Aqua Lung Axiom i3 BCD -- Thoughts on i3 Inflator Mechanism

[UserNameBella]

I love the i3. Why twist myself in the water to get the air to dump? You just reach down and push the valve down (or up) and keep doing what your doing, looking at fish. My husband has a neck injury so it works well for him.

I'm not quite sure if you are a female or male but the soul is pretty nice if you are a woman. It wraps around me nicely and doesn't ride up even when fully inflated. It is somewhat supporting on the inside which is nice if you are a woman. There is no velcro cumberbund, just a nice clip and pull tight underwater which I found way more comfortable than the scuba shop rental. My husband has the Axiom and it works the same way.

The only thing my BCD lacks, is a handle at the back of the neck to lift it with, but some models might have it, I know the Axiom doesn't. The tank band is great, but I have caught my hand in it and it bites.

The only bad thing I can tell you about the lever valve is this - someone will accidentally deploy it and fill or dump all your air if it is on a cattle boat waiting for you to put it on. Also, I got kicked in the valve today underwater which gave me some additional lift I wasn't looking for. That would be about the two biggest problems, and both are pretty easily dealt with - I just dumped the air and gave the offending diver a wide berth after that.

Also, if you forget to attach the low pressure inflator before jumping in the water it is really easy to attach underwater compared to some other models. Not that I advocate forgetting

I think they make a whole range of scuba products because there are a lot of divers out there. We each use what works best for us.

 

[Steyr]

I have about 60 dives on my Dimension i3 and it has both good points and bad points.

Good:
+ The BC overall is very comfortable with well thought out straps and adjustments.
+ The i3 inflator is very easy to use and make fine adjustments with.
+ Good dump ports in the BC
+ If you dive with a snorkel, you don't keep mixing up the snorkel and your inflator hose.

Bad:
- Being a non-standard inflator, make sure your buddy knows about it. And don't just tell them, make them inflate/deflate for you a couple of times so they really understand.
- The manual inflator hose is non-standard and requires a lot of explanation for your buddy. Again, make them actually use it as just telling them won't work (eg. during a rescue diver course my buddy went to inflate my BC manually; she pulled out the hose and pressed her lips against it as I had told her, but it still wouldn't inflate - she hadn't quite pulled the hose out all the way and it was still folded/kinked under the flap).
- On a crowded boat you will occasionally get an accidental inflate.
- Although I haven't had this happen, I imagine if the inflator handle snapped off or the mechanism broke it would be more specialist/expensive to repair than simple replacing the inflator hose on a regular BC.
- The inflator mechanism takes up space where an additional BC pocket could exist (though a lot of regular BCs don't have a pocket there anyway). I value BC pockets as I like to tuck things away rather than have them dangling off D rings.
- If your dive buddy is small (short arm span), they may find it difficult to find and manipulate your inflator lever from behind while simultaneously holding in your reg if you become an unresponsive diver underwater (my dive buddy struggled with this reach on our rescue diver course).

From that list the negatives look bigger than the positives, but I still really like it. Would I buy one again if I needed a new BC tomorrow? Probably, unless I really liked some features of another BC (eg. extra pocket space).

 

[htatton]

Thanks for all the good advice. I think the Axiom i3 will work well for me.

 

[bbarnett51]

I suspect you will love it. I had the deminsion i3 and absolutely loved it. It's very easy to use and I love the dump valves. I sold it for a bpw but if I ever go back to a jacket style I would likely look to the i3 system first.

Enjoy!

 

[mikeb21072]

I started out with the Aqua Lung Pro LT jacket and did not care for the fit of the jacket or its function. I tried on a Dimension i3 and loved the harness system. I spoke with a lot of DM's and instructors about the i3 and the response was overwhelmingly positive. I bought one a couple of months later, and I have over 75 dives on it and love it. I have had it serviced without any issues, and the only thing I changed was the length of the HP hose to my Zoop computer, I switched to the longer hose to be able to tie off my computer to a D ring, with the standard length it was a little short for me to get a good look at the gauges when feeding the hoses through the back slot. My Zoop is my backup for my AI Uwatec computer, so I tie it off to keep it out of the way. The jacket style probably would not be an issue with the hose. I have had my LP inflator hose detach a couple of times while gearing up, along with a few bumps on crowded boats once my air was on, but nothing to worry about.
I would suggest trying the Dimension, I have had a couple of back surgeries and I found it a lot more comfortable above and below the surface. In my opinion, the back inflates are not a big deal on the surface, just lay back and relax like you are in a Lazy-Boy. Overall, the i3 works for me, maybe not for everybody, but I would buy another without hesitating for a standard BCD, other than the price is high. If I was going to buy another BCD, it would be a backplate and wing setup, but I would miss the i3.

