How long a hose for your primary when using BCD inflator air second?

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All this Air2 hate has made me think that maybe I will get a traditional octo and practice with both types of secondary air sources before I decide to ditch the traditional octo in favor of the Air2. It's kind of a dorky "belt and suspenders" approach to have both an inflator mounted and a separate octo, but at least that way I can practice with both types and see what I think works best.
AIR 2 hate?
No first hand experience on it.
However I have evaluated the device based entirely on my diving experiences and reading the respective con/pro of it. If it is so great then why didn't I see it more often? One less LP hose required but replaced by a special size corrugated hose which is NOT readily available. NO thank you very much.
Just keep it simple, can't go wrong with that.
 
Then there's the corollary to this discussion: the integrated second stage. Once you choose your desired hose length, you'll find that you have a challenge breathing from the same second stage that you're using to control your buoyancy as you ascend with a panicked diver, whose own buoyancy you may also have to control. Very hard to do smoothly at a moment when you need to be at your best. You run out of hands if you need to take the reg out of your mouth to elevate the corrugated hose to vent, at the same time as you're nearing the surface.


I support this 100% I'll always maintain that a 2nd stage on a bungee or necklace it the preferable and superior option

There's "mostly" the assumption that the donating diver is always calm and in control. The reality for the most part is very much the opposite.

I often find that people get lulled into a false sense of security, that because they can successfully carry out drills in a contrived and controlled environment, things will be the same in a real situation, which comes out of nowhere, when they're most relaxed and their guard is at the lowest
 
Another small detail that puts me off the Air2 type setup is the non standard connection to the tank. If you have a problem with your inflator hose, you will have to go old school and manually inflate it if you are going to continue to use your own BC for a trip. Otherwise you could carry a spare hose everywhere. Most resorts I have been to can swap a standard inflator hose out, but didn’t have the larger Air2 setup to replace one. A little thing to be sure, but for me another nudge away from an Air2 type setup. But at the end of the day, if you are comfortable and competent with your setup you should be fine. Be safe
 
Another small detail that puts me off the Air2 type setup is the non standard connection to the tank. If you have a problem with your inflator hose, you will have to go old school and manually inflate it if you are going to continue to use your own BC for a trip. Otherwise you could carry a spare hose everywhere. Most resorts I have been to can swap a standard inflator hose out, but didn’t have the larger Air2 setup to replace one. A little thing to be sure, but for me another nudge away from an Air2 type setup. But at the end of the day, if you are comfortable and competent with your setup you should be fine. Be safe

What you said isn't entirely true and isn't accurate at all. The LP hose for the Air II is a normal LP hose that is used for second stages with swivel just like the one used for any second stages. Should this LP hose have a problem, you just unscrew the Air II connector from the swivel and get another LP second stage hose and connect it to the Air II connector and there you go. Very ingenious design that took all possibilities into consideration by SP's designers.
 
What you said isn't entirely true and isn't accurate at all. The LP hose for the Air II is a normal LP hose that is used for second stages with swivel just like the one used for any second stages. Should this LP hose have a problem, you just unscrew the Air II connector from the swivel and get another LP second stage hose and connect it to the Air II connector and there you go. Very ingenious design that took all possibilities into consideration by SP's designers.

Very clever. Thanks for the correction as my only experience was watching other divers using this system give up when their hose started leaking. I will definitely look at this setup in a new light. The old saying about “assume” holds true.
 
"Back in the day" the QD for the Air2 was a permanent crimp. At some time, it was switched to a fitting that attaches to the standard thread regulator hose. As said above, either a standard QD or an octo can be swapped in with the same amount of effort as changing out a hose. Also, there is an adapter that fits the Air2 sized QD that adapts it to a standard QD. That would carry easy in a mask box...

My biggest beef with folks here are the ones that don't look at the "whole system". The Integrated Alternate Air Source known as the Air2 is part of a total system that included a buoyancy device that has additional means to vent it other than through the breathing unit (oh, and, it can also be vented through the exhaust of the breathing apparatus). You stick it on another brand, you may not have this "feature".

For simple recreational diving, I have no problem with this device. That being said, you need to understand it, and practice with it.
 
Another small detail that puts me off the Air2 type setup is the non standard connection to the tank. If you have a problem with your inflator hose, you will have to go old school and manually inflate it if you are going to continue to use your own BC for a trip. Otherwise you could carry a spare hose everywhere. Most resorts I have been to can swap a standard inflator hose out, but didn’t have the larger Air2 setup to replace one. A little thing to be sure, but for me another nudge away from an Air2 type setup. But at the end of the day, if you are comfortable and competent with your setup you should be fine. Be safe
Next time when you go diving take a look at the equipment that your fellow divers are using. How many of them are using integrated alternative air source or convention regulator?

Integrated bc, air integrated computer have became quite common in relative short time. Can't say the same about integrated alternative air source. It has been around for yrs!
 
"Back in the day" the QD for the Air2 was a permanent crimp. At some time, it was switched to a fitting that attaches to the standard thread regulator hose. As said above, either a standard QD or an octo can be swapped in with the same amount of effort as changing out a hose. Also, there is an adapter that fits the Air2 sized QD that adapts it to a standard QD. That would carry easy in a mask box...

My biggest beef with folks here are the ones that don't look at the "whole system". Ath Integrated Alternate Air Source known as the Air2 is part of a total system that included a buoyancy device that has additional means to vent it other than through the breathing unit (oh, and, it can also be vented through the exhaust of the breathing apparatus). You stick it on another brand, you may not have this "feature".

For simple recreational diving, I have no problem with this device. That being said, you need to understand it, and practice with it.

Thanks for this information as it helps confirm that I am not totally loosing my mind to old age. Now if I just could convince my wife of this “fact”
 
Next time when you go diving take a look at the equipment that your fellow divers are using. How many of them are using integrated alternative air source or convention regulator?

At a rough guess, maybe one in twenty divers in groups of divers that I go with will use an Air2 type setup. The LDS I use does not really encourage this type of setup and dive buddies that I am personally with use a “standard “ setup, so I am guessing that there is a built in bias in what I see.
 
At a rough guess, maybe one in twenty divers in groups of divers that I go with will use an Air2 type setup. The LDS I use does not really encourage this type of setup and dive buddies that I am personally with use a “standard “ setup, so I am guessing that there is a built in bias in what I see.
Bias does not work in scuba diving! There are a lot of clever/intelligent divers around!
You should have noticed there are more divers with weight integrated bc or AI computer than this device. There must be logical reasons other than bias! Do you know how long the integrated alternative air source have been around?

I have never ever seen any dive operator offer this to anyone!
I have never ever seen any instructor using that device in scuba training classes.
Bias? NO way!.
 

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