Aqualung Dimension I3

[KawabungaDude]

Hello everyone! This is my first post. I've been doing alot of reading on gear and thought it was time to join.

.... Plus I needed some information.

I have been looking at purchasing my first BC, and the one that has caught my attention is the Aqualung Dimension i3.

I have been looking at other such as the Zeagle Stilleto, Scubapro Equator, and the TUSA X-wing, but I keep going back to the Aqualung. I'm sure there are tons of opinions out there but I am having a really tough time deciding.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'd be happy to take suggestions on other good performing BC's as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

[andrethediver]

I prefer Dimension and i3 to Scubapro NightHawk - although either is a great choice.

 

[Yoda-X]

I have the Dimension i3 and couldn't be happier.

 

[andrethediver]

Oh, and although i use Dimension i3, i hesitate to list my Nighthawk Air2 for sale...Stiletto is another good option if you can like its weight integration system that is.

 

[KevinNM]

Want one in medium? Make me an offer, I switched to a Bp/w 7 months ago, but it worked fine last I used it.

 

[Silty Sam]

same for me - have it, love it

 

[KawabungaDude]

Want one in medium? Make me an offer, I switched to a Bp/w 7 months ago, but it worked fine last I used it.

Noob question.... what is a BP/w 7?

---------- Post added July 21st, 2015 at 02:29 PM ----------

same for me - have it, love it

You have a dimension i3? Do you like the features? How about the i3 system compared to the more traditional type? Does it hold up well?

 

[cb5150]

The feel of my Dimension i3 is great, especially when walking long distances with a tank on my back...but H-A-T-E the i3 system. The housing of the i3 lever is quite bulky and the lever itself has a tendency to stick. I've had it serviced several times. Additionally, the lever can get unintentionally bumped quite easily, causing either inflation or deflation. This is especially troubling on dive boats due to cramped quarters.

I replaced the oral inflate "tube" with an actual inflator hose and now only use the lever to deflate.

 

[diversteve]

I'll provide a counterpoint.

The I3 endlessly complicates the simple/standard inflator concept used by just about everyone else (except Mares Airtrim) so that you can push a lever to go up/down. Consider the valves, linkages, o-rings, proprietary housing parts needed to make all that work. Somebody drops a tank on your I3 and snaps the lever off the shaft - or just "bends" it a little - what now? On crowded boats it happens. I've almost had my regs crushed twice and I'm pretty careful to make sure they're not dangling once. The valve in a standard inflator?- it's a Schrader valve. There's one in every tire on your car.

Apparently the designer was not a diver or very well versed in dive physics since opening the bottom valve does absolutely no good while diving - all the air is at the highest point in the bladder. They even had to engineer in a reverse valve to keep water from entering the other one. Credit for one thing - at least there's manual pull dump so when the I3 fails you've got some way to vent air on your ascent. Looks real good on a 3-D model though...

Flat valves are proprietary since they're also controlled by the I3. Guess where you buy replacements when one gets smashed on a dive boat by a tank. The only people that work on it are Aqualung trained techs using Aqualung proprietary parts. A standard inflator fails and anyone can replace it with two cable ties and $25.

There are a lot of Aqualung dealers worldwide but they're not everywhere. I can think of two dive destinations I've been to where Mares/ScubaPro seem to be the dominant dealers - possibly the only dealers.

Someone here posted that once on a zodiac dive - everybody had piled their gear up in the middle - when they got to the site her air was down. Since someone else's gear had been pressing the I3 lever in transit but no one heard it.

Be prepared to show everyone you dive with how the I3 works. And how to find the semi-hidden manual inflator hose when it doesn't. It's not always your buddy that has to come to your aid if something goes bad. Most people are going to be looking for a standard inflator hose hanging down on the left side of your chest and know how to use it. Smart move by the above poster...

Let's not even get into what happens in a silty environment like a wreck when you catch the handle on a cable or piece of something as you go by. In a cave that could even be the guide line. Although no caver is that stupid to begin with. That could be really bad - kick up silt in a wreck and the viz goes to nothing in about a second flat - been there done that.

I have no idea how they come up with this stuff. I guess all the good ideas are in practice so they need something different to market their products.

I dive liveaboards. Often we don't touch land for a week. A standard inflator breaks I can probably scavenge one from the ships rentals. 2 cable ties later I'm back diving. IDK any liveaboards that have an I3 repair tech on board - or the proprietary parts needed. I suppose it's possible on some of the Aggressors since they are "partners" but IDK if that includes parts/training.

I love high-tech toys of all sorts. So it seems like this would be a perfect match for me - I dive Titanium regs and pretty much the best of everything. But I took one look at it and realized that it's just another toy for marketing to differentiate their product line. It doesn't do anything better.

 

[KevinNM]

Noob question.... what is a BP/w 7?

Backplate and wing, should have been BP/W. The first useful article bing found was this Why dive a backplate and wing instead of a jacket BCD.
The I3 isn't as bad as some people say, but it is expensive and heavy and there are a lot of mysterious linkages. I switched mostly because I took a course that required a BP/W, but I found I like the BP/W.