Regular Octo or Power Inflator/Octo Integrated??

What seems to be the general consensus on whether it is best to use a separate octopus or use one of the Integrated Octo/Power inflator??

It seems to me there are pros and cons to both.

With the Regular Octo, you have an extra hose that creates drag, gets tangled, etc, but you can wear a different BC easily.

With the integrated octo/power inflator you streamline your gear, but lose some flexibility in that you can't use a different reg or BC without changing out a hose.

1. These micro-regs are often lower-performance. In an emergency you may be excited and breathing really hard. I don't want a low-performance 2nd stage in exciting situations as I have been *IN* them already so I know something about that.

2. Streamlining is quite simple is you route your hoses appropriately. My backup 2nd hose comes under my arm, and the 2nd itself hangs in a bungee around my neck right below my chin. Out of the way as far as drag, and if a once-a-year diver from some cattle-boat trip I'm on, runs out of air and swims up and yanks the primary out of my mouth, all I have to do is duck my head and I have air.

3. If your inflator button sticks down, or is generally failing open even slightly, you will have a runaway inflation problem on your BCD. I've had this happen often enough to know the drill that you quickly disconnect the hose and vent. No big deal for me, I've generally continued such dives since a power inflator is a luxury not a necessity. However if you are integrated, you have now disconnected your backup 2nd and should probably call the dive.

This integrated idea is another non-standard piece of equipment to maintain. Plus as you mention it makes it difficult to mate with a BCD other than your own. I can't see any pros to it, as anything you think you can achieve with it, can be done some other way. Avoid.

No offense dude, but if you do a simple search on this subject you'll find hundreds of threads discussing this very issue, with every imaginable opinion expressed ad nauseum. Of course, if you took the time to read all of them, it wouldn't matter because you'd never have time to dive anyway!

Yeah ...there have been a few threads that pretty much beat this topic to death. Bottom line is that the integrated low pressure hose second stages work but are not for everyone.

In a training or technical scenario the standard octo rigs are probably the best. For purely recreational divers with dive buddies who also have the integrated second stages they have a definite roll.

My wife and I converted to the integrated second stages a few years ago. Our diving is all liveaboard, relatively shallow water and purely recreational. They work well for us. We understand the implications and trade-offs of this configuration and are comfortable with them.

'Slogger

I started a similar thread last week, got lots of pro's and cons.

What finally broke the camels back was one little point. If you travel and plan on taking your regulators and console but not your BC, you won't have a octo if it's part of your BC.

So I went with a traditional octo.

ChrisEdwards:

I started a similar thread last week, got lots of pro's and cons.

What finally broke the camels back was one little point. If you travel and plan on taking your regulators and console but not your BC, you won't have a octo if it's part of your BC.

So I went with a traditional octo.

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Unless you have the adapter and carry a spare octo like I do... small price to pay for regular diving convenience vs planning for a trip where you don't take your BC.

On the other hand, when I go on a trip, all of my gear goes with me (minus weights and tanks)

Vicente:

1. These micro-regs are often lower-performance. In an emergency you may be excited and breathing really hard. I don't want a low-performance 2nd stage in exciting situations as I have been *IN* them already so I know something about that.

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Not all are low-performance

Also, "them"? You haven't yet filled in your information, so I am not sure how many dives you have made... I have been in (1) and I was an Instructor. Not attempting to say they don't happen... just that I have not been in many myself, and I dive in the tourist diving capital

Vicente:

2. Streamlining is quite simple is you route your hoses appropriately. My backup 2nd hose comes under my arm, and the 2nd itself hangs in a bungee around my neck right below my chin. Out of the way as far as drag, and if a once-a-year diver from some cattle-boat trip I'm on, runs out of air and swims up and yanks the primary out of my mouth, all I have to do is duck my head and I have air.

Click to expand...

If some once-a-year diver yanks the primary out of my mouth (Has never happened, but there is a remote chance it could), all I have to do is lift my arm and I have air.

Vicente:

3. If your inflator button sticks down, or is generally failing open even slightly, you will have a runaway inflation problem on your BCD. I've had this happen often enough to know the drill that you quickly disconnect the hose and vent. No big deal for me, I've generally continued such dives since a power inflator is a luxury not a necessity. However if you are integrated, you have now disconnected your backup 2nd and should probably call the dive.

Click to expand...

You've had this happen often enough? In 20+ years of diving, it has never happened to me (not saying that it couldn't) I am interested in knowing how often this has happened to you

Vicente:

This integrated idea is another non-standard piece of equipment to maintain. Plus as you mention it makes it difficult to mate with a BCD other than your own. I can't see any pros to it, as anything you think you can achieve with it, can be done some other way. Avoid.

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It will continue to be non-standard until it becomes the standard. The automobile was another non-standard way to travel, until it became the standard. Same with the washing machine, air conditioning.... etc.

When I started diving, the octo was just coming into use. It was a non-standard piece of equipment to maintain. But, that too changed.

What Cooltech said.

Dave

CoolTech:

You've had this happen often enough? In 20+ years of diving, it has never happened to me (not saying that it couldn't) I am interested in knowing how often this has happened to you

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3 times I can think of in the last 10 years.

I am YMCA Master Diver, 300+ Dives, if we are comparing quals..... I haven't had assorted emergencies happen to me, that have happened to you, this doesn't mean that I automatically discount them as valid concerns. I tried to fill out my profile a while ago it wasn't working. Seems real important to you so maybe I'll do it. I suppose I could lie and say I was a Secret Grand-Master Level-3 Instructor-Instructor if that would impress you more than my ideas.

An additional point, I usually pack my reg and mask in my carry-on. Flying to Cozumel, AeroMexico lost my checked bag for some days. No problem I used my mask and reg with their BCD and fins. Worked fine and simple for me. I suppose if I had to use an integrated in that scenario I'd add one of their 2nd's to my reg and pay a fee for that, but I don't trust 3rd-world rental regs period.

CoolTech:

If some once-a-year diver yanks the primary out of my mouth (Has never happened, but there is a remote chance it could), all I have to do is lift my arm and I have air.

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My point was, there are plenty of ways of streamlining what most consider a "standard" setup without going air-integrated. Most people don't apply this in terms of thinking carefully and fiddling with the setup, they whip out the MasterCard and buy the latest whizzo rig at the shop that claims to solve all problems.

And yes, I had this sort of thing happen a few times in the Keys. An incident on my 2nd dive trip in 97 motivated me to do Rescue Diver and all associated training. Now that I think about I've had to assist random divers with assorted problems a half-dozen times, the Duane is about the worst for high-current, deep, and out-of-air situations. Last month I surfaced into the middle of a father-son incident at Point Lobos. Perhaps I've just been unluckier than you. I digress. Because a particular scenario hasn't happened to you, doesn't mean it's impossible.