I agree. It's non-standard. So can only be fixed at an Aqualung dealer. Not that there aren't a lot of them all over but you may not always find one close by. Any shop has a $25 standard inflator hanging on the wall - or can cannibalize any of their BC's to get you back in the water - 2 cable ties is all it takes.
My bigger problem with the I3 is that if you're swimming in a tight space, there's a possibility to snag and activate it. Possibly pushing you down into silt or up into some structure. (I'm thinking caves/caverns and wrecks) There's a recent thread here showing some recreational divers diving a safe passage in one of the florida caves. Until one of them kicks the bottom and silts it up. Vis goes to zero when that happens even with bright lights.
And there's all those linkages that make it work. A standard inflator works because all it is is a simple valve at the end of an open hose. And user srviceable if you have the tool and a basic knowledge of how they work. I had a problem with mine once on the first day of a week-long trip to Bonaire - kept sticking open. So I aborted that dive, dropped it in the rinse tank for an hour. Came back, smacked it against the side of the tank a couple times and I used it that week and for the next several years after that. I still would be except my BC (Zeagle) came out with their BX inflator - you screw a garden hose to it to rinse your bc bladder. How do you do that with an I3?
Your standard power inflator buttons are a lot harder to accidentally depress.
It just seems like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. You really need a lever to control your buouyancy? How about just pushing a button? Someone in another thread posted it's more streamlined. Which it probably is. But when someone has to save your ass because you're unconscious, I hope they know where to look for it. Because it's not in a standard location and neither is the oral inflator. And which way to push/pull it to start you back up. In an emergency at a lot of depth they may be narced as well. And maybe it's not your buddy but someone else who gets to you first. Going to show everyone on every dive boat from now on how to properly use one?
I actually looked twice to find the oral inflator the first time I saw one in the store. Most divers know where a normal one is.
I'm not a big fan of their flat valve system either. They're
non-standard so parts may be more difficult to find if you break one.
What’s more, when you push the lever down, all the dumps, upper and lower, open at the same time! Special one-way valves prevent the water from getting into the BC.
That must be related to the fact that opening them all in some positions would allow water into the bladder. I've never had a problem selecting which of my 3 pull-dumps to pull - it's usually the one pointing up...LOL
Just buy a non-I3 Dimension. I do like some of the features it has. Or is that the Balance? I'm sure I've seen a non-I3 Dimension somewhere. I've seen several other versions of alternate inflation systems in the past - primarily from Mares. (Google Mares Hub - one of the biggest fiascoes of the last decade) But you don't anymore...Have to wonder about why?
