Air 2, dangerous octopus??

[JDostal]

Definitely. If you are looking to get as little and quick to put together gear as possible, the Air2 (or any integrated inflator/octopus) is definitely the way to go.

w/ what I do, they don't work, but when I was just starting out diving I was happy with it and it definitely suited my needs.

And Gary is right - everyone will say something good and bad about the same thing If you get a chance to try one out, go for it and see what you think.

 

[Fitzy]

Giday simtech,

welcome, and theres not really any negitives and plenty of great stuff to read and learn from, However i fully agree with scubacultra, you end up spending a LOT of time on here. My wife keeps wandering into my office to remind me to go to bed or I'll be too tired to dive in the morning, bless her little heart.

 

[TwoTanks]

The important thing to remember is that you will hopefully never need to use it, and if you do it will only be to abort the dive anyway, so how well it breaths is not really that important. There are two things that are important though

1 Is it reliable? It is probably as reliable as a regular second stage with the realization that you may need to disconnect it if the inflator free flows. But as a plus, if your air 2 free flows you can disconnect it and abort with your air which you can't do with a regular second stage.

2 Will it be there when you need it? Unlike a regular second stage, it won't come unclipped and maybe drag in the sand or mud. It will also not move around as much and you will become more accustomed to where to reach for it in an emergency.

Many of the people I dive with use them and we have never had a problem except for when someone forgot to pack their regs for a trip, because a standard inflator hose from a rental shop won't fit the air2 (Octoplus in our case) so he had to manually inflate for the whole trip. (that's what he gets for forgetting his regs.)

I think that they are fine for basic recreational diving. You should get used to taking it out of your mouth to dump air though, since you might need to some day.

 

[Wildcard]

I switched to and AIR2 also, just to streamline things. No problems yet!
Gary, who is this group? PM me with general details if you would. Just wondering what there makeup is?

 

[Jazz]

Since I am only doing recreational diving, I will try out the Air2. Thanks for all your comments. It has enlightened me in some areas.

Jazz

 

[Gary D.]

I switched to and AIR2 also, just to streamline things. No problems yet!
Gary, who is this group? PM me with general details if you would. Just wondering what there makeup is?

They are no spicific group. They just show up at marine events and try to take over. Kind of like Napoleon Syndrome. Little men with big wallets, bad attitudes and don't have a clue.

I would love to see them show up for a swift water event and try to Ferry a river with 3 or 4 of everything.

They also feel that CPR should be started on the bottom. Hummmmm Isn't it once you start you don't stop? That could be the end to our problem

If they ever pass the line they have come to they will get arrested and that will either be the start or the end of the idiots.

Gary D.

 

[Wildcard]

Ah yes We have a local "fire department" in Alaska like that. If they are there and wont get out of the way, we have orders to arrest them....I HATE wannabe's that won't get the training to do it right.

 

[TheAvatar]

Air 2s are on all our rigs. *All* dives are done with meticulously maintained AGAs. We don't *ever* intend to ditch an AGA U/W, but the Air2 is there nonetheless, small and uncombersome.

 

[mikswi]

Yeah it's a great site, only problem is you end up spending WAY to much time here

YEP! I dont post too much, (compared to others) but I still hear it from the wife...sometimes I even stop into a local library in a town that I am working in and log onto the board and make sure I aint missed anything! LOL........

Ehhh........It could be worse, I could have taken up football,baseball or some other sport.

 

[WaterDawg]

Air2's are great...as long as you dont use it. A normal primary 36in hose is way too short for a horizontal ascend in case of an emergency. A common issue w/ any infltor is an "auto inflate" wich could be caused by many things including corrosion, the fix is VERY simple disconnect the LPI hose right? but w/ an air2 you just lost your octo also.