I am a little nervous

[Gombessa]

I don't recall if I've ever used an air2. Back when I was renting, I always specifically requested a regular octo.

But I don't see any problems diving with a buddy who uses an Air2. They would have to teach me how to use it (in case I need to rescue them), but generally I'd need to teach them how a long hose donation works too. You just do a pre-dive briefing and make sure that everyone is comfortable before getting in the water. No big deal.

 

[pmombour200]

After reading all those comments, I think I read one 'Yeah' for the AIR2 from a dive that had over 200 dives. All other yeah's came from diver under 100 dives. I consider myself very inexperienced with my 76 dives compared to some of these 1000+ divers. I would consider the opinions of these experienced divers to be valid forms of advice. You may not choose to follow them, but consided this....75 dives is a little over 40 hours of bottom time.....Do you call yourself and expert at your job after 1 week of training and work? If you do, stay away from me, I don't want you anywhere near me when the bubble breaks.

 

[SparticleBrane]

I hate to be the one to say it, but...if you have <25 or <50 dives, you should probably be doing more listening than proselytizing. Honestly at this level you are still getting comfortable in the water and you have very little experience.

I certainly don't claim to know everything, but I do have a bit of experience at least. I always do my best to listen to people who are more experienced than I, and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of something.

 

[bane51031]

I too used to use an AIR 2, got along okay with it however, since I joined the Sherriff's dive team I got rid of the Air 2 as there is enough that can go wrong in zero viz. or high stress situation and I was the only one on the team with one.
If you are on a dive team your gear should be configured the same as everyone elses so there is no confusion from one diver to another.
I also had an Air 2 on my gear while going through my Divemaster course, finally ditched it as I was tired of having to stop and explain the gear configuration during training to new students.Not that I minded helping new divers but, it impeded the flow during training.

Also there are some situations where the use of an Air 2 can pose a risk, if you have to switch the hose is considerably shorter and I experianced early on a problem when my buddy ran out of air and as I was switching to the Air 2 so I could give him my primary he flipped and jerked the Air 2 out of my mouth and then when he backed away knocked the primary out of my hand, so then we were both without air, was able to recover but, was a close call that was on my 3 rd open water dive after being certified.Also he had an Air 2 as well so it was not lack of knowledge.

Anyways wish you the best but, through personal experiance the Air 2 should not be used for Rescue divers, that being said however there is a dive team in another county close to me that uses only Air 2's as a backup, were are ERDI trained and use pony bottles as our redundant air source.

 

[Dtaine]

After reading all those comments, I think I read one 'Yeah' for the AIR2 from a dive that had over 200 dives. All other yeah's came from diver under 100 dives. I consider myself very inexperienced with my 76 dives compared to some of these 1000+ divers. I would consider the opinions of these experienced divers to be valid forms of advice. You may not choose to follow them, but consided this....75 dives is a little over 40 hours of bottom time.....Do you call yourself and expert at your job after 1 week of training and work? If you do, stay away from me, I don't want you anywhere near me when the bubble breaks.

I hate to be the one to say it, but...if you have <25 or <50 dives, you should probably be doing more listening than proselytizing. Honestly at this level you are still getting comfortable in the water and you have very little experience.

I certainly don't claim to know everything, but I do have a bit of experience at least. I always do my best to listen to people who are more experienced than I, and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of something.

While I agree that those of us with fewer dive hours under our belts have more listening to do than we have advice to give, I wouldn't want to discourage people from posting their points of view and engaging in discussion. Younger, less experienced members bring different perspectives to the table, and while the less experienced of us shouldn't call ourselves experts our ideas and approaches to things shouldn't be shunned just because we're new (that said illogical thinking and blatantly bad ideas that we occasionally bring up should be corrected by the more experienced).

To give my view on what the OP brought up (covering use of the Air2 in certification and rescue courses) it's my opinion that people who use the Air2 should go over its use with their buddy/team before diving, and that bringing specific attention to it should therefore not be needed in training courses.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

This is a personal choice item. We will never find a point of all-agreement. I personally don't like them, but that is my choice. You can like them all you want.

You and your buddy are the only ones who better understand, practice and be able to use them. I have a problem with people who buy them, and stick them on, but have never practiced OOA skills with it. Have never done an ascent using it, yet have it. This is what is dangerous. Not it.

