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

[Hoosier]

I have been on this subject all the times. I haven't found any accident reports due to Air 2...

 

[redacted]

I used an Air2 for years and my wife/buddy still uses hers. It is reliable, breathes adequately when properly tuned, and keeps your rig somewhat uncluttered. IMO, it is superior to the std, cheap, lower performance octo that tends to detach from an octo holder and bounce around. But as my rig evolved, my Air2 got in the way of my slung pony so I went to a high performance 2nd on a bungee around my neck. It is easier to share air with that rig but not necessary for typical recreational diving. BTW, it is easy to make minor cracking pressure adjustments on an Air2 using one of the allen wrenches on a pocket scubatool. It keeps the Air2 working well and cuts down on the unnecessary trips to the LDS for very minor adjustments.

 

[ghostrunner007]

I dive with one , never had a problem. Like stated at the start there are 2 camps on this subject. My answer dive with the gear that makes you fell at home with.

 

[3-Ring Octopus]

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.

I'm confused as to why a long-hose is thought of as "necessary" in open-water scenarios. I can certainly see the advantages in overhead environments (wreck penetration, narrow caves, etc.), however, in open-water I don't want my OOA, probably panicked buddy to have very much wiggle room with MY air. I WANT to be face-to-face...having his entire field of view be my calm face isn't such a bad thing. I'm also confused as to why a purely vertical ascent is a bad thing. Purely vertical allows me to "lock on" to his BC/Harness strap and have a bit more control over rate of ascent, along with the ability to support him/her at the surface until such a time as their BC can be orally inflated. I'm sure that others would excuse a bit of silting (if it occurred) from an OOA diver.

Cheers,
Austin

 

[Solo1mick]

I think I'll go for it.

I am of to Maldives next month and they have a good house reef on the island I am staying. We went in January with the wife in all new equipment and it was a great spot for orientation (5m flat sand no current before drop to reef), we spent 2 full hours down there adjusting equipment and going through buddy moves to refresh memory and get comfortable before we ventured to boats.

Thanks for the info, very helpful.

 

[Mauifish]

That's not really a good advert...

So what's wrong with it...?

nothing realy wrong with it, but for use as an alternate air source in some emergency situations an octo would be better, now that I am in the "instructor mode" I have decided against having an AIR 2, seeing things differently now. Hope this helps, good luck, have fun diving and choosing what best suits your needs.

 

[Mike Edmonston]

I'll throw my hat in the fray..

I dive the "Atomic" version of the air2. the SS1. It is nice when I teach my students as I use a 5 ft hose on my primary reg. I pass off the long hose and breathe on the SS1. In an OOA situation, you want to safely get to the surface. We're not interested in perfect horizontal trim or positions. You want to be verticlal, ascending slowly, and locked onto your OOA diver's chest strap with your hand. Sometimes the diver is not "slim" and a short hose won't reach them. That's why diving a longer hose is a benefit. Even if you never intend on doing Tech diving, you should learn to dive a longer hose.

Anyway, just like a lanyard reg around your neck, when the SH!T hits the fan, you know where to reach for your Octo. If it's dangling somewhere on your right side, you might turn out being the diver that's OOA.

Cheers

Mike

 

[TSandM]

To be honest with you, I found the degree of proximity enforced by sharing air with a 24" hose to be stressful in and of itself. There just wasn't any room to move my body at all. I can share air on a 36" hose or a 40" hose and keep hold of my buddy's BC if I want to, but both of us can move a little bit without threatening that critical connection between the two of us. I'm not saying you have to have a 5' or 7' hose, just something a little longer than 24 inches if you are going to share it.

I think vertical ascents are harder to control, because any finning you do tends to drive you upward, and you present very little surface area to the water to slow yourself down. JMHO.

 

[RonFrank]

I'm confused as to why a long-hose is thought of as "necessary" in open-water scenarios. ... however, in open-water I don't want my OOA, probably panicked buddy to have very much wiggle room with MY air. I WANT to be face-to-face...having his entire field of view be my calm face isn't such a bad thing.

I'm not sure anyone says it's NECESSARY to have a long hose on the primary for rec diving. However having a short hose means.. well a short hose. IMO I'd rather have a long hose, and not need it all then a short hose, and wish I had more room.

I'm also confused as to why a purely vertical ascent is a bad thing. Purely vertical allows me to "lock on" to his BC/Harness strap and have a bit more control over rate of ascent, along with the ability to support him/her at the surface until such a time as their BC can be orally inflated. I'm sure that others would excuse a bit of silting (if it occurred) from an OOA diver.

Cheers,
Austin

It's difficult to control the ascent rate of someone else unless you are overweighted. To do so you will need to dump their air during ascent. A better solution is for them to control their own ascent, but if they are in a panic they may not be thinking. In any event, what you may want to be locked onto is the inflator hose, not the BC. So if you have one hand on your inflator hose, and the other on theirs, how exactly do you "lock on" to their BC/Harness strap?

 

[SteveAD]

To be honest with you, I found the degree of proximity enforced by sharing air with a 24" hose to be stressful in and of itself. There just wasn't any room to move my body at all. I can share air on a 36" hose or a 40" hose and keep hold of my buddy's BC if I want to, but both of us can move a little bit without threatening that critical connection between the two of us. I'm not saying you have to have a 5' or 7' hose, just something a little longer than 24 inches if you are going to share it.

I think vertical ascents are harder to control, because any finning you do tends to drive you upward, and you present very little surface area to the water to slow yourself down. JMHO.

A "standard length" hose is usually 30" I believe 24" is DIR standard for the short hose bungied reg. Depending on the divers build a 30" primary might work with an air2, but I usually use a 6 foot hose on my primary and would not feel comfortable with less than a 39" (standard octo lengh). I have been using an air2 for 15 years. As for the long hose giving you less control over the ooa diver, I find that my hand on his shoulder strap gives me much better control than a hose in his mouth, and a longer hose gives more options.