Is Deep Sea Supply out of business

[Bob DBF]

I do want something that performs better than my jacket and I am actually happy with my current BCD. So i have high expectations and I dont want to be wrong because I started ordering components that may or may not work right together I dont have time for many errors before this trip.

I also get the technical mechanical desire side of building your own set up, one thing I have is enough hobbies being a master creator of dive gear isnt that high on my list today.

I would stick with my present rig, and move to a BP/W when I have more time. A BP/W can be customized to what you desire, however it's not a quick off the rack proposition and may need a few dives to get everything right, even with knowledgable help.

My buddy kept his Air 2 when he moved to a BP/W, however it was a custom installation, he had to remove the wing dump valve and install one compatable with the Air 2. This involves more time to procure parts, make the modification, and test.


Good luck

Bob

 

[lowlysubaruguy]

Very good point about the air 2. I had covered most of the bases here but forgot about wings without dump valves for this.

Air 2 is not a deal changer but I do like it a lot. It adds to the cost with or without it. If I go without it iim buying another regulator if I go with it it adds more money so its not a factor in the money.

my times expired any way. I had time to gather more information yesterday our internet and phones were out and I had a shot to deal with that without 10 interruptions. Today its business as usual. Ive been trying to write this out for an hour now. I will wait until im in Florida next and make time to look into this. One thing I battle with this in Florida my buddies tell me not to go to a backplate wing they all dive jackets. Its hard to shop for something like this with people who start out negative on it. Now one factor may be I figure this out and everyone likes it and now they all have to buy new gear. Maybe they are just old farts

 

[tursiops]

I have asked an instructor to demonstrate an airshare from 60 feet while she was wearing an air2 and she did not take me up on it. She openly agreed that "It is not a very user friendly device when it comes to demonstrations but when an emergency happens then there is adrenaline and there will be other people around you!!!" Yup an Instructor!

Find a different instructor.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I will wait until im in Florida next and make time to look into this. One thing I battle with this in Florida my buddies tell me not to go to a backplate wing they all dive jackets.

It may be your buddies but it's not a Florida thing. I dive a BP/W and have since dive #5 back in 2006. I see BP/Ws on every boat I'm on down here and not just mine. Sometimes there are as may as half the boat using BP/Ws. They are definitely not novel. Very common down here.

 

[Marie13]

One thing I battle with this in Florida my buddies tell me not to go to a backplate wing they all dive jackets. Its hard to shop for something like this with people who start out negative on it. Now one factor may be I figure this out and everyone likes it and now they all have to buy new gear. Maybe they are just old farts

Do you want to do what’s good for you or just follow the pack?

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Find a different instructor.

Yap! One who will tell the students to stay away from Air2 and invest in a proper second stage.

 

[johndiver999]

Yap! One who will tell the students to stay away from Air2 and invest in a proper second stage.

It is absolutely essential that anyone with an air 2 know how to use it to make an ascent. An instructor who has an air 2 and is the least bit hesitant to demonstrate an ascent with it is incompetent.

If you do not have a pull dump, then you use one hand to hold the device and vent air for maybe 2 seconds. The diver can be exhaling during this period. It is not a big deal.

The device is not popular in all circles, but it has been a standard piece of recreational gear for probably 30
Years and millions of dives have been completed using them.

The fact that one person heard something bad from an incompetent instructor should not be given undo impotance

 

[rhwestfall]

it has been a standard piece of recreational gear for probably 30 Years

BTW - First generation of the Air2 was 1979....

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

It is absolutely essential that anyone with an air 2 know how to use it to make an ascent. An instructor who has an air 2 and is the least bit hesitant to demonstrate an ascent with it is incompetent.

If you do not have a pull dump, then you use one hand to hold the device and vent air for maybe 2 seconds. The diver can be exhaling during this period. It is not a big deal.

The device is not popular in all circles, but it has been a standard piece of recreational gear for probably 30
Years and millions of dives have been completed using them.

The fact that one person heard something bad from an incompetent instructor should not be given undo impotance

1) In order for an air donation device to work properly it requires knowledge at two ends, the donor as well as the receiver. This device changes air-share protocols and most students in their open-water course are never trained how to use this. Atomic makes similar contraption called Atomic SafeSecond inflator.

Atomic Safe Second Inflator (SS1), Stainless Steel

You will notice that this has a cuter, brightly colored second stage which is built into the inflator. During one of my dives a whjile ago I was buddied up with an insta-buddy who ran very low on air during our safety stop. He requested air by showing me his gauge that he was low so I gave my octo to him. He was extremely out of shape and probably had some medical problems (or maybe just anxiety) so when I gave him my second, he started breathing down my air really fast like he was out of breath. We were bobbing 15 feet from the surface so none of us were in danger but he was breathing so hard and heavy that I was concerned if he is having a heart attack. Then another couple showed up at the safety stop where we were holding the rope and we were not alone. I showed him my own air on SPG which was pretty low just so that we are both aware that I am also running low now. He took that gesture to mean that I did not want to share air anymore!!! In a total state of panic he took his own reg in his mouth and went looking for someone else on the hang rope to share air with. Now keep in mind that this was a safety stop and he could have made it to the surface and would probably be just fine but he wanted to complete whatever few seconds of time his computer was showing him and he wanted to borrow air from someone else. The couple next to us had just arrived at the safety stop and did not know that there was a low-on-air diver being insistent upon not surfacing until he has finished his computer generated stop time. He swam to the woman, grabbed her SafeSecond octo/inflator and tried to put it in his own mouth! I don't know whether he looked at it and mistook it to be a dangling octo since it was the closest thing on her that resembled a real octo. It is also possible that he had never seen that contraption in his life so he did not know that he was supposed to ask for the reg in the woman's mouth and not her inflator/combo. May be he did not want a reg to go from mouth to mouth so he decided at that very last minute that he will breath from the inflator instead of the primary user. In any case, he took her inflator second in his own mouth wanting to breath from it. She was looking at him totally confused like "Dude what are you doing?" and neither of them had the luxury to engage in the conversation we are having right now. Her husband / boyfriend realized that he needed air and then proceeded to donate his own octo which was a regular one (thank god) so they were on the same page as to how it was supposed to be used. Now this was not a dangerous situation for anyone at any point but it did cause unnecessary confusion which could have been avoided if everyone just had a regular octo. Bottom line is that while you may be competent in donating, the donor may not be competent in receiving. People are not trained on this as part of their open water course and they may have some very bizarre ideas on how it is supposed to be used. When they execute those ideas under water, a conversation will not be possible.

2) Millions of dives have been done where the device was never deployed for its intended purpose. In times when it is needed to be used, I think everyone will agree that it is not the quickest easiest and the most optimum set-up required for the job.

3) The bigger question here is why not a proper second stage? How much money are we going to save by purchasing this gadget instead of a proper second stage? This is an expensive hobby and we are saving no more than a hundred bucks. Is it that much of an advantage? As for second stage dangling, there are plenty of solutions that can address that so why not look into those?

 

[BRT]

Agreed. If you are ascending in horizontal trim then "above the head" may not be the best term to describe where the hose should be kept for venting. Your above description does far greater justice to the scenario than "above the head." Nevertheless it would not be in the users mouth and that is why this air2 business is pretty shady. I have asked an instructor to demonstrate an airshare from 60 feet while she was wearing an air2 and she did not take me up on it. She openly agreed that "It is not a very user friendly device when it comes to demonstrations but when an emergency happens then there is adrenaline and there will be other people around you!!!" Yup an Instructor!

I would not want an Air2 type setup on a BCD that did not have a separate dump. Fortunately almost all BCD's do.