OK, I got a little carried away with this, but I had some fun. I'll share it with you. And the most important thing - if you want one of these - you've missed the LP sale,
but there's a pretty good current deal to be had - see diverdiscount below.
Decades ago when I was in the product development / importing business, we called this a 'football item' - everyone has it and they're passing it around!
This alternate air device is available (private labeled) from numerous sources. One guy gives you the corrugated hose but no LP hose, the next guy gives you the LP hose but no corrugated hose, the next guy gives you both hoses. It's a very safe bet that the only difference is the color of the purge and the logo on the purge. I'll bet I'm right about that and that means the service kit - available from DiveGearExpress (and others with alternate brand names) is the same. But I should point out that I haven't tried the service kit - yet.
The real maker is, as has been noted elsewhere on this site, ODS, Taiwan.
You can see it on their site,
ODS - they've mysteriously hidden it in the section called 'BCD & Flotation System'. The photos on the site do not show the same rapid exhaust that I've seen on U.S. dealer's web pages. I just bought one and my rapid exhaust is not the one on the Taiwan site -I'm guessing the Taiwan site photos are out of date.
The rapid exhaust is not interchangeable with Zeagle BC's. Look at the photo below and it should be self explanatory. Interesting - if you look at the upper housing of the rapid exhaust (ODS / H2odyssey on top - Zeagle on the bottom), it's pretty clearly coming off the same tooling. The only thing they changed was the traction ribs on the removable threaded section.
For what it's worth, Scuba Diving dot com reviewed this (et al) in 2007. See it here:
7 Backup Breathers | Scuba Diving
Some places you can buy this:
Dive Rite - $164 apparently with corrugated hose/rapid exhaust, LP hose
BC Integrated Backup Second Stages - Dive Gear Express
(plus, they sell the service kit, can't find a service manual)
Dolphin scuba - $99 right now, appears not to include the LP hose. Note that here it's called the 'EDGE Epic', but it doesn't seem to be currently offered by EDGE.
EDGE Epic Integerated Inflator-Octopus - Complete Unit with Pull Dump
Leisurepro - $79 right now (on their site and at their ebay store). You've missed the $45 sale : ( Appears not to include the corrugated hose / rapid exhaust
Blue Reef Octo + Inflator with inflator hose
Here's how they used to sell it (the version branded H2odyssey with the ODS model number)
H2Odyssey Inflator Plus - RA2U
Diverdiscount.com - $79 - that includes the corrugated hose/rapid exhaust and the LP hose.
This is where I bought mine. It was drop shipped directly from the so called manufacturer - H2odyssey. I got it the day after I ordered it online, UPS ground (cheap). Both myself and H2odyssey are in SoCal.
Diver Discount Catalog-H2Odyssey BCD's
More interesting trivia:
Hmm, the H2odyssey / ODS device also has the same mouthpiece that came with my Zeagle DS-V. Come to think of it, my Zeagle DS-V came with an LP hose that said right on the side "Ocean Divers Supply' - but I'm OK with that.
My wild guess is that ODS makes the Zeagle alternate air device. But I do not think the Zeagle device is a 're-branded' version of this alternate air. Why (?) - because the machine test results noted on the scubadiving . com review are not the same for the ODS football item compared to the Zeagle. The Zeagle device slightly out-performs this device. Not to mention the fact that the Zeagle has obvious feature differences.
If you want one of these inexpensive alt air devices, I'd recommend getting the one branded H2odyssey. That gives you the option of trying the service kit from Dive Gear Express or, if that worries you, you can take it to any of the numerous dealers listed on the H2odyssey site. If you went to one of their dealers with one labeled 'Blue Reef' or 'EDGE' or 'Dive Rite Source', they might turn you away.
And who is H2odyssey? A company that sells a bunch of the football items made by ODS!
H2Odyssey Dive...Home
And where is H2odyssey located? Why, they're in Vista CA sharing a building with - you guessed it - Ocean DiversUSA (
ODUSA Plastic Injection, Mfg & Assy, USA, TAIWAN)!
That was fun!
