ScubaPro Air2 Good/Bad or just Ugly...?

[Solo1mick]

Hi,

I am thinking about getting an Air2 fitted to me Knighthawk and losing my octopus.

I only sport dive in warm water and I am trying to lighting the load.

I already lost gauges and replaced them with D9 + transmitter but kept small spg for safety (learned this in January when transmitter failed 10 minutes into dive at 24m and with no spg I had to surface).

I will be getting a Ti reg next week and replacing heavier Abyss.

I also want to lose octopus in favour of Air2, seems logical but having already suffered the consequences of replacing equipment for more hi-tec options I thought I'd ask first.

So the

Good: Is it safe / usable / light / Reliable?

Bad: It has limitations / servicing / not reliable / heavy

Ugly: Well I know it looks ugly so pretty much answered that myself...

thanks for the help

 

[Mauifish]

Would you like to buy mine? cheap!

 

[Solo1mick]

Would you like to buy mine? cheap!

That's not really a good advert...

So what's wrong with it...?

 

[Couv]

Hi,

I am thinking about getting an Air2 fitted to me Knighthawk and losing my octopus.

I only sport dive in warm water and I am trying to lighting the load.

I already lost gauges and replaced them with D9 + transmitter but kept small spg for safety (learned this in January when transmitter failed 10 minutes into dive at 24m and with no spg I had to surface).

I will be getting a Ti reg next week and replacing heavier Abyss.

I also want to lose octopus in favour of Air2, seems logical but having already suffered the consequences of replacing equipment for more hi-tec options I thought I'd ask first.

So the

Good: Is it safe / usable / light / Reliable?

Bad: It has limitations / servicing / not reliable / heavy

Ugly: Well I know it looks ugly so pretty much answered that myself...

thanks for the help

I have used one for over 20 years for the type of diving you describe. It fits the bill nicely. If I were to assign a negative, it would be that it stays attached to your BC during travel and gets more abuse that way, i.e. in your dive bag it will get thrown around by the airline cargo monkeys and in the boat loading and unloading process.

 

[DennisW]

I have used my Air 2 since 1988. Works perfectly for the purpose it was intended. It does not breath particularly well, but it doesn't have to. It just needs to get you to the surface.

Yes it may receive a bit more abuse since it is attached to your BC, but that has not hurt mine in any way. It does tend to freeflow easily if it gets sand in the regulator. This normally happens on a shore dive. A good rinsing after each dive fixes this issue.

 

[RonFrank]

This is a controversial subject, and comes up often.

You are basically going to have two camps of thought. Camp one does NOT dive integrated Octo inflators, but they are DEAD set against them. They will list reasons like failure points, a short hose, the inability to control buoyancy and breath at the same time. IMO all these points are mostly invalid.

Camp two will be divers who generally dive an Octo Inflator combination. They will suggest that it is a more streamline configuration (it is), and that the Octo Inflator combination works fine (it does).

I have an Octo+ on my Zeagle, and I dive it with a long hose! I also have a setup I use when diving my BP/W that has a separate Octo inflater combination!

IOW's when I travel, I like the streamlined Octo+ but as I would donate my primary, I use a long hose.

My Octo+ breaths as well or better than my Oxycheq Octo. It has been reliable, and if you need to donate air, and dump air the inflator hose is designed for this. I also have no issue removing the octo from my mouth if that is necessay, and EVERY diver should be VERY comfortable doing so.

While I can see both points of view, and I dive both configurations, those that are opposed to Octo Inflator combinations seem to be more fanatical vs. real world about their opinions.

BTW, our LDS has 100% of both their instructors, and students diving Octo+/Air II types setups. This is their choice, and while they do discuss other configurations, if it was unsafe, they would not have made the choice as there are Insurance companies, Lawyers, the public, and liability involved!

 

[scubanimal]

As was mentioned there are opinions that are strong on both sides. Which ever you decide, please be sure you and your buddy practice OOA drills with the gear, know and can operate each others gear, and have your communication signals down.

I use both ways depends on my diving. For photo ops when my divie mission is just that then I have as little as possible and an integrated Air2 and hoseless computer set up is very clean for me, other times I may not have my usual buddy or for some other reason I go with an Octo, and there are times such as when there are kids along that I have both on. YMMV.

 

[Hoosier]

Any accident reports due to Air 2.... I think it is perfectly fine within a rec.diving range.

 

[ONESPEED]

Do a search and you will find NUMEROUS threads on this topic, it has been beat to death on ScubaBoard.

 

[TSandM]

If you can, borrow a setup with an Air2 and play with it, and be sure you are happy with it. I found the combination of a short, heavy hose and having to adjust buoyancy with the thing you're breathing off of to be awkward and uncomfortable, as did my husband.

The biggest thing is that, if you are using an Air2 secondary, you should put a longer hose on your primary regulator than the 24" which is standard, because sharing air with a 24" hose puts you face to face with the other diver, and pretty much requires a pure vertical ascent. A hose at least octo (36") length is better, and a 40" hose with a swivel at the connection with the second stage will permit easy routing under your arm, to keep you from having a big loop of hose sticking out.