Aqualung legend Octo vs ABS Octo

[axxel57]

Just don't take the ABS Octo.
To me ( and I have serviced at least 150 of them) it's a substandard 2nd.
You can adjust it to a reasonable cracking effort (CE), but on the Flow Bench a lot of them show a quite lousy Venturi Performance.
Apart from that I agree that your Octo should be at least as good as your primary.
There might be the remote possibility that you need it in emergency for your buddy, but chances are that you need one day it for yourself when your primary 2nd has a problem.
Over the time I have used my Octo for myself more often than for my buddy.........

 

[Zef]

the abs octo can be tuned to work with the legend, the legend octo will just have a lower wob. a compromise that would be slightly cheaper but still good would be the core octo. i have never found the low profile octos to perform well.

Oh man even more fuel to just get the legend Octo

Or just get a 2nd legend 2nd stage...then regardless of how you configure your setup you will have a good breathing reg. The only typical difference between the "normal" version and the "octo" version is the yellow color and the octo version is usually detuned to prevent freeflow...you can detune the normal version as well....it will most likely be easier to sell a normal version compared to the octo version in the future if that matters.

What reg your partner goes for in an OOA situation will be dependent on how well they keep their s**t together as the situation begins to and continues to unfold. If they panic who knows what they will do, grab the yellow hose/2nd stage, rip out the one in your mouth, bolt to the surface, drown, who knows!?!?

I purchased a DIN version of the CE coldwater certified Calypso to use on a pony bottle...I then wanted to be able to convert it to a full reg set for one of my daughter's to use when she is home from University so I purchased a Core supreme 2nd stage...the Calypso/Titan 2nd stage will be used an octo in that situation and the Core supreme 2nd will be the primary....I would use the Core supreme as the 2nd for the pony bottle setup but I have been lazy and just have not swapped the 2 yet...perhaps this weekend. If I could do it again, I would have bought the DIN version of the Core setup and added an extra normal Core 2nd stage....the Core supreme was marginally more expensive and for the money all I got was a little snowflake stenciled on the purge cover and a removable lip guard that supposedly increases lip warmth comfort on cold water dives....have not used it yet so jury is still out,

-Z

 

[Zef]

The ABS should be renamed the DEATH-TO-PUS
Wet as breathing and the last thing you want handed to you in an emergency. I bought some regs on E-Bay once for the first stage and primary second, it came with the ABS. Had a play in the pool with it and was promptly removed.

Your sentiment is a bit extreme and not universal. Not saying that the ABS is anywhere close to a high performing 2nd stage, but it is not necessarily the death trap you make it out to be. I have read of folks with very high end regs complain of issues like wet breathing, free flowing, and other issues....mileage may vary....the ABS as a side venting reg is designed so it can breather right side up or upside down, where as a standard venting 2nd stage will typically breath wet when upside down in the divers mouth or when the diver is in an inverted (head down) position.

I am not saying your ABS was not a problem, it obviously was, its just not necessarily a universal issue.

-Z

 

[chris kippax]

Your sentiment is a bit extreme and not universal. Not saying that the ABS is anywhere close to a high performing 2nd stage, but it is not necessarily the death trap you make it out to be. I have read of folks with very high end regs complain of issues like wet breathing, free flowing, and other issues....mileage may vary....the ABS as a side venting reg is designed so it can breather right side up or upside down, where as a standard venting 2nd stage will typically breath wet when upside down in the divers mouth or when the diver is in an inverted (head down) position.

I am not saying your ABS was not a problem, it obviously was, its just not necessarily a universal issue.

-Z

You can cut it anyway you want, I experienced it and it is CRAP.
It is the last thing you would want passed to you when you are OOA. The next worse thing is an Aqualung airsourceIII.

 

[Zef]

You can cut it anyway you want, I experienced it and it is CRAP.
It is the last thing you would want passed to you when you are OOA. The next worse thing is an Aqualung airsourceIII.

It perhaps is the last thing "You" would want passed to "You" when one is OOA....perhaps I would not want "Yours" passed to me, but I would be accepting of even an upside down bucket containing air if I was OOA at depth. Also, if I was to find myself in the unfortunate situation where I was OOA, I would not be waiting for anyone to pass me anything, I am going to grab the nearest 2nd stage that I can. Any apologies or other details can be worked out on the surface once the emergency has passed.

Just saying.