And you know as well as I do, that if someone is OOA, it is highly likely that they will, in fact, grab the one in your mouth, no matter their training. So you train to deal with them taking any reg of yours and how you'd deal with it. I teach my students the proper way, and then prepare them for the possiblilty of the other person grabbing the reg in their mouth without waiting. Whether you have a typical octo or an Air II, you must be practiced and controlled with your gear. It doesn't matter which one you have, really.

 

[gmanstan]

I am a Noobee, But the general concences is that the OOA diver will take/use your primary reg ,reguardless of what your secondary is ?( So you should have 36-40" hose) So isnt the back up(the one will end up using) what youll be comfortable with ?(which 80% of the time is either a cheap sec/oct or AIR II neither which breath that great but both work good enuf to get you to surface) and if dumps are on BC (no need to remove mouthpeice to deflate) whats the major problem/difference?

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

I am a Noobee, But the general concences is that the OOA diver will take/use your primary reg ,reguardless of what your secondary is ?( So you should have 36-40" hose) So isnt the back up(the one will end up using) what youll be comfortable with ?(which 80% of the time is either a cheap sec/oct or AIR II neither which breath that great but both work good enuf to get you to surface) and if dumps are on BC (no need to remove mouthpeice to deflate) whats the major problem/difference?

The standard OOA as tught to OW students, is that they will signal OOA and ask to share air. You will hand them your octopus which is clipped in wahtever fashion within the upside down triangle between your shoulders to your waist. He will then hold your bc while you have one hand holding his for contact. Signal OK to each other and then, make your safe slow ascent.

Others have a long hose on their primary and donate that to the OOA diver. The donor will then go on his octo for air. They then make a slow safe ascent. This is not standardly taught in OW class. It can be addressed if questioned but typical gear configuration for the newly wet student does not include a long hose like that. It can cuse issues when they have so much to learn fresh. Can be done, but isn't the norm.

Now. Quite frankly, if you train properly, you should take the donated octo, not just snatch it form the diver. BUT. There is also the people fear condition. And when stressed, many who do not continually train and update their skills, will panic and grab for the first available reg. That is usually the one in your mouth. And those people won't signal and ask nicely. You make sure you train not to panic and handle any action that may come.

There are many options out there for OOA emergencies. Quite often, people have never practiced OOA skills once they have certified. That is a shame, because skill not practiced are not done right in crunch time.

You must be clear and calm and communicate with your buddy. Even if it is an insta-buddy, you can practice it once down for clarity. Won't take but a minute and helps make sure you're on the same page.

And finally, my buddy is my extra lifeline. I am going to make sure hi/her gear is not cheap poorly-functioning crap if they are to be my buddy. Conversely, if I know that most will grab my primary, why would I buy cheap crap if that may well be the one I get stuck with in an already tense situation?

 

[bluediver042]

what should be taught in every open water course?, always do a pre-dive buddy check. Get familiar with your buddies gear, and if you are the divecon on a charter, look around at what everybody is using. I'm old school for the octo with little bit longer hose. If you use the Air2,,,,,,, great. Just train with the thing and go over it with your buddy. On a charter I have had a few instances with low air situations. I'm a firm believer that when diving in open water, with students or paying customers with just a few dives, a long hose octo and a slung pony works excellent

 

[ScubaSteve]

I hate to be the one to say it, but...if you have <25 or <50 dives, you should probably be doing more listening than proselytizing. Honestly at this level you are still getting comfortable in the water and you have very little experience.

I certainly don't claim to know everything, but I do have a bit of experience at least. I always do my best to listen to people who are more experienced than I, and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of something.

Perhaps you can honor everybody with showing us just how much experience you have. It is somewhat hypocritical to preach that those who have a lower dive count listen only when you do not even display yours. Perhaps we can also limit participation to those divers with only divers deeper that 200 feet and in visibility less than 3 feet. I have seen divers with 25 dives that I considered a better diver than some with hundreds.

A person can easily continue to do dive, make all the same mistakes and still cheat death (eventually it catches up but not always beneath the surface). Just because a diver has lots of dives, it does not necessarily make them an expert. Especially on a forum such as this where people are free to manipulate whatever they want in their profile. This is a great board because everybody has the opportunity and right to "speak". And, everybody likewise has the opportunity to be called onto the table if they are questioned.

While I detest the pure idea of the Air II (as a concept not the brand name), it is only my opinion and I am free to discuss that opinion. Those who love the concept of the Air II are also free to discuss their opinions. That is what is good (and whatis bad) about this board.