective the Air-2 will probably be OK.
- It's in our plan to practice OOA ascents together. It's probably the first thing we're going to do once we get all the new stuff out in OW. If we can't manage it after some practice, or just hate how the Air-2 breathes, well then we'll have to do something else, and the Air-2 will now be an Air-3
- One of the things that concerns me is that the Transpac handles a bit differently than the Classic. This is a training issue that goes beyond what secondary reg we've chosen, and something I want to practice with her just in case one of us is injured or disabled in some way.
- Beyond all of the above issues is a situation that finds me or my wife buddy'd with some random person, either on purpose or in an emergency. Can they handle the relatively close proximity required? Can they work with one of us to properly control bouyancy? Even with an octo, I see ascent control as a potential huge issue, with 2 divers out of sync and overcontrolling. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, I only mention it because it's an issue I feel substantially undertrained on, or perhaps just poorly trained on. This is a topic I'm planning on obtaining some additional instruction on in the near future.
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