-Z

 

[chris kippax]

It perhaps is the last thing "You" would want passed to "You" when one is OOA....perhaps I would not want "Yours" passed to me, but I would be accepting of even an upside down bucket containing air if I was OOA at depth. Also, if I was to find myself in the unfortunate situation where I was OOA, I would not be waiting for anyone to pass me anything, I am going to grab the nearest 2nd stage that I can. Any apologies or other details can be worked out on the surface once the emergency has passed.

Just saying.

-Z

Where is your ABS?....... oh

 

[Zef]

Where is your ABS?....... oh

My ABS works just fine on the surface and at 40 meters deep, it has never free flowed or breathed wet on me. It is currently sitting in a bin on my workbench along with an old Conshelf reg set that was given to me that needs overhaul....

...As stated I simply don't use the ABS because I did not like how it hung on a bungee necklace...I attach my bungee necklace by passing knotted ends under the ziptie that holds the mouth piece on...because the mouth piece is angled 120 degrees from the hose attachment, I did not like how it hung around my neck...I had other "traditional" shaped 2nd stages in my arsenal that I was able to swap it out with. From a functional/breathing standpoint it works just fine and if I was in a position where I was short a 2nd stage on a reg set or was setting up another pony bottle, I would not hesitate to use it.

Amazon.com lists the following:
Leg3nd octo: $250
Core octo: $239
Calypso/Titan octo: $179
ABS octo: $165

If one was looking for an inexpensive octo within the Aqua Lung line of products and desired a small form factor then the ABS, price wise would not be a bad choice...other options in this category from outside the Aqua Lung lineup would be the Mares MV octo which is listed on Amazon between $114 ($99.95 + shipping) and $129.95.

-Are there better performing octo's on the market? YES!!!
-Was your a problem? YES!!!
-Are all of them a problem? NO!!!
-Is the ABS a good 2nd stage regulator? Depends who you ask, what their experience is/was, and what their needs/desires are.
-Is the ABS fit for purpose? ABSOLUTELY!!!....it is marketed as an inexpensive low profile lightweight safe second/octo type 2nd stage regulator for recreational diving...one could argue that its target market segment are divers who travel frequently...just like any 2nd stage that is free of defect and otherwise setup correctly it certainly gets the job done.

No matter how you slice it, your sentiment is not universal.

-Z

 

[Jim Lapenta]

You don't need an Aqualung octo at all. Get a good quality second stage that breathes as well as your primary. My primary and octos are all the same second identical stages. The last thing I want to hand to a stressed diver is a reg that breathes like crap or have to go to it myself.
All are on black hoses and none have special yellow covers. Dive with trained people and you usually don't have to worry about getting mugged for a reg. They will signal out of air and you'll calmly donate the reg to them. They will take it and start breathing from it.

 

[Zef]

All are on black hoses and none have special yellow covers. Dive with trained people and you usually don't have to worry about getting mugged for a reg. They will signal out of air and you'll calmly donate the reg to them. They will take it and start breathing from it.

Jim,
how many "trained" people have you dived with that have run out of air? I would expect this to be a very rare exception with "trained" divers.

-Z

 

[k954triniz]

Oh man I opened a can of worms. But from all that I’m reading is that it’s personal preference. Abs will work but not optimal. Get a decent second stage that I’m comfortable with if I ever have to donate so whichever reg the stressed diver grabs that they will be fine with it and also myself. I made up my mind ai can spring for the legend Octo. would get another regular legend but Im not spending that kind of money again. The point is to not have to use it right. Most of the divers I go with range In skill level. But no matter how trained you are you never know what’s going to happen. We alway do a gear review with a new diver to us so they know our gear and we know theirs. I know my buddy has a Teric like I do with AI and he has a spg like I do .. so if I want to know his gas levels I just grab it and look. But however I did go look at the abs and legend Octo today and to me the legend Octo is the way I’ll go simply because it’s a dumb down version of my legend elite.

Where is your ABS?....... oh

You don't need an Aqualung octo at all. Get a good quality second stage that breathes as well as your primary. My primary and octos are all the same second identical stages. The last thing I want to hand to a stressed diver is a reg that breathes like crap or have to go to it myself.
All are on black hoses and none have special yellow covers. Dive with trained people and you usually don't have to worry about getting mugged for a reg. They will signal out of air and you'll calmly donate the reg to them. They will take it and start breathing from it.

Jim,
how many "trained" people have you dived with that have run out of air? I would expect this to be a very rare exception with "trained" divers.

-Z