Aqua Lung Axiom i3 BCD -- Thoughts on i3 Inflator Mechanism

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I really hate to say this... I’d hoped that the experienced instructors and DiveMasters would know better and have more than enough skills to dive a standard BCD. Simplicity rules underwater.

I guess they were all given one or even paid to dive with the i3.

So,...... you know their abilities? Awesome, I wish I had that kind of knowledge about people I've never met all over the world. That must be incredible for you.

Just because someone buys, uses and likes something that you don't like or want, does not mean they have inferior skills to your obviously superior skills. My course director taught and teaches all PADI skills while neutral buoyant, not kneeling. He took to heart the PADI 'protect the diving environment' ideal and decided decades ago that in order to live by that, he and all his students should be skilled enough to perform all skills without touching the bottom.

I drive a Ford Super Duty, but don't make judgements about someone that buys a Chevy, GMC, Ram, etc. I don't judge people that buy Scubapro, Apeks, Sherwood, etc. Nor do I judge people's abilities without watching them dive, hunt, fish, ski, drive, etc.

Thanks for your unique perspective. I'm impressed.
 
So,...... you know their abilities? Awesome, I wish I had that kind of knowledge about people I've never met all over the world. That must be incredible for you.

Just because someone buys, uses and likes something that you don't like or want, does not mean they have inferior skills to your obviously superior skills. My course director taught and teaches all PADI skills while neutral buoyant, not kneeling. He took to heart the PADI 'protect the diving environment' ideal and decided decades ago that in order to live by that, he and all his students should be skilled enough to perform all skills without touching the bottom.

I drive a Ford Super Duty, but don't make judgements about someone that buys a Chevy, GMC, Ram, etc. I don't judge people that buy Scubapro, Apeks, Sherwood, etc. Nor do I judge people's abilities without watching them dive, hunt, fish, ski, drive, etc.

Thanks for your unique perspective. I'm impressed.
The criticism of the i3 is its non-standard inflate/deflate mechanism and lack of a standard oral inflate. This is dangerous should the diver need ‘rescue' assistance unless the (random) rescuer is familiar with the obscure dump location. The dump is inaccessible with the right hand — get bitten/stung/cut/injured on the left hand/arm and you loose buoyancy control. There’s only one dump, any failure of the complex mechanism means loss of buoyancy control. The oral inflate is hidden under a flap that isn’t visible to the user when wearing a mask, making a surface out of gas inflate a panic inducing challenge...

With all those — and more — i3 cons, there aren’t any i3 pros.

Anyone who’s dived for some time appreciates simplicity and kit standards. It is strange that someone would actually choose to dive such a complex non-standard piece of kit.

BTW I never questioned their skills.
 
The criticism of the i3 is its non-standard inflate/deflate mechanism and lack of a standard oral inflate. This is dangerous should the diver need ‘rescue' assistance unless the (random) rescuer is familiar with the obscure dump location. The dump is inaccessible with the right hand — get bitten/stung/cut/injured on the left hand/arm and you loose buoyancy control. There’s only one dump, any failure of the complex mechanism means loss of buoyancy control. The oral inflate is hidden under a flap that isn’t visible to the user when wearing a mask, making a surface out of gas inflate a panic inducing challenge...

With all those — and more — i3 cons, there aren’t any i3 pros.

Anyone who’s dived for some time appreciates simplicity and kit standards. It is strange that someone would actually choose to dive such a complex non-standard piece of kit.

BTW I never questioned their skills.

The i3 is a very good system. We used it in rescue classes and found it easier to use than the standard inflator.

It's also no problem to reach with the right hand if necessary. It seems to me you have a strong opinion about things you don't understand.
 
I have yet to see one in use locally. Coupled with how expensive it is that's not surprising. As a result there has never been the opportunity to demonstrate it in a class. Just talking about it is not the same as giving actual hands on practice.
It also looks like the system utilizes a number of connections that would not be easily serviced in the field.
Plus it's one thing to say how easy it is to use in a class. In an actual incident with the adrenaline flowing and possible confusion, it might not be so easy for someone who's never seen one.
 
I really hate to say this... I’d hoped that the experienced instructors and DiveMasters would know better and have more than enough skills to dive a standard BCD. Simplicity rules underwater.

I guess they were all given one or even paid to dive with the i3.

Sorry, but I see this as questioning people's skills.

As to the larger conversation, I absolutely agrees with the KISS methodology, especially when it comes to diving and other potentially life threatening activities. Over complicating is never a good idea, especially when new to and/or inexperienced.

Personally, when I was teaching and one of the big reasons I taught as an independent, not under a PADI shop, I never pressured anyone to buy a butt load of expensive gear right out of the gate. Mask, fins, snorkel, sure. But reg, BC, I provided for the classes and recommended renting different brands, models to find what works for them. Spending $1,000 or more on that gear it only makes sense to wait until you try a few, figure out what works. Places and people that tell new divers they need to buy their own reg and/or BC right off, piss me off to no end.

