Air Buddy - My thoughts

[DevonDiver]

I've been in various situations where I've had to donate...especially to students. I've had regs knocked out of my mouth by flailing arms and legs. I've dealt with panicked divers.

Yes, I have never dove with an AB.... but I can see the design and appreciate how it works. I have literally thousands of hours of experience underwater.... and I can use that experience to make a fair appreciation of equipment. This isn't like differentiatijng the bouyancy characteristics of a BCD from sight..... this is about regarding a principle of how it fundamentally works... and basing an educated appraisal on that.

I may not have dove an AB.... but I've dealt with enough incidents underwater to know that the 'space saving' benefit of that kit is not worth the negative issues it brings with it.

I am not saying "you're gonna die" if you use AB.... I am merely stating that it has some potential issues, that would not be present with a standard AAS (secondary regulator).

I am not against innovation.... but I think divers need to keep an open mind because the scuba industry constantly pumps gimmicks onto the market.

This looks like a gimmick to me. It is advertised like a gimmick. And it probably seems fine...up until the point you need it under the worst circumstances. At that point, I think it could be a liability for the diver concerned. Hence my warning.

 

[elmer fudd]

One thing about equipment, particularly unusual equipment, you have to put it into some context. Who is using it, for what kind of diving and why. The diver's here that have mentioned using it are all very experienced and I don't think any of them were advocating doing advanced cave dives or wreck penetration. A mention was made of "mermaids", which I imagine was a photo/video shoot where visual imagery would be important. Another mention was made of a vintage diving event where an octopus would have stood out as being not period correct.

For me, I don't perceive any advantage to an AirBuddy over a standard octopus, but apparently they do work and some knowledgeable divers find them advantageous. I would either opt for a conventional octopus, no octopus or a pony bottle, depending on the dive and how much I trust the equipment I'm using.

 

[Akimbo]

This thing looks a lot like a product I saw in a book around 35 years ago. I think it was made in Italy during the early 1930s or maybe even the 20s. I am not sure if it had a mouth-piece or just a bite tube like this Air Buddy Octopus from Sea Turtle. I thought it was pretty inventive… for the period.

I might consider one if the price was closer to what they want for shipping than actually higher than a new second stage.

 

[Leadking]

And exactly what is wrong with a 2nd stage regulator?

Why would anyone use this?

The Rouquayrol and Denayrouze unit of the 1860's had a tube you put in your mouth, I thought we got beyond that!

 

[captain]

And exactly what is wrong with a 2nd stage regulator?

Why would anyone use this?

The Rouquayrol and Denayrouze unit of the 1860's had a tube you put in your mouth, I thought we got beyond that!

Because they want to and can.

 

[Akimbo]

…The Rouquayrol and Denayrouze unit of the 1860's had a tube you put in your mouth, I thought we got beyond that!

I may be wrong, but I always understood the Rouquayrol and Denayrouze unit you describe did not have a mouth operated metering valve. From illustrations, I guessed that the manually operated cylinder valve regulated flow. Anybody know for sure? I have always been interested in Rouquayrol, Le Prieur, and Fernez's work; but my French le sucks.

I suppose if you travel a lot, get used to using one, and don’t dive in demanding environments; there may be a market for this thing. It is compact.

 

[Leadking]

I dove the R/D unit a number of years ago. You suck in thru a tube in your mouth and exhale out your nose. It was a demand regulator but to exhaust you either exhaled into the helmet (le groin) and an overpressure valve exhausted it or you exhaled into the water.http://www.divingheritage.com/r+dkern.htm

 

[Nemrod]

The advantage is it's small size, it can be stowed away with zero foot print. Another advantage is the simplicity and reliability of a tilt valve mechanism and the low maintenance requirement, light weight. It also serves to inflate buoys, bags, annoy fish and blow bubble rings.

The Airbuddy breaths fine, they are really quite simple and functional.

I would say that most of the people in this thread could use one just fine with about 5 minutes of practice or less.

I have in fact used mine for entire dives just because I can. I have been well over 100 feet.

Why do you folks always make up a bunch of stuff and then use anecdotes and hearsay-isms and hypothetical-isms to support your stance which is largely unsupportable?

I would say that if you see no need for it then you are not a candidate for purchasing and using one. Don't buy it, I like mine.

Wasn't one of you in the valve breathing thread, at least the AirBuddy is at intermediate and not full tank pressure.

N

 

[Aspendiver]

I used one for a couple of trips... loved how compact it was, but after trying it out at various depths I decided that for me it didn't inspire confidence that I would utilize it correctly in an emergency. I quite frankly felt it didn't supply enough air for me.

 

[Akimbo]

I dove the R/D unit a number of years ago. You suck in thru a tube in your mouth and exhale out your nose. It was a demand regulator but to exhaust you either exhaled into the helmet (le groin) and an overpressure valve exhausted it or you exhaled into the water.Rouquayrol and Denayrouze

That isn't the rig I was thinking of. The illustration I saw had a manual valve on the umbilical, a much smaller volume tank, and an un-corrugated hose to the mouth. I don’t know if it was ever put in production since there were no photos. Granted, the caption was in French and I may have actually been looking at a Le Prieur or Fernez's concept, but the name Rouquayrol was there and it had that 1800s drawing style.

Now the cool part, how did you get to the opportunity to dive this rig? I am guessing it was a reproduction???