Air2 or Octo... or Both??

[The Kraken]

:icosm12:

I know this topic is particularly varied in opinion.

Let's keep in mind that everyone is entitled to express her/his opinion here.

But I will encourage everyone to keep it civil.

The Kraken

 

[divingjd]

The long hoses does not in any way restrict how close you can get to an OOA diver.

On the other hand it does allow for two reasonably competant divers to go about exiting the dive in a manner that does not look like a rape in progress.

Glad your training was so valid.

Regards

In the environment for which I am certified and teach, open water, it works fine. And I don't need to puff myself up by acting like every situation is a cave. Get civil, for crying out loud. My posts acknowlege the validity of the long hose/bungee approach and its absolute necessity in certain situations. Why are you incapable of acknowledging the validity of any approach other than yours? If I did tech or cave diving, I would probably use the same configuration in open water, too, because I would not want to have to change configurations and stop to think about how this particular one works. But we are not all tech or cave divers and don't need to adopt that gear configuration.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Oh that WAS civil.

Glad what you were taught works for you.

The problem with your arguement is you think this is a short-long hose issue, when in fact the problem is divers with no basic skills or comfort in the water, making the hose issues quite moot, not to mention any other problem underwater that would also not be efficiently resolved by the same divers in question.

regards

 

[LavaSurfer]

If you look, most of the anti voice are long hosers. Not to start another 1000 post thread but most of it comes back to just that, if it aint DIR, it's wrong. I just have to ask, if DIR is so great, why do you even need backup anything?
Before making a choice, dive one and see, AIR2/3 may be for for, may not be for you. Believe it or not, there is more than one right answer.

I am not a long hoser yet

I am stating from my personal experience, I didn't like the inflator setup.
As you stated, there is no right answer and no wrong answer.
I had to switch when I bought my wing otherwise it would have been a problem. after switching I realized then that I likes the octo better.

I do wonder about the TUSA IR3, it looks like a better setup than the "Genesis SideKicks" I bought. they only have one downside I can see, If you get a runaway inflator, which does happen (Seen it twice), you have to disconnect your Octo to solve the problem. Thats a risk you need to measure and accept.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

I am stating from my personal experience, I didn't like the inflator setup.
As you stated, there is no right answer and no wrong answer.
I had to switch when I bought my wing otherwise it would have been a problem. after switching I realized then that I likes the octo better.

I do wonder about the TUSA IR3, it looks like a better setup than the "Genesis SideKicks" I bought. they only have one downside I can see, If you get a runaway inflator, which does happen (Seen it twice), you have to disconnect your Octo to solve the problem. Thats a risk you need to measure and accept.

Well that makes a pretty sensible reason why this in fact is a wrong answer to go with this junk. Inflator free-flow casing you to lose a regulator, sound very well thought out to me

Think about it folks. It doesn't even pass the sniff test. No sense in going any further.

 

[divingjd]

Oh that WAS civil.

Glad what you were taught works for you.

The problem with your arguement is you think this is a short-long hose issue, when in fact the problem is divers with no basic skills or comfort in the water, making the hose issues quite moot, not to mention any other problem underwater that would also not be efficiently resolved by the same divers in question.

regards

I wouldn't characterize it as a long hose/short hose issue, so maybe I'm not following your point. I think what I've been trying to say, and what some others, like TS&M have said, is that there is more than one reasonable gear configuration. A particular one might not suit your purposes or preferences. I agree with you that a lack of skills or comfort makes the hose issues moot. Without appropriate training or skills, no equipment is going to solve the problem. A diver has to understand and be comfortable with the way his gear works. I certainly wouldn't suggest that an AIR2 is any substitute for training, and as far as I can tell, no other configuration is either. Am I missing the point? If so, please clarify.

 

[The Kraken]

To reiterate the OP's question:

Which is better?

"1. a long hose primary and the Air2 (with no octo)
2. primary and long hose octo (no Air2)"

I would serve us all, better, if each respondent were to select her or his recommendation, post the reasons for that preference in a logical, reasonable manner, move on and let the diver decide based upon the information put forth by the responding members.

The Kraken

 

[BKP]

Well that makes a pretty sensible reason why this in fact is a wrong answer to go with this junk. Inflator free-flow casing you to lose a regulator, sound very well thought out to me

Think about it folks. It doesn't even pass the sniff test. No sense in going any further.

Steve, if my inflator valve gets stuck, I'm heading for the surface with oral inflation, and my good reg... would you teach otherwise? (and... inflator valves get stuck on conventional rigs, too).

If my inflator valve gets stuck AND my primary malfunctions, I'm heading to the surface AND making a list of possible enemies, that have been anywhere near my gear... ('cause coinky dinkies like that just don't happen... and if that particular one *has* I'd like to be pointed to the article...)

 

[pilot fish]

I have air2 and have used it for 4 years with no problems. I have not seen a compelling reason to switch to an octo. If needed, I donate my primary and use inflator hose, which has a reg built into it. By using the air2 configuration I have one less hose.

I think it's whatever you get used to. I fear that if I ever need someone's octo it'll be one that was dragged in the sand and not serviced. I think a lot of divers do not service their octo as often as they should.

 

[nerobanchee]

Wow, I hope people stop arguing about who or what is better... Thank you Kraken for saying something, I didnt mean to start a "my way is better so there" conversation. Thank you all for your opinions and please respect each other's methods of diving. If you dont like them, who cares, you will probably never really meet them in real life or be their buddy.