Air 2/3 Vs normal buoyancy control

[Pblazer]

Hey Guys,

So I have been hearing a lot about Air 2's and Air 3's and wanted to know if they are worth it or would a normal buoyancy control and Octopus be better setup for a BCD.

Cheers,
Patrick

 

[rstofer]

Here's the thing you need to think about if you plan to dive in cold water. Whenever you are ascending while breathing from the Air (?) device, you need to vent your BC while doing it.

When you consider the complications of controlling your buddy's buoyancy while they are breathing from your primary (during a Rescue of some type) as well as controlling your own buoyancy while breathing from an Air (?), you will probably be wishing for a conventional octo.

I used an Air II on my old SeaQuest BC when I was diving in warm water. It made a certain amount of sense but only because buoyancy control during ascent was not an issue.

I still have it on my BC but I have moved to a BP/W and have my octo held beneath my chin with a necklace arrangement. Right where I can find it!

Finally, you might want to consider a longer hose on your primary at some point. You will always donate your primary and use your octo so the farther away from the victim you can get, the better. Five feet is about right for a non-cave diver. Cave divers tend to use 7'.

Don't be in a rush to go to the long hose. It can be done whenever you feel comfortable with the idea. In the meantime, I would definitely recommend the necklaced octo. You will still donate your primary.

Actually, the victim will probably grab your primary without hesitation.

Richard

 

[Lead_carrier]

I have used and still use both. I've never had any type of issue with bouyancy. It just takes a bit getting used to when swapping from a conventional inflator to Air 2 or vice versa. If you get into tech diving and/or caving then you will definitely use a different gear configuration but for recreational, go with whatever you're comfortable with.

 

[RAWalker]

If you ask this question of a Integrated Octo user(Air2/3) they will tell you that you need to be aware of the bouyancy control issue while breathing on the Integrated Octo. Most of us realize it isn't as complicated a task as others would have you believe.
Either vent all the air from your BC before starting to the surface and swim up, Use a shoulder dump valve to vent the air or stay horizontal and use the rear dump valve while swimming up. Remember if you are using this it is your buddy or another diver that is out of air and you are supposed to control the accent. Practicing with your buddy is all that it takes to make using the Air 2 every bit as easy as a standard octo.
Maybe the people that complain about the Integrated Octo have never used a good one. As we all know it every catagory of gear some products are just better than others.
Maybe those that did try them didn't put in enough practice to become proficiant with them? Some people just have learning difficulties.
Many people just don't like change to anything and resist new equipment types.
Then there are those into some form of tech diving that believe the only way to gear up is the way they need to for the demands of the environments they venture to.
Obviously standard recreational diving is less demanding and allows for other equipment choices and considerations.
I myself do use a Integrated Octo and prefer it to a standard octo even on my BP&W. It is a more streamline configuration eliminating the extra hose of a standard octo. I further streamline my configuration by using a Wireless AI computer and eliminating the console gauge cluster and it's hose. I have added a 5 foot primary second stage hose so if I should need to donate air to another diver we have more available space for a swimming accent.
The bottom line is you must consider what you intend to do as a diver and what equipment best meets your safety needs, goals and comfort requirements.

 

[fnfalman]

I don't understand the statements about buoyancy control while using the inline octo (be it Air2/3, Atomic SS1, Sherwood, Oceanic, et al)? The inflator and deflator buttons work independently from the regulator. Who says that you can't breath and vent/inflate at the same time?

Is it as convenient as using a separate inflator hose and a conventional octo? No! But it doesn't have another hose for the diver to drag around either.

There is no free lunch. One less hose/more streamlining or convenience of usage. Which one is more important to you? Make that decision and you'll know what you want to buy.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

I don't understand the statements about buoyancy control while using the inline octo (be it Air2/3, Atomic SS1, Sherwood, Oceanic, et al)? The inflator and deflator buttons work independently from the regulator. Who says that you can't breath and vent/inflate at the same time?

I don't want to get involved in yet another standard octo vs. long hose/bungee vs. integrated octo smackdown. But, I would like to correct this statement. I can only speak to the Zeagle (Octo-Z) and Atomic (SS1) integrated safe-seconds. But, breathing from your tank while holding down the deflate button, just isn't going to happen. You're going to breath in gas, but it's going to be from the BC, not the tank. Holding down the deflate button on an integrated, just like a standard inflater, is how you deflate the BC, as well as, orally inflate it, both are done via the mouthpiece. So, you can see that breathing at the same time you're holding the deflate button down isn't a good idea.

 

[walke121]

I use a dump valve instead of using the inflater/deflater. I like them because you have less "clutter" and its always right there. Then again I use a h-valve and a pony everytime I dive so an octo is pretty useless.

 

[skyward]

Finally, you might want to consider a longer hose on your primary at some point. You will always donate your primary and use your octo so the farther away from the victim you can get, the better.


Richard

I'm a new diver and in my dive classes we always gave the octo to the out-of-air diver. You are saying to always donate the primary and I'm wondering why? Is this the "standard" procedure for most divers and if so I wonder why they don't teach it that way?

Doug

 

[walke121]

I've always heard to donate your primary and use your octo.

 

[muddysquirrel]

When I took my OW, we were taught to donate our octo. We were also taught that our buddy would calmly and rationally realize he was out of air, gently swim up to us, signal this fact, and wait for us to search within the golden triangle for the octo we hadn't paid attention to since the beginning of the dive. Realistically, if your buddy is OOG, he's going to be reaching for whatever source of air he can get. If you don't shove a reg in his face, he's quite likely to take the only one he can see; the one in your mouth. Giving him the reg that I know where is and can get to fastest solves that problem and gives me a full, calmer lungful of air to deploy my secondary air source for myself. Technical divers, from whom rec divers have borrowed this, have an additional reason for donating the reg that they're breathing; stages. They may be carrying multiple different gas mixtures, some of which are helpful at some depths but deadly at others. By donating the reg that's in their mouth, they donate a reg that they know is working and that they know is giving the right gas. In a Hog configuration, they then just tuck their chin to get their secondary reg; much less room for it to roam there on a short hose than on a 40" hose on the chest.
That's both schools of thought in a nutshell; make your own choice as to what's better. Personally I donate whatever reg I'm breathing off of at the moment, then sort things out when we get the situation calmed down.