I’ll just throw one word out there for travel without the fuss of draggin redundancy: SIDEMOUNT! 
Spare Air on deep but no deco dives??
- Thread starter ReadyDiverOne
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Because the first Spare Air was patented and shown at its first trade show in 1979 and not in 1986. I think they are claiming 300,000 sold. I don't know if these are just Spare Air sales or if they are including the HEED sales into this number.
EireDiver606
Contributor
Forget all the complicated non sense all comments.
When you say deep, I assume past 30/40m.
You should be diving with a twinset or else a large pony either on your single tank or slung on your side.
Get further training before going deep.
Spare Airs were originally made for pilots in the military so if they crashed into water, they had a short emergency air supply. For diving though, they are very expensive for how much gas they hold.
Get a second hand large pony and service it, it will be a lot cheaper than Spare Air and safer
When you say deep, I assume past 30/40m.
You should be diving with a twinset or else a large pony either on your single tank or slung on your side.
Get further training before going deep.
Spare Airs were originally made for pilots in the military so if they crashed into water, they had a short emergency air supply. For diving though, they are very expensive for how much gas they hold.
Get a second hand large pony and service it, it will be a lot cheaper than Spare Air and safer
BDSC
Contributor
Another poorly informed thread participant who apparently doesn't bother to read the thread.
OP
ReadyDiverOne
Contributor
Nope, as I made clear in my original post, strictly recreational, no deco depth, i.e.,130 at most.
I appreciate all the incredible and incredibly thoughtful input from the many responders. But, and at the risk of provoking further discussion, one idea I have not seen discussed is what some of the testimonials on the Spare Air site say, which is that having that extra minute or so of air at depth (@100 feet) gave those divers time to collect their wits and find their buddies and start buddy breathing. That seems to me to a valuable proposition, especially if one is diving with a group and an assigned buddy with whom one is unfamiliar (BTW, in those circumstances I always know where the DM is). After all, we're all taught to look for our buddy for one minute so....
The one minute at 100 feet fact comes from the excellent video @MaxBottomtime provided above, which is terrific and which recommends the XS SCUBA 19 cuft pony bottle rig. This looks like a great set-up, but frankly I can't see traveling with and packing that, especially since I am able with my current set of equipment to do a 5-day (warm water/weather) trip with carry-on only luggage. It is NOT a matter of cost in either event. It IS a matter of comparative hassle in terms of having either of these systems and certainly the Spare Air is the lesser hassle. Of course there is a trade-off, but life is full of trade-offs. I'm not saying I will buy a Spare Air. I'm saying that I was stuck by the testimonials--in which people give their real names (I googled some of them)--and particularly those talking about how it gave them time to collect their wits and find another air source.
This is one reason I have transitioned to sidemount for travel. I have traveled with a 19 cu ft pony (island hopping in Greece) and it was a pain.
Or you collect your wits, look for another air source...and then none materializes because you weren't diving as a good buddy team. Now you're pretty much out of air again.
Stating incorrect facts over and over does not make them correct....
The Spare Air was NOT originally made for pilots in the military. It was originally introduced for recreational diving, and introduced for military use AFTER it was seen in the civilian use.
+100
This really doesn’t matter.
Can we all agree that it is insufficient as a backup air source?
If we don’t agree, give me a max ascent rate, a realistic gas consumption rate for someone under stress and I’ll tell you the max depth you can use it.
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