Aqualung I3

[Cheekymonkey]

http://www.aqualung.com/products/i3.html

does this quote scare anyone else...

"EASY
The i3 is simple and intuitive. Move the lever up to go up; down to go down."

They are saying to add air to your BC in order to ascend? scary crap

 

[nymbus]

They don't mean for ascents. They are talking about getting neutral. Add a little with the lever and up you go- breathe to make sure you haven't added too much. The "easy intutive" part is that instead of hitting a side button on a low pressure inflator- you use the I3 instead.

 

[spectrum]

Not exactly want you would hope to see for innovation and certainly not the right usage message. Makes you wonder who's writing this stuff.

I read that these work by opening a shoulder and back dump simultaneously expecting at least one to vent. Having an open non venting valve would allow even more water to enter the BC, right?

Pete

 

[Cheekymonkey]

They don't mean for ascents. They are talking about getting neutral. Add a little with the lever and up you go- breathe to make sure you haven't added too much. The "easy intutive" part is that instead of hitting a side button on a low pressure inflator- you use the I3 instead.

The go up, go down thing doesnt seem to say neutrality to me...

 

[nymbus]

It probably will let more water in with both dumps open, but the nice thing is that regardless of the position you are in, you no longer need to get vertical to dump, which is nice for divers trying to maintain and practice trim and being neutral. Also- if you take a good look at the dumps, they are very low volume, and much more streamlined.

Please don't misunderstand my giving information from a recent discussion with an Aqualung keyman with wanting one of these. They simply don't make much sense to me yet- especially since I like my AirSource and that would make for a silly looking charm bracelet diver with both an inflator Airsource and I3 on the side, all while diving a drysuit anyway.


New products are interesting though- even if they need a few years to get the kinks out first.

 

[nymbus]

I completely agree that the wording is AWFUL.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

ahaha, now I was just looking at the "demo" on that link I put up, it doesnt allow you to actually get negative or positive in their demo, it literally moves you up and down. Talk about the wrong thing for a new diver to be told.

 

[nymbus]

The I3 is going to be a hard sell for most dive instructors. It simply doesn't integrate very seamlessly into the standards we have to teach- the placement of the octopus, the difficult disconnect to get the source unplugged from itself, as well as the lack of "highest point" for dumping air. I suppose like all new things we will start to see more of it and change the teaching to it, but I don't think that it will be widely recieved to start... and it really won't go well with awful wording and demonstrations. We'll see.

 

[nymbus]

...and... like all new gear and innovative ideas, some of it might stick around.

 

[spectrum]

...and... like all new gear and innovative ideas, some of it might stick around.

The check valve in the dumps could be worth salvaging if they are not problematic.

Beyond that...:shakehead

Pete