My first BP/W System. Whatcha Think?

[Peter_C]

I apologize for the dumb question, but being my first setup, I've never had an opportunity to gut another one and have nothing to compare to... is that the little steel wire that's inside the hose that the little steel rod in the AIR2 goes through? If so, yes.

Yes the steel cable is part of the venting system and what you need to use and practice with in order to vent properly.

as for the longer hose on the primary, I do intend on adding that before diving this setup. Was specifically leaning towards a 4' Miflex hose, why do you suggest 5'? It just seems a bit excessive IMO.

4' is too short to wrap around your body and too long to route just under your arm up to your mouth. A 5' hose is a great length since it doesn't have to be tucked under anything and stays tight to the body. The other option of routing a shorter 36"-40" hose under the arm up to your mouth is best accomplished with a 90 degree fitting. Other than a captured swivel the ones with a bolt holding them together are shown to fail. The 90 degree fitting has a very low failure rate.

If you want to read more about the gear configuration many of us posting in this thread use you can read about it here.

 

[Namreg 58]

as for the longer hose on the primary, I do intend on adding that before diving this setup. Was specifically leaning towards a 4' Miflex hose, why do you suggest 5'? It just seems a bit excessive IMO.

.

52brandon, if you are only doing simple non overhead environment dives, you will have no use for a 5' hose unless you like the idea of having one wrapped around your neck in the hope of one day in a galaxy far, far away..... being able to donate it in an OOA situation.

It is far better to not dive with strokes who are incapable of monitoring their own air .........along with their potential donors.

 

[52brandon]

thank you guys for the input. Will go the 36-40" route

(sidenote: though the seller told me it was an AL plate. It's SS. Forgot to add that earlier, though it's probably obvious just by looking at it

 

[MichigandiverJon]

52Brandon, Great score on the rig. Im looking into options for a BP/W myself. Having dove with an AIR2 on a jacket BC for several years, I will attest to what Peter_C said, you do need to practice using it. I personally like it for my current setup, but am riding the fence on whether I want it on an wing. One of the main issues you may or may not run into is trying to turn your head while useing it, you may accidently dump air from your wing causing you unexpected buoyancy issues. You need to be able to have the air2 in your mouth without feeling any tension on the corrugated hose. You might not be able to comfortably adjust your rig to accomodate this with a wing. You'll have to dive it and see. Be careful and go dive!!

 

[halocline]

52brandon, if you are only doing simple non overhead environment dives, you will have no use for a 5' hose unless you like the idea of having one wrapped around your neck in the hope of one day in a galaxy far, far away..... being able to donate it in an OOA situation.

It is far better to not dive with strokes who are incapable of monitoring their own air .........along with their potential donors.

Two points of contention; first, you sometimes have no control over who you share the water with, and second, the 5ft hose is more comfortable to dive with than any other length I've tried, and I've tried several. It routs perfectly, presents no push-pull on the mouthpiece, and is very streamlined.

 

[randytay]

I posted about ordering this before, so some may remember. Found this setup on eBay for $238 shipped. Seemed like a good deal for my first BP/W so I reluctantly pulled the trigger not knowing how well it would fit and what kind of shape it was really in. The seller didn't have the best pics of it so it was hard to tell. I decided to ask him about it. He promised me that it was in great shape. I received it yesterday and I was surprised to see just wow great when I received it. It's basically brand new. All of it. The straps are all very stiff, the finish on the metals is perfect, the velcro on the tank straps is also perfect. Pretty much, I couldn't be happier about the condition. I took it apart to see if there were any hidden issues ant to clean it up a bit. Here's the different pics of it

Without further adieu:
View attachment 173582View attachment 173583View attachment 173584View attachment 173585View attachment 173586View attachment 173587View attachment 173588View attachment 173589View attachment 173590View attachment 173591View attachment 173592

what do you guys think?

I'm not sure what the model harness/plate it is. The closest I could find is the Dive Rite Transplate (Amazon.com: Dive Rite Transplate Harness: Sports & Outdoors) which is $220. It's got the OMS single tank adapter with cam bands (Amazon.com: OMS Stainless Steel Single Tank Adaptor w/ Cam Bands: Sports & Outdoors which is about $160. The wing is the Dive Rite Rec Wing (Amazon.com: Dive Rite Rec Wing, Single Bladder Black: Sports & Outdoors which is $220). The Zeagle quick dump weight pouches are the 20lb pair (Divers Discount Florida - Zeagle Rear Weight Systems - MAP - High Quality Diving Equipment at a Discount) for $100. So it looks like it would have set me back about $700 for the set new. And considering they retty much are new, I'.m pretty happy with what I paid for it. Anybody have any opinions on it?

Excellent deal. The wings and harness... meh. And you even attached Air2 to it...

---------- Post added December 24th, 2013 at 01:01 PM ----------

52brandon, if you are only doing simple non overhead environment dives, you will have no use for a 5' hose unless you like the idea of having one wrapped around your neck in the hope of one day in a galaxy far, far away..... being able to donate it in an OOA situation.

It is far better to not dive with strokes who are incapable of monitoring their own air .........along with their potential donors.

I have never seen any 5' or 7' wrapped around your neck. Is that how you would do it?

---------- Post added December 24th, 2013 at 01:02 PM ----------

thank you guys for the input. Will go the 36-40" route

(sidenote: though the seller told me it was an AL plate. It's SS. Forgot to add that earlier, though it's probably obvious just by looking at it

Oh no!

---------- Post added December 24th, 2013 at 01:04 PM ----------

It will work FINE. If you don't think so, I will trade. I mail you a brand new standard inflator, a braided hose for it and we can trade and I will pay shipping for both packages and throw a few bucks in the box...

Still a 2nd stage short. I will trade with a standard inflator, a hose and an Atomic M1 second stage.

 

[Namreg 58]

----------



I have never seen any 5' or 7' wrapped around your neck. Is that how you would do it?

---------- Post added December 24th, 2013 at 01:02 PM ----------



.

.......and you never will as I don't feel a need to advertise my inadequacies!

 

[52brandon]

52Brandon, Great score on the rig. Im looking into options for a BP/W myself. Having dove with an AIR2 on a jacket BC for several years, I will attest to what Peter_C said, you do need to practice using it. I personally like it for my current setup, but am riding the fence on whether I want it on an wing. One of the main issues you may or may not run into is trying to turn your head while useing it, you may accidently dump air from your wing causing you unexpected buoyancy issues. You need to be able to have the air2 in your mouth without feeling any tension on the corrugated hose. You might not be able to comfortably adjust your rig to accomodate this with a wing. You'll have to dive it and see. Be careful and go dive!!

thank you for the input. I do plan on practicing with it quite a bit before the maiden voyage. I hope I like the AIR2. It seems convenient/lightweight/streamlined as long as it works well enough

Excellent deal. The wings and harness... meh. And you even attached Air2 to it...


...Oh no!

???

I don't follow. The impression I get by those statements is that they are negative. Why is that? Perhaps sarcasm? (Sometimes it escapes me in text form) Aside from it being a little bulkier, the wing seems good enough to use on both double tank and single tank (not the ideal solution. But still will work perfectly fine). And I REALLY like the harness. It's very comfortable, and it's secure. What else could I want from it? I will be adding a crotch strap, and maybe replace some d-rings. But otherwise, I see no disadvantage to the Transplate harness compared to any other harness. Basic or otherwise. And as for the plate, what disadvantage does SS have compared to AL? I would assume all it does it make me need to pack lighter on a plane (which may become an issue), AND in the water (which is a positive). If you don't mind. Please elaborate. I would like to know more