Spare Air: some thoughts

[RJP]

It doesn't appear to be James who is missing the point.

To be clear I didn't mean "James is missing the point" rather that "the point is not included in the discussion."

 

[scubafanatic]

A picosecond is 10−12 of a second. That is one trillionth, or one millionth of one millionth of a second, or 0.000 000 000 001 seconds. ...which also seems to be the average length of time between the posting of new 'spare air' threads here on SB.

 

[scubafanatic]

Nice first post but the first half, about how Deco divers would never consider it, is a waste of time for you to write, and a waste of time for us to read.

Spare Air is designed for recreational diving use, not Decompression diving.

No kidding that it would be all but useless for a Deco stop at any degree of depth.

...are you absolutely sure 'bout that? ...what about the 'spare air' trimix version ?

 

[TSandM]

Is a Spare Air really $200? In that case, it's hard to see how someone would prefer it to a 19 cu ft pony with an inexpensive regulator.

But it's still better than nothing. It's not better than a whole list of things I'd prefer (including better dive planning, gas planning, and buddy skills) but it's better than nothing and it at least indicates that the diver using it has entertained the question of, "What do I do if my gas supply suddenly cuts off?" Which is better than blithely jumping into the water and trusting that it won't.

 

[Hatul]

It's all about GAS management! You should never need any spare gas if your a recreational diver! Also your buddy should be your spare gas in an emergency! A pony bottle or redundancy is a different animal for a different dive! I worry that a Spare gas supply will give someone a bugger margin to make a bigger mistake! I am not a big 500lber either for the same reason! You should know how much gas you have and where you will be when it is at certain levels! If there is an emergency the dive is over and your buddy system becomes more important and is your spare air! If you have a thousand dives and want a toy I have no problem, but really what will it do for you?

That's an attitude asking for trouble. What should happen and what does are two different things. Someone has never heard of Murphy's Law.

Adam

 

[idocsteve]

Is a Spare Air really $200? In that case, it's hard to see how someone would prefer it to a 19 cu ft pony with an inexpensive regulator.

Don't forget maintence costs..the annual visuals and the periodic hydros, and the regulator has to be serviced.

The Spare Air is filled by the diver from a regular tank using an included refill adapter, not an LDS, and therefore it's possible and likely that the periodic maintence will be skipped.

When I carried my Spare Air, the only maintenance I gave it was a few breaths once in a while to make sure the thing still worked.

 

[RJP]

Is a Spare Air really $200? In that case, it's hard to see how someone would prefer it to a 19 cu ft pony with an inexpensive regulator.

$299 MSRP for the 3.0cf model, $320 for the nitrox version (stifles laugh) or $340 for the "Ultimate Safety & Travel Package."

Sort of puts the "value" of a Spare Air in a different perspective when you know the price, huh?

 

[Monarch_15w]

what I want to know is how everyone out there is recommending using a pony 19cf bottle over spare air. How do you travel with gear and a pony bottle if you are a vacation diver? I know you are limited to only 30 breaths in a Spare Air bottle but if you can pick one up cheap why not get one. Like some others have posted before for most recreational divers isn't something better than nothing even though you plan and use good gas management.

 

[RJP]

How do you travel with gear and a pony bottle if you are a vacation diver?

The same way you travel with gear and a Spare Air, just takes up a touch more room.

 

[SkimFisher]

OMG NOT AGAIN!! :crash::sos::voodoo: