Maybe it can breathe OK but I certainly would not want to use it during an air share with a panicked diver where I had to control their buoyancy as well especially with drysuits or thick neoprene wetsuits involved .
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Boarderguy
Chief Narctopus Wrangler
You're a GUE guy right? Ponies are doubles and helium past 100...
If you've set your rig correctly then it isn't a problem. What most people don't do when adding an air2 is lengthening the corrugated and inflation hose to properly reach their mouth without pulling. Butt dumps for your wing, left arm for your drysuit, their buoyancy is theirs to control unless incapacitated and then you go about it as you would if using a normal reg. Quit all your voodoo about something you haven't even attempted to set up or use correctly as it was intended.
johndiver999
Contributor
The last thing I am is a GUE guy, in fact with today's price of helium it is nice to get below 100 ft and get away from them. I am however a long hose primary donate guy and Air 2 doesn't play well with primary donate on the long hose. Most of my diving is in cold and really cold water and I have done a number of emergency air shares and a couple of panicked diver air shares where they try to drag to to the surface and the Air 2 is not for me. What you do is up to you. None of the air shares were from out of gas rather frozen regs or failed high pressure seats.
Boarderguy
Chief Narctopus Wrangler
johndiver999
Contributor
Watch the video and you will see. The necklaced secondary is put in place before the long hose so they do not interfere, try to do that with your inflator hose and still have full use of it.
Boarderguy
Chief Narctopus Wrangler
Removing 1 wrap before putting the reg in your mouth is too tasking?
Each setup has its advantages. Each has its limitations. For a solo rig an air2 is best imo. If you solo then it is beneficial to not change rigs between dive types. Muscle memory being what it is and all my rig doesn't change with exception of primary tank size.
Belzelbub
Contributor
Is an AIR2 type configuration ideal for every gear configuration? No, it’s not.
If you are diving where a 7’ hose is needed, it’s not a good option. If we are talking about Open Water, it’s not a bad choice. Provided you know how to use it. Mine is adjusted properly. Might breathe a bit harder than my primary, but not by much.
One thing it offers is a consistent position for the secondary. One that should be almost second nature to the diver. I use a Zeagle Octo-Z. I grab it a few times during a dive as it controls my buoyancy as well. Last year I took a Rescue course with two of my regular dive buddies. Two of us use an AIR 2 type configuration. One used a standard inflator and separate alternate. All of us are primary donate.
During the course, we did air sharing numerous times. Only one of us had an issue locating the secondary after donating the primary. The standard alternate had come loose from it’s stowed position.
Is it ideal for every situation? No, it’s not. But for OW dives with divers familiar with primary donate, it’s certainly not the death trap that some claim. If it works for you, it’s a viable option.
And with an AI transmitter, and no SPG, the two hose setup packs up easily. I honestly don’t know how some configurations (7’ primary, secondary, SPG, and inflator) fit in a standard single reg bag.
I have given my preference, dive as you wish, I always dive fully redundant so I really don't care what configuration my buddy, if I have one, uses. I realize that after diving for 45 years I still have plenty to learn but including an Air2 in my configuration is not one of them. Why adding any task in an emergency is what I would ask.
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