"Spare Air" - Experience in its use
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Spare Air was created by a guy by the name of Larry Williamson (at one point, I was the Canadian Distributor for this product). Larry told me the story of him running out of air at 140 ft (too far away from his buddy and with no back-up air system [the idiot]) and having to make a free ascent. He said all he could think of was what he would give for just one more breath of air. He started-up his company to provide that one extra breath. Spare Air is a tool and like every tool has its limitations. If the type of diving you do warrants it, buy a pony, use doubles, triples or a closed circuit system. Dress the part. Spare Air does however have it's uses. Like Larry would say: "How much is one breath of air worth to you if you don't have one?"
Those totally against spare air always assume a scenerio where the ooa emergency happens at the bottom. I will be useful if you are making your way up from depth
and an ooa situation developes.....like 30-40 ft. sounds like cheape insurance to me.
Looking at the posts reminds me of people debating religion. They have made up thier mind and and by god it won't change.... Yea...if your at 100ft. hell mabey 80 or so you will probably drown......NEXT CASE
and an ooa situation developes.....like 30-40 ft. sounds like cheape insurance to me.
Looking at the posts reminds me of people debating religion. They have made up thier mind and and by god it won't change.... Yea...if your at 100ft. hell mabey 80 or so you will probably drown......NEXT CASE
DevonDiver
N/A
People made up their minds, because there are simple mathematical tests for the ability of Spare Air to deliver what you need.
It isn't so much that Spare Air is bad.... it is that it is the worst, in a wide range of possible solutions and options.
It isn't so much that Spare Air is bad.... it is that it is the worst, in a wide range of possible solutions and options.
TheScubaBOB
Contributor
At 30 - 40 feet you can get safely to the surface without the Spare Air.
The reason so much focus is put on OOA at depth of 80 - 100 ft is because that's how it's marketed, as a replacement for a pony bottle and they specifically say it will bring you safely to the surface from 100ft.
DaleC
Contributor
No. In insurance terms it is very expensive poor coverage.
This is to me is a very good and reasonable statement.
In the beginning I also considered a Spare Air. I asked my local LDS what they thought and they made two arguements that made me reconsider:
1.) A spare air cost almost as much as a pony/deco bottle but would be limited to shallow recreational diving only. After I progressed past that point it would sit on the shelf never to be used again. A good sized pony/deco bottle could be used throughout my entire diving career.
2.) The LDS would not service the reg set up so I would have to send it out myself for repairs and annual servicing. Same with the hydro.
I know #2 may be conditional for your area/LDS but certainly worth looking into when considering the purchase.
I also though of redundancy in these ways:
a.) With proper gas management I should not go OOA. Was I wanting to use redundancy to mask a skills deficiency?
b.) For a simple problem at a shallow depth I should be able to CESA. Was I wanting to use redundancy to mask a skills deficiency?
c.) For a serious problem at any depth that kept me from CESAing was my redundant volume adequate to resolve the issue?
d.) OOA aside, most equipment failures at depth do not result in an immediate loss of gas to the diver. Was messing with a wee little bit of gas better than simply diving my failing rig to the surface?
e.) When choosing a piece of safety equipment was I going to aim for the least coverage possible or the maximum reasonable amount. What would cause me to go for the least if the prices were comparable?
I now see my redundant air source as an insurance against the rare catastrophic failure at depth that causes me to lose all my back gas quickly. I prefer to have enough volume to be able to ascend calmly and safely so that a simple equipment failure does not result in a medical emergency.
bsumner
Contributor
I don't carry a Spare Air, but the comment about swimming distance from one's buddy (AKA emergency air source) is very relevant. On numerous occasions, I have seen inexperienced divers off "exploring" 25 meters or even more from any other diver. Bad idea, particularly as they had no bailout air source close enough to matter if they experienced an equipment failure or were simply OOA through poor gas management and lack of situational awareness.
halocline
Contributor
You're not suggesting that the right solution for this scenario is a tiny bailout bottle, are you? How about correcting the poor dive behavior and learning simple gas management skills? I'm sure you also realize that inexperienced divers, especially ones that do not have an appreciation for the risks they're taking, might not be better off by carrying something which is only likely to further their false sense of confidence.
bsumner
Contributor
You seem to have misunderstood everything I wrote. I do not carry a Spare Air, nor do I propose that other divers, most particularly inexperienced divers, should do so. My comment focused on the tendency of many inexperienced divers to stay farther from their emergency air source (buddy) than they should.
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