Should I get a Spare Air?

[roakey]

TSA recently changed the rules to read NO scuba cylinders on a plane, period. The vast majority of folks however make it through, but there's no guarantee. If you're willing to throw away a cylinder at some airport, go for it, because that's the risk.

Roak

 

[scuba williams]

Mike,

I watch my air like a hawk, that wasn't my concern. I currently don't use a pony. If I did, it would be to protect from a first stage failure. I don't know how often that occurs, but if it happens, your buddy better be close by or else you had better be practiced in free accents. ... Bob

Mike i agree,
whilst on my advanced course doing a wreck dive, i had a free flow which i couldnt stop, yes i could of reached behind and turned it on and off to stop it but these things had never been shown to me and whilst i am ashamed to admit my buddy p****d off over the other side of the wreck, in my panick of not really knowing my stuff 100% i slurped down shed loads of murky quarry water, panick followed and up i went, so had i had a pony, maybe in my obvious panick at that time i may have forgotten it was there but now i would rather have one on my back than not, my instructors reply to wanting one was "you big Poof" very nice coming from a member of such a highly thought of training organisation!....yes maybe it is extra weight, any yes it may cost a few more pounds in money but what price do you put on a life??? if a an item saved your life and cost an extra hundred pounds well i for sure would just save till i had the money and buy the thing...as its been mentioned just having it is worth its weight in phycological terms as i now feel better whilst my instructor still calls me a poof, which i am not by the way, but if and when he has an equipment faliure of any sort would i still be the big screaming gay leather queen for helping to save his life??? there is no right or wrong on this subject in terms of something that could quite easily save your life!...while it was only a pissy little free flow which happened next time who knows, i for one would rather feel safer in my mind and i agree fully drills should be practiced religiously which is what myself and my buddy now do, as i really would love to see my daughter grow up

 

[roakey]

So let me see if I understand...

You had the following problems:

1) Poor buddy proximity
2) Poor buddy awareness
3) Didn't press the reg to your mouth to handle the free flow (as you were taught)
4) Panic

And the solution to these problems is "I need a pony?"

Riiiiiiiiiight.

Roak

 

[jgarysmith]

Why can't a Spare Air be used to get an out of air diver to another diver to buddy breath? Why not do that instead of risjing runningout going toi the surface. I have a Spare Air and a 19 pony. I use the pony the most because I feel it is the best choice, but I also believe a Spare Air has a place. It is better than nothing at all and a good choice inshallow dives.

Why can't it be used to get to your buddy or another diver, then ascent?

 

[Boogie711]

Maybe you can just hand them a little plastic shovel, instead. It's lightweight, easily stowable, and about as useful for digging a grave as a spare air would be in a rescue situation.

 

[Diver0001]

Why can't a Spare Air be used to get an out of air diver to another diver to buddy breath? Why not do that instead of risjing runningout going toi the surface. I have a Spare Air and a 19 pony. I use the pony the most because I feel it is the best choice, but I also believe a Spare Air has a place. It is better than nothing at all and a good choice inshallow dives.

Why can't it be used to get to your buddy or another diver, then ascent?

Personally I think spare-air is a solution to a problem that shouldn't exist. Running out of air is (for those of us who do not dive in overheads) a completely avoidable problem. In that sense I think a spare-air may work against you by giving you a false sense of security. Probably the divers most concerned about it (the ones likely to buy spare air) would be better off putting that worried energy into watching their spg......

Just a thought.

R..

 

[Miami_Diver]

scubadiving.com/gear/regulators/bailout_bottles/1/

 

[jiveturkey]

scubadiving.com/gear/regulators/bailout_bottles/1/

Well if Rodales says it's a good product then it must be.

 

[JeffMandell]

My son just got certified, so he's aquiring gear. Some of mine, some new, and I've been planning to get him a Spare Air. I just read most of this three year long thread.
Man, there's a whole lot of outright contempt out there for divers who have the nerve to make mistakes at some point in their diving lives. Or to have a buddy you were assigned to dive with on a trip who drifted off and isn't be there when needed.
You guys who are so critical must be very comforting after car accidents and other human failures of judgment.
Me- I watch my gauges like a hawk. I've never come remotely close to running out of air, and don't plan to; I'm teaching my son the same thing. But geez, to say that because of this, I'm not going to bring along an extra few breaths of life in case the worst happens...are you kidding?
My Zeagle Ranger BC has a zip on accessory sleeve for a spare air that tucks out of sight and out of the way, so only the regulator/head of it sticks out where the integrated weight pocket is on one side. I fill it when I get to a destination, slide it in, and forget about it, but I know it's there.
How will I use it? I hope I never do, but:
1. If another diver comes at me in a total out of air panic, I'll give him my spare air first, to calm him down, before he lunges at my octopus and endagers me in his panic. Then he can have my octo.
2. If there is a freak event that causes an out of air event at depth, I'll swim to my buddy with the comfort of a few more breaths than I would have had without it.
3. If all else fails, I'll do the same for a controlled ascent. I don't know about you, but unless you think they shouldn't bother teaching emergency ascents in OW class because no one has any right to ever run out of air, I'd rather have a few more breaths on the way up than not.
What, you say? You'll NEVER have an out of air emergency? How nice for you. I, on the other hand, am only a mere mortal, and real life things happen in my world. And that includes the unexpected.
So I'm getting my son one too.
I sincerely hope you are all as accident free as your sternly judgmental attitudes suggest. But I think the many of you who are hyper critical about carrying one of these are coming out to a to a really weird place on this. Are you also chopping the air bags out of your cars?

 

[95VROOM]

Well lets see. There are many ways to look at this but for me its simple....I'd rather be broke and alive at the suface than have money in my pocket dead on the bottom.

What are the regulations regarding flying with a Spare Air? Wouldn't it have to have the valve removed also>?