Air2 AND octo?

[caruso]

Are you calling someone who is trying to help others divers not buy unnecessary gear that can fail and has (can) numerous problems with it in the past egocentric?

Yes I think your "Don't buy it" statement is highly opinionated, egocentric and just plain wrong. A BCD mounted regulator is not any more likely to fail than a standard octopus regulator, and when used properly by a trained diver it is effective and can and does allow a diver to streamline their rig by eliminating a hose as well as the additional mouthpiece.

All you people get very hurt when very few words are spoken about something that isn’t even remotely close to themselves personally.

What can I say. I'm an emotional sort of guy, when people post silly things on internet discussion forums I find that I empty boxes of tissues at a rather alarming rate.

 

[EireDiver606]

Yes I think your "Don't buy it" statement is highly opinionated, egocentric and just plain wrong. A BCD mounted regulator is not any more likely to fail than a standard octopus regulator, and when used properly by a trained diver it is effective and can and does allow a diver to streamline their rig by eliminating a hose as well as the additional mouthpiece.

And this discussion is not about opinions. In fact I wanted to get one before. Quick example they’re not designed for water less than 10 degrees Celsius.

If you use this, and get the wrong impression as a new diver to only use this as backup, if you grab it while panicked, there’s a good chance youll inflate yourself to the surface along with your gas sharing buddy. Not a fun situation. That is fact not opinion.

People love to throw the word opinion around a lot when all they’re doing is giving their own opinion anyway.

Ok you dive the way you dive. I’ll dive the way I dive - as safely as possible might I add.

 

[caruso]

Ok you dive the way you dive. I’ll dive the way I dive - as safely as possible might I add.

Great! So you won't be going around telling people not to buy stuff that you don't dive with because you think it's unnecessary?

I think we're making progress

 

[EireDiver606]

Would you care to elaborate?

Thanks!

Free flow. Free flow. Free flow.

Inadequate source of gas as it’s on your inflator/ deflator try grabbing while panicked and accidentally press inflate and rocket up and away you go.

Clunky.

To be serviced the same as a full reg.

Tie a an air 2 to a pull dump inflator /deflator and if you pull off your shoulder dump, your gas source is gone (shouldn’t use pull dump either)....

Etc

 

[EireDiver606]

Great! So you won't be going around telling people not to buy stuff that you don't dive with because you think it's unnecessary?

I think we're making progress

It’s not about me thinking it’s unnecessary.

 

[caruso]

Inadequate source of gas as it’s on your inflator/ deflator try grabbing while panicked and accidentally press inflate and rocket up and away you go.

In what universe is a diver going to grab his or her BCD mounted regulator, proceed to accidentally press the inflate button and sit there holding it depressed and continuing to fill the BCD while "rocketing to the surface" while doing nothing to remedy the situation?. If the diver is that incompetent then there's a lot more ways to screw up a dive.

Tie a an air 2 to a pull dump inflator /deflator and if you pull off your shoulder dump, your gas source is gone (shouldn’t use pull dump either).

Using the BCD pull dump is a convenient way to avoid having to raise the BCD vent hose higher than the BCD and assume a left shoulder up position. I use it all the time, I can't recall the last time I went through the whole "twist my body so my left shoulder is the highest point on my body and hold the vent hose higher than the BCD" in order to vent gas. To use a pull dump, as recommended by the BCD manufacturer, the diver can be almost horizontal, and just needs to gently tug downwards on the corrugated BCD hose to allow the gas to escape from the BCD shoulder vent. The odds of the diver completely pulling the entire inflator hose off the BCD are so remote as to be nonexistant and even "if" it should occur then the dive can aborted, just like it would be with any other equipment failure.

 

[ibj40]

Free flow. Free flow. Free flow.

Inadequate source of gas as it’s on your inflator/ deflator try grabbing while panicked and accidentally press inflate and rocket up and away you go.

Clunky.

To be serviced the same as a full reg.

Tie a an air 2 to a pull dump inflator /deflator and if you pull off your shoulder dump, your gas source is gone (shouldn’t use pull dump either)....

Etc

I got certified initially in 1986. I did my pool and initial open water dives on rental equipment from the LDS where I was certified.

When I went to acquire my own gear, from that same LDS, I was intrigued by the Air 2-type inflator that they were offering on a package with one of the first bladderless BCDs on the market. I also bought a Sherwood Oasis regulator, paired with a Dacor digital dive information unit.

After over 1,000 dives (and granted I have upgraded two of those initial purchases), I still dive the most contemporary version of the Air2. The other upgrade has been to stay current in dive computers.

I have never experienced a free flow, and never experienced a failure of the shoulder dump.

Needless to say I am a very conscientious diver, who maintains their equipment on a very regimented schedule.

Your anecdoctal-based assessment of a very reliable component of dive equipment is a disservice to other participants on this Board who come here for an objective discussion of the relative merits of the variety of approaches to enjoying our sport.

It was clear from your arbitrary initial statement, and your continued string of rationalizations supports my observation.

 

[caruso]

Tie a an air 2 to a pull dump inflator /deflator and if you pull off your shoulder dump, your gas source is gone

Add this to the list of your completely wrong statements. Even in the highly unlikely scenario that a diver pulls the hose off the shoulder dump, they will not lose the functionality of the BCD mounted regulator which attaches to the tank via a completely different hose.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

[QUOTE="caruso, post: 8375686, member: 494646
It's just another way for gas to leak out of the tank in the case of a freeflow or hose failure.[/QUOTE]

True. Maintenance, care, and inspection are your friends. Same goes for your standard inflator hose and inflator.

I actually had a situatuion in a simulated panic diver drill during my rescue class that my primary was knocked from my mouth. I had put my Octo back on for that class because most divers will look for a standard Octo in an out of air situation. I practice reg recovery, am comfortable with it, and can do it with my eyes closed, but having the air 2 on my harness was easier and faster to deal with for a couple of breaths while I sorted everything else out.

We use it in class to demonstrate passing your primary, but I will continue to run both. Still think if one is good...2 is more gooder....

But I run a shoulder dump on my wings too...

I don't however dive split fins...I don't want to die!!

It's all good.

Jay

 

[RyanT]

Just an observation, most (all?) tech divers don't rely on an air2.

Now, I'm not implying that tech divers are the final word on all dives, in all situations. I'm not even implying that all tech divers are necessarily smart. However, on dives where the margin of error is slimmer (cave/deco dives), most opt not to have an air2.