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

[idive2]

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 recently had to provide an air share to a LOA diver doing a wreck in Key Largo.
Things went smoothly once I figured out he was low on air when I caught up to him
at the ascent line which he was headed for rather intently. We ascended from 90ft.
so venting of the BC was required as well as monitoring ascent rate. My octo has a
39" hose and seemed to be a comfortable distance. There was one point where we actually had to hand the octo back around the ascent line during our safety stop and I felt a little extra length would have been nice. I'm looking into a 49" hose that I found from one supplier.

 

[D_B]

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.

I put a 42" hose on my primary for just those reasons and a swivel for my comfort/better routing under my arm ... see profile pic
(both me , and my buddies work fine, we even thought it breathed better than the rental regs)
.. it does stay attached to your BC
... you need an adapter to hook up your reg to a regular BC even if you do install a octo (have it)
... but most anoying for me, it hangs way down , forcing me to keep my hands at my waist to retain it and will lead to my replacing it with a conventional inflator/octo setup eventually (have an R190 waiting)
whatever you do decide on, make sure you go over your equipment configuration with anyone who dives with you and practice with it (good idea at any rate)

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Hi,



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


Why do people choose a titanium 1st stage?
It seems that many here use steel tanks instead of aluminum tanks for various reasons, negative bouancy being one of them.
I ask because I'm a machinist, I can't see the reason for using a titanium 1st stage for manufacturing a regulator. Other than corrosion resistance of course. Brass/ chrome plated regulators are corrosion resistant as well, so titanium wouldn't be very cost effective in this regard.
As for the weight savings that people seem to mention, what's the point? if your going to attach it to a steel tank, or aluminum for that matter.
I thought I'd ask, in case there was something I was missing. Titanium and Brass/chrome plated regulators would be manufactured to the same dimensions and tolerances, so the wouldn't be a performance advantage.
In this application, the material (titanium) seems to be a waste of money.
I heard someone in a shop mention to someone else that the titanium regulator would cause less jaw fatigue than a regular regulator. That one cracked me up.... unless you were carrying your first stage in your mouth. The second stage doesn't have any titanium used in their construction, the trim ring on the front is anodized aluminum, not titanium. Even if it were, sheetmetal as thin as that used for a trim ring (.050" or .062") and as small would not have a significant weight savings over aluminum.
I'm just curious, being a machinist.
Your mention of a titanium reg. prompted me to ask here.
thanks.
Mitch

 

[WallDiver77]

I am somewhat of a minimalist. I tend to think that having one less hose is better... hey DIR crowd: One less hose.... one less failure point, right?! LOL Less crap equals safer diving to me. The only time I dive with more crap (aka redundant systems) is when I dive solo.

I own a Tusa octo/inflator IR-3 (I think that's the model #). Hands down it has been the best "accessory" I've bought over the past 7 years.

I run an ATomic B1 reg and the cheap Tusa octo/inflator breathes just as well. The Tusa octo/inflator has never free-flowed on me .... and most of the time I remember to rinse it. (When left to the boat crew it's seldom rinsed!) When traveling the inflator hose assembly is removed from my bc and is part of my carry-on with my regs.

I have used it in emergencies and I found it very automatic to hand my primary off to the OOA diver and, without thinking, pick up my octo/inflator. I am a believer in getting close to the OOA diver to calm the situation. I can see the need in some cases for a longer hose on your primary too.... it just depends on the scenario. Personally, unless cave/wreck diving, I'd never consider a 7' hose.

I am about to start my tech training and have installed in on my OxyCheq wing... I'm sure the instructor is going to have a fit, but I thought I'd put up a little fight before I change it!

Back to the topic: I'd recommend diving with an octo/inflator without any hestitation.

Please let us know how it worked out for you!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

....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.

What the heck kind of ascents do open water recreational divers make when sharing air? Staying vertical and streamlined sounds like a good goal to me?

I like my air 2 also and have used it in a true emergency when my buddy ran completely out of air at 100 ft. You just need to practice ascending with it in your mouth once in a while.

I'll admit that I had not done the practice in months and tied it again the other day. I had somewhat of a problem because I have a few bungies holding my corregated inflator down (to keep it from floating around). I never lift it above my head to dump air because I always use the integrated pull dump in the inflator and like it to be held down to my shoulder strap pretty securely. During my little solo practice session, (when comming up from a 200 ft dive), I noted that the bungies made the hose hard to reach my mouth. Not impossible, just a little uncomfortable. I removed one of the bungies when I got on the boat.

 

[Rhino_Portland_Oregon]

I have been using Air 2's since 1995. In nearly 200 dives I have never ran into a problem with them. Infact I have seen many peoples octs's get snagged up in rocks or tangled in Kelp, but not my Air 2.
IMHO you cannot go wrong with them...