It's the same when someone ask me what handgun they should buy. "The one that fits you and you can shoot well." If it's not comfortable, you won't enjoy it. If you don't enjoy it, you won't use it." Glocks are great, but they are not comfortable for me, yet I will not disparage someone's choice for buying one.

Is the i3 system complicated? Of course, to do what it does requires a level of complication well beyond the standard that's been around for decades. Does that mean that Aqualung should not have tried it? No. The only way to improve things is to try new and innovation options. However, given the harsh environment of SCUBA, whether fresh or salt water, it does add an additional cost, potential for failure that many will opt to avoid.

I've been reading a lot about i3 over the past couple of weeks and I'm not fully decided but am tending to lean away from i3. Probably a standard Axiom or Pro HD. I like the jacket style more than the BP/wing, although it's been probably 20 years since I donned a BP/wing style so things have changed.

Have to start looking for another dry suit since I'll be moving home to MT this summer.
 
I have yet to see one in use locally. Coupled with how expensive it is that's not surprising. As a result there has never been the opportunity to demonstrate it in a class. Just talking about it is not the same as giving actual hands on practice.
It also looks like the system utilizes a number of connections that would not be easily serviced in the field.
Plus it's one thing to say how easy it is to use in a class. In an actual incident with the adrenaline flowing and possible confusion, it might not be so easy for someone who's never seen one.

I would not recommend teaching classes with i3, because students should know how to operate the standard inflator. I guess that's the reason why someone above wrote he saw instructors with both a standard inflator and i3 on their jackets. It's just we tried and found it easy with i3 to bring someone up in a controlled way compared to the standard inflator, which is not too surprising considering how it works. The rescuer of course needs to be told how it works in advance. We were not so happy with Mares airtrim, which is a big button and you need to know where to press it, which turned out not to be as easy for the rescuer as the i3 lever or the standard inflator.
 
The criticism of the i3 is its non-standard inflate/deflate mechanism and lack of a standard oral inflate. This is dangerous should the diver need ‘rescue' assistance unless the (random) rescuer is familiar with the obscure dump location. The dump is inaccessible with the right hand — get bitten/stung/cut/injured on the left hand/arm and you loose buoyancy control. There’s only one dump, any failure of the complex mechanism means loss of buoyancy control. The oral inflate is hidden under a flap that isn’t visible to the user when wearing a mask, making a surface out of gas inflate a panic inducing challenge...

With all those — and more — i3 cons, there aren’t any i3 pros.

Anyone who’s dived for some time appreciates simplicity and kit standards. It is strange that someone would actually choose to dive such a complex non-standard piece of kit.

BTW I never questioned their skills.


Have you ever used one, or even seen one for that matter?

"The dump is inaccessible with the right hand" WRONG!
"There’s only one dump, any failure of the complex mechanism means loss of buoyancy control." WRONG!
"The oral inflate is hidden under a flap that isn’t visible to the user when wearing a mask". IRRELEVANT, a diver should know their gear. And it is no more difficult than trying to grab a standard inflate.

As I said in an earlier post, my i3 dump malfunctioned during a dive so I used the dump on my RIGHT SHOULDER. If I needed to inflate I open the Velcro and and grab the hose. How is this difficult?
 
It also looks like the system utilizes a number of connections that would not be easily serviced in the field.
Plus it's one thing to say how easy it is to use in a class. In an actual incident with the adrenaline flowing and possible confusion, it might not be so easy for someone who's never seen one.

It's not easily serviced. I had to send mine out to have it serviced when the i3 dump stopped working. As for during an incident, not a problem if you know your gear. As I said, my i3 dump stopped working so I switched to my right shoulder dump and continued diving. You are right that it might be difficult for someone that hasn't seen one, at least when it comes to an emergency inflate but they could dump weights or use their own BC to ascend.

It is a nice system for new divers. You move the lever up to go up and down to go down. Another nice feature, for a new diver, is that when you dump it uses all dumps, shoulder and butt so there is no need to raise the left butt cheek.

Personally, I have switched to backplate because I want to do more technical diving. This system seems more gear to new rec divers.
 
I've been reading a lot about i3 over the past couple of weeks and I'm not fully decided but am tending to lean away from i3.
It's an old thread, but this is a factor you should consider.
Interesting advice from BCD manufacturer

The i3 pushrod design had a design flaw that, with rough handling, may have disastrous buoyancy consequences (dump valve won't close). I don't know if the design has been changed since 2018.
 
It's an old thread, but this is a factor you should consider.
Interesting advice from BCD manufacturer

The i3 pushrod design had a design flaw that, with rough handling, may have disastrous buoyancy consequences (dump valve won't close). I don't know if the design has been changed since 2018.

That appears to be what happened to mine but mine wouldn't open (with the i3, shoulder dump still worked).
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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