Info Looking for advice Ocean Reef vs OTS FFM

[Tigerpaw]

I do not Some luxury animals use a so-called lip shield to protect the lips from some of the cold, but I've never found it necessary.

Thanks, I read many divers complaining about losing their regulator due to numb lips but based on your reply I'll give it a try. Will most likely be in your neck of the woods in 2024 on a cruise, plan on squeezing in some dives while in Norway.

 

[GiraffeMarineSalvage]

I second that your lips may get a bit numb at the end of a long cold dive, but not to the point of being unable to keep a reg in your mouth.. (unless of course your entire kit viewed in it's entirety were inadequate or an issue like a drysuit flood lead to hypothermia, and in either case a FFM wouldn't help relative to correcting those issues...)

(Side note, purely since you're relatively new to coldwater diving and regs were mentioned: make sure your regs are appropriate for cold water.. to avoid thread-drift a SB search on "cold water regulator" should give you plenty of info and confirmation that your regs are or are not suitable, especially keeping in mind if your 1st stage were breathed off of by you and a dive buddy simultaneously...)

 

[Tigerpaw]

I second that your lips may get a bit numb at the end of a long cold dive, but not to the point of being unable to keep a reg in your mouth.. (unless of course your entire kit viewed in it's entirety were inadequate or an issue like a drysuit flood lead to hypothermia, and in either case a FFM wouldn't help relative to correcting those issues...)

(Side note, purely since you're relatively new to coldwater diving and regs were mentioned: make sure your regs are appropriate for cold water.. to avoid thread-drift a SB search on "cold water regulator" should give you plenty of info and confirmation that your regs are or are not suitable, especially keeping in mind if your 1st stage were breathed off of by you and a dive buddy simultaneously...)

Thanks,....yes I plan on renting regulators, a quick check of the places I will be diving do have regulators for cold weather, the most common being Poseidon's.

 

[SpaceCat]

If you decide that you are still interested in a FFM, I am happy to give you thoughts on the OTS, which I love. But yes, it is not needed for cold water diving at all. There are, as with anything, positives and negatives to it. I can't offer much of a comparison between the two FFM though -- I have never tried the Ocean Reef.

 

[Tigerpaw]

If you decide that you are still interested in a FFM, I am happy to give you thoughts on the OTS, which I love. But yes, it is not needed for cold water diving at all. There are, as with anything, positives and negatives to it. I can't offer much of a comparison between the two FFM though -- I have never tried the Ocean Reef.

I appreciate the offer but I think I'm going to forego the FFM for now. It seems like for the type of diving that I'm doing it's not needed. Thanks again!

 

[Ross19966]

I have an Ocean Reef G Diver and love it. I didn't like the surface air valve location or the removable regulator on the OTS. I figure anything removable can accidently remove itself when least expected. The FFM uses a little more air but the breathing is more natural. You can also talk much easier underwater and other divers can hear you pretty well. I also made an audio recorder that screws into the com port so I can narrate videos in real time. For cold water I got a Seasoft hood made to go under the FFM seal which works pretty well. The seal is not as good as direct to face, but it really simplifies donning and makes the dive much warmer.

As for contaminated water, you are playing Russian roulette in contaminated water with a FFM. If you have a failure you will have to ditch the mask. You can use a gas switch block and a pony bottle to deal with primary air failure, but a failure of the 2nd stage on the FFM will still mean ditching the mask. Any time we dove in a toxic environment it was always in a Viking drysuit, helmet, comms and surface supplied air.

If you go with the G Diver, be aware that it does not include a QD or SAV which will add around $150. I just added the SAV. The QD looked like a un-needed failure point. I think the Neptune 3 includes both but it's a lot more money.