Air Buddy - My thoughts

[DevonDiver]

I just found out about this....

Don't buy this Air Buddy.

Awful website, full of typos. I don't think much more care would have gone into their product development.

I've been very critical of the SpareAir before.... but this horrible device actually far exceeds the lunacy of that. It is downright stupid.

You bite on the tiny plastic nozel...and it squirts air into your mouth

Air Buddy

 

[Dracunos]

I love the animated GIFs on the light sticks

 

[Tanked]

If your alternate air source has a diaphragm, you need to replace it now.

This is a very true statement. My wife and I depended on a diaphragm once and it got us into a lot of trouble.

 

[Tanked]

How can you not trust a company that makes light sabers?

 

[vladimir]

I think I recall Nemrod test diving one for a while, during a streamlining-gone-wild kick. It doesn't sound like you'll be adding one to your rig, Andy. It's certainly nice and streamlined. I'm going to wait for the EagleZ1 version myself--there's no substitute for quality.

 

[Cave Diver]

How can you not trust a device that simulates an instinct you were born with, sucking your thumb? Naysayers!

Try this experiment.
Place your thumb in your mouth just far enough so your center teeth come down on the thumbnail.
It doesn't matter whether whether your nail is on the top or bottom.
Now bite gently until you can feel a little pressure on your nail. That's all there is to it. If that were an Air Buddy in your mouth, you would have air flooding your mouth. When you release the pressure, you stop the air.

Plus, you can't beat that warranty. If I had a nickel for every time one of these things happened...

The Air Buddy comes with an "Always like new" warranty.
If anything ever happens to it, including being chewed up by your pit bull, stepped on, or "fixed" by your six year old nephew with your dive tools, it will be completely inspected and refurbished by our technicians for a very small service charge. (currently $15)

 

[Epinephelus]

Any of y'all ever used one? Or anything like it?
Or is your expert evaluation based on your perception of the website, and "it's very different so it must be bad?"
I haven't used one either, but just looking at it I can't see anything "most dangerous."
Different, yes; dangerous? I'd have to actually use it to see if its gas metering is so sloppy as to produce an overexpansion hazard.
I do know that I've never seen one implicated in *any* accident.
Have you?
However...
There are many factual errors on the website.
For example, "Tthis (sic) air is poor in oxygen because you have just exhaled it."
On SCUBA under water, this just isn't so. Because PO₂ rises with depth, and on a normal breath the blood is able to take on about .04 ATA, exhaled air has as much oxygen as unbreathed surface air any time you're below about 6½ fsw (2m).
That kind of apparent ignorance of diving physics doesn't enhance confidence.
But, again, I'm not willing to pass judgment on the product without at least giving it a try.
E

 

[deepstops]

It doesn't seem like such a dangerous piece of kit to me, not that I'm going to run out and buy one either though. Not that I'm ever OOA, but that's why I dive with a buddy.

 

[DennisW]

Never seen one, never used one, not likely to ever use one, but if someone had it, I would try it just to see how it worked. However, I don't think it would work well, like breathing off of a free flowing regulator or from the first stage. You can do it, but it is a last resort kind of thing.

 

[danvolker]

I just found out about this....

Don't buy this Air Buddy.

Awful website, full of typos. I don't think much more care would have gone into their product development.

I've been very critical of the SpareAir before.... but this horrible device actually far exceeds the lunacy of that. It is downright stupid.

You bite on the tiny plastic nozel...and it squirts air into your mouth

Air Buddy

I think we need to start a thread entitled " Museum of Stupid Awards" and include the Airbuddy, the Spare Air, the original OMS BWOD,etc., and start building something that can have future resource value for divers
With the number of people on here from all over the world, we should get plenty of good material to list as award winners....
Regards,

DanV