Divator
- Thread starter Ollie
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Tm530
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The Interspiro Divator MKII "AGA" full face mask? If so, you can drop that word cheap from your vocabulary. The only place I know of that has them online is OTS - Ocean Technology Systems, the company that makes the Buddy Phone communication system. I think their site is www.oceantechnologysystems.com, there may be an online source in Europe, but I am currently not aware of one. Sometime you can find used ones on eBay for sale, but they still runover $400 that I have seen there.
Good Luck!
Tom
Good Luck!
Tom
yeah by cheap i meant cheeper than what i can get it for, which it just over £300.
I have a feeling that is teh cheapist i am likely to get it.
Cheers for the help tho.
Have you tried it b4? I just did a weeks diving in one. It makes life very easy under the water, especialy if it is the positive pressure version.
I have a feeling that is teh cheapist i am likely to get it.
Cheers for the help tho.
Have you tried it b4? I just did a weeks diving in one. It makes life very easy under the water, especialy if it is the positive pressure version.
Sold it on ebay.
I found the AGA to be a:
Pain to don... spider straps are not as convenient as just sticking a regulator in your mouth.
Pain to use... jaw fatigue from the positive buoyancy unless you use the optional weights... then certainly not a lightweight mask.
Pain to deal with OOA... must remove and then don spare mask and use buddies octo.
Pain to clean... more involved that rinsing a mask and regulator.
Pain to supply with air... ok if surface supplied but a bummer if you are on scuba... your air consumption will go way up. Especially if you use a comm unit and are blabbering back and forth all the time!
Now if you need a FFM for working dives using SSA then a KB bandmask is the ticket... with comms... and whistle while you work! Of course if you are in contaminated water then you should be using a helmet instead of a FFM.
IMO... FFMs are not optimal for rec or tech scuba diving.
Tm530
Registered
Pug makes some very good points, and it's certainly not for everyone, but I have been VERY comfortable in mine.
My dive buddy and I have dived our AGA's almost exclusively the last few years (I only dive without it now when I don't dive with him). We do dive them with the Buddy Phone. Air consumption does go up quite a bit when you initially start using the mask, but I found that once I had a few dives on it and became more comfortable using it my air consumption returned to very near normal. The out of air issues can be a concern. I almost always bring a spare mask in a pocket. I wouldn't reccomend it for cave diving, or even tech wreck diving. It's just to involved. You can buy a "block" assembly to pipe in at least 1 more gas supply. You can see one of them at www.sarind.com (RSV-1). The mask does make cold water diving more comfortable. I haven't found it a pain to clean or don, but I have also been servicing my own gear for many, many years.
Like I said, it's not for everyone. I do find it A LOT of fun to dive with, and that's what diving is all about for me: having fun. It's a serious investment if you don't end up enjoying it, so I always suggest diving one before you buy (which is fine for friends, I have 2). The best deals I have seen are "show" deals at DEMA. You can usually cut a pretty good price there (they just won't show up for a few months). Since you've already tried it, and liked it, you are probably not going to stop liking it any time soon. Go get one. If you want to sell it later they hold their value reasonably well.
I will add one more comment, do not get the positive pressure version unless you are diving with it in contaminated water and are using a surface air supply. Air consumption will always be above normal in those models. Get the demand only model, it's also slightly cheaper then the positive pressure version (I think).
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Tom
My dive buddy and I have dived our AGA's almost exclusively the last few years (I only dive without it now when I don't dive with him). We do dive them with the Buddy Phone. Air consumption does go up quite a bit when you initially start using the mask, but I found that once I had a few dives on it and became more comfortable using it my air consumption returned to very near normal. The out of air issues can be a concern. I almost always bring a spare mask in a pocket. I wouldn't reccomend it for cave diving, or even tech wreck diving. It's just to involved. You can buy a "block" assembly to pipe in at least 1 more gas supply. You can see one of them at www.sarind.com (RSV-1). The mask does make cold water diving more comfortable. I haven't found it a pain to clean or don, but I have also been servicing my own gear for many, many years.
Like I said, it's not for everyone. I do find it A LOT of fun to dive with, and that's what diving is all about for me: having fun. It's a serious investment if you don't end up enjoying it, so I always suggest diving one before you buy (which is fine for friends, I have 2). The best deals I have seen are "show" deals at DEMA. You can usually cut a pretty good price there (they just won't show up for a few months). Since you've already tried it, and liked it, you are probably not going to stop liking it any time soon. Go get one. If you want to sell it later they hold their value reasonably well.
I will add one more comment, do not get the positive pressure version unless you are diving with it in contaminated water and are using a surface air supply. Air consumption will always be above normal in those models. Get the demand only model, it's also slightly cheaper then the positive pressure version (I think).
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Tom
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