spare air? i use one and i get laughed at

[DavidFL]

a rec dive emergency SHTF tool.

I bought a 3.0 cu ft. Spare Air probably 12 years ago when I restarted diving after a long layoff, primarily because I had used them in the dunker/HEED trainers for helicopter evacuation and knew they worked in that confusing/chaotic situation, and also the "what if I had just one more breath?" marketing. I have had it hydro'd and serviced twice.

Switched to a 19 cu. ft. pony several years ago for my non-airline-travel recreational diving; backmounted doubles and appropriate stage and deco bottles for tech diving.

Resurrected the old Spare Air for a LOB trip on the Kona Aggressor in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, primarily because I had two checked bags that were within 5 pounds of the maximum airline weight (two camera rigs mostly the culprit), and my 19 cu. ft. pony/reg/spg put me over the limit. Wore it for all the dives; nobody laughed. No one else had a pony or any redundant air supply on the LOB.

SHTF fool is an apt description.

 

[broncobowsher]

Had one 20 years ago. Interesting pool toy. Never dove it as a pony. Donated to the back room of a local dive shop when we couldn't service it.

 

[BoltSnap]

Faulty argument, I see it all the time. Those 11 breaths (or whatever you might get) out of a Spare Air in an emergency can make the difference between life or death, and are most certainly not useless when you compare them to having NO air.

Take all the formulas and throw them out the window. If a diver is at 100 ft with nothing but a spare air cannister, the small amount of gas in there just might be enough to make it to the surface if it's used properly- as in- take a breath, release it slowly as you ascend, take another. If a panicky diver huffs and puffs and doesn't ascend quickly enough then sure, they can drain the tank in no time and prolong their life by perhaps another 30 seconds, it's a matter of how they deal with the emergency. That 30 seconds is still more than enough time to scrawl "I love you mom" on a slate. Definitely not useless. If someone can swim a 40' pool and back on the bottom underwater without taking a breath, then they can most certainly do the same thing vertically if they've got an air supply available to them, however small it may be.

As the diver ascends more gas may be available in their tank and in their BCD. Not seeing any of that in your formula either.

Spare Air can also be useful in reaching a buddy that might have gotten a bit too far away, and or give a few minutes to sort out a freeflow or other temporary issue.

To say a Spare Air is useless and throw a bunch of meaningless air consumption formulas out there, is somewhat shortsighted.

Your opinion above is the definition of shortsightedness itself. Spare Air will do nothing to the average OOA diver who is under great physical and mental stress because of their OOA situation. You also ignore the cause of the OOA predicament itself. No Spare Air in the world will be sufficient for you to get yourself out of whatever kept you underwater, e.g. entanglement in fishing lines or nets, in addition to making a safe ascent to the surface. An appropriate size pony will do it but not Spare Air.

Spare Air is nothing more than a placebo that was made up by the manufacturer of Spare Air to expand their market beyond the original intended market for Spare Air, helicopter pilots crashing into water.

 

[tech_diver]

It's ok. I get laughed at too and I don't even own a Spare Air.

In the words of one neo-classical, North American philosopher:
"you ain't nuthin if you ain't got at least SOME haters..."

 

[James79]

If your local regulations for dive tanks are 5 year intervals then so is your 200 bar spare air, and should be tested with the same frequency.

I know in the US most people aren't aware that the regulations for hydro don't apply to tanks less than 2 inch diameter. I'm not sure about spare air, but SEA mkII (the current egress air system in the US military) is a 1.98 inch bottle.... almost like Aqualung planned it that way!

 

[caruso]

Of greater relevance is the problem some people have with being laughed at.

Learn not to care and do as you please as long as you're not bothering anyone else.

Life gets so much easier.

 

[JackD342]

I know in the US most people aren't aware that the regulations for hydro don't apply to tanks less than 2 inch diameter. I'm not sure about spare air, but SEA mkII (the current egress air system in the US military) is a 1.98 inch bottle.... almost like Aqualung planned it that way!

I have checked in the past, and Spare Air cylinders 3 cu.ft. and under are 2.25" diameter.

 

[James79]

I have checked in the past, and Spare Air cylinders 3 cu.ft. and under are 2.25" diameter.

I guess that's just disappointing design work! Lol

 

[covediver]

Sorry people feel the need to make fun of you for your personal choice in safety equipment. Saltwater is not the hardest thing on dive gear, it is other divers. If you feel it is the right choice for you, do it. Life is too short to be concerned about what ignorant people think.

 

[JackD342]

I guess that's just disappointing design work! Lol

Pretty sure that the design is dictated by maximizing capacity in a reasonable size and shape, not by avoiding hydros. If slimmer it would either hold significantly less, or be significantly longer.