 

[g1138]

Big factor with I3 VS standard, orally inflating your BC. Should for some reason you lose your power inflate ability: OOA, not connected, catastrophic air loss, etc etc

[-]Orally inflating an I3 and comparable systems is a 2 handed job and more complicated than a standard inflator (which is a one handed operation).

Also from a rescuer point of view, it is much much harder to orally inflate a victim's I3 unless they're cooperating; which in that case they can orally inflate themselves while I float them.
You try hugging your victim's tank with your knees, crossing your right hand to the oral inflate hose, and your left hand doing a reach around to depress the I3 lever while you blow. All the while your victim is flailing and splashing.

It's impossible, because to reach the I3 lever you have to dunk your head underwater and then you can't reach the Oral inflate hose to your mouth. Not to mention in that position your victim has enough leverage to twist, break your knee lock on their tank, and climb you for flotation.
In laymans terms, no one is orally inflating your I3 to save you. All they can do is dump weights and hope you figure it out.

This is my reason I hate the I3 and other comparable systems.[/-]
*Disregard strikeout text. See next post for correction*

Cressi Flight System 2010 model is by far the worst. Oral inflate tube in the zipper pocket. F--k....That!

That's the biggest thing you should consider in my mind if you're a not-so-often diver.
Everything else like repair time etc etc is just minor.
And I'll guess repairs aren't in house for the I3, because inflators are service/repair when broken, by industry standard. Your tech wouldn't be well practiced. And I would guess not trained since it's not a common service item. (Would double check a shop on that info though)

Oh and preventative maintenance: Let's talk filling the BC with water to rinse it out. I3's a pain in the butt to do that.

 

[Ting Tong]

Orally inflating an I3 and comparable systems is a 2 handed job and more complicated than a standard inflator (which is a one handed operation).

I have never needed to use two hands to orally inflate my i3.

You try hugging your victim's tank with your knees, crossing your right hand to the oral inflate hose, and your left hand doing a reach around to depress the I3 lever while you blow.

Why do you need to use the lever to orally inflate the BCD? Have you ever dived an i3 BC? The i3 BCD that you are describing bears no resemblance to the Axiom i3 that I own.

Orally inflate?

Oh and preventative maintenance: Let's talk filling the BC with water to rinse it out. I3's a pain in the butt to do that.

I actually found this to be one of the big "bonuses" of the i3 system. I would unscrew the oral inflate tube which left me with a 1" hole to fill the BCD. Screw the oral inflate tube back on, orally inflate, swish around, etc etc. Far easier than trying to get fresh water into a BC using a conventional inflator.

 

[TDR1]

Why do it to yourself? We have a few in our dive club. During the buddy check I try and remember which way I'm supposed to push/pull the levers/buttons. But I promptly forget. It's a gimmick. I guarantee you will see this after five years. Don't be suckered in. Keep it simple.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[g1138]

I have never needed to use two hands to orally inflate my i3.



Why do you need to use the lever to orally inflate the BCD? Have you ever dived an i3 BC? The i3 BCD that you are describing bears no resemblance to the Axiom i3 that I own.

Orally inflate?


I actually found this to be one of the big "bonuses" of the i3 system. I would unscrew the oral inflate tube which left me with a 1" hole to fill the BCD. Screw the oral inflate tube back on, orally inflate, swish around, etc etc. Far easier than trying to get fresh water into a BC using a conventional inflator.

I've dove it, and clearly am not familiar enough to recall the oral inflate.
So the oral inflate problem is solved on the I3 or never was an issue by the time Aqualung came out with it.
I'm probably convoluting it with other types.

I also wasn't aware you could unscrew the Oral Inflate mouthpiece. All I saw was a zip tie connection and no reference to unscrew it in the BC manual when I did shakedowns with the shops demo unit.

But I will argue that a 2in corrugate hose is easier to fill than a 1in.

 

[Ting Tong]

But I will argue that a 2in corrugate hose is easier to fill than a 1in.

You remove your power inflator from the 2" corrugated hose to fill your BCD with fresh water? Or your power inflator has a 2" orifice?

Fair enough.