Review Diving the Avelo System

[Ukmc]

I still don’t get an advantage of the system… I get “blissed out” every time I dive being neutrally buoyant without Avelo. How is a pump of water different from a pump of air release from the bladder? If one dives with a minimal air in the BC there shouldn’t be a need to play around with deflator/inflator much. When diving warm, I dive rash guard and don’t much weight, and my rig is not heavy so not sure the system can save me a lot of weight (definitely NOT the numbers manufacturer is quoting).
Thus, I am in a camp of people who think it is an overpriced solution for a non-problem.
I am sure they have done market research and I hope the company will make it,.

 

[jale]

Hi
Sorry but I don't get the system!
Don't we have lungs?!
Is it not better to learn how to use your lung to control buoyancy?!!!

 

[scubadada]

Now that you are used to it, how does it feel in the water compared to your standard gear? Is it a great leap forward, an incremental improvement, or something else? How was it on the surface? What does your wife think of it?

It was easy diving with Avelo gear this trip as I was familiar with how everything worked. I was very comfortable diving, still remarkable swimming up and down in the water column without adding or venting gas from a BC.

I have been diving for quite a while and have good buoyancy control and gas consumption. For me, Avelo is not so much of a significant improvement in my diving, but is simply an easy, different way to attain excellent buoyancy.

I spent very little time on the surface during my dives and the surface conditions were benign. I was positively buoyant at the beginning of the dives until I started pumping and swam down. After purging the Hydrotank at the end of the dive, I was quite buoyant.

My wife was not interested in diving Avelo on this trip, only I rented gear for the two days.

So, at this stage of my diving, I don't see investing in Avelo equipment. However, I enjoy diving with it and will likely occasionally rent Avelo gear when it is available at my location. As above, I look forward to giving it a try while drift diving in SE Florida.

 

[scubadada]

I'm intrigued by the fact they had a modified version suited for people with limited shoulder mobility just sitting around. Was that made specifically for such cases, was it an easy fix (ie, was the relocated component designed to be easy to move), or did it have some other use and was just convenient for your issue? Whatever my other doubts about the system may be, it says a lot about Avelo as a company if they're this on top of making their gear accessible and user friendly.

Sorry, I should have been more explicit. I communicated with Avelo prior to my trip and told them about the difficulty in reaching the pump button. They developed the prototype Jetpack and sent it to me prior to traveling. I returned it to them after returning home with extensive feedback.

Avelo realized that the accessibility of the pump button and, perhaps, the purge valve also, might pose challenges for divers with limited mobility. They are going to use my experience with the prototype to help develop a system that is easier to reach and use. I also give credit to Avelo for pursuing this path.

 

[inquis]

Thanks for the follow-up and especially the real-world weight comparison.

Minor nit: it takes ~3400 psi in a 10L cylinder to match an AL80 (11.11L) at 3000 psi once compressibility is factored in.

I'm curious though: which way did you orient the tank (reg or valve closest to your head)?

 

[scubadada]

...I'm curious though: which way did you orient the tank (reg or valve closest to your head)?

We were taught in the Recreational Avelo Diver course to orient the valve forward rather than the regulator, to avoid having the regulator hit you in the head. I have continued to set it up this way and have not tested whether traditional set up would work. I do wonder.

 

[scubadada]

There will be an Avelo update webinar from DEMA on Friday, November 22, 8 pm eastern time. You can register on the Avelo website Avelo - Events

 

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

@scubadada That kind of willingness to accommodate customer needs can take a company far. As I said before, I'm still very much not sold on the idea, but if absolutely nothing else, if Avelo were to come out with any gear that am interested in down the road, such as dive computers or DPV's, knowing their customer service is that good would be enough for me to consider them for such products.

 

[lowwall]

... if Avelo were to come out with any gear that am interested in down the road, such as dive computers or DPV's, knowing their customer service is that good would be enough for me to consider them for such products.

A recreational rebreather is the obvious next step

 

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

@lowwall I was under the impression such a thing was an oxymoron at best. And while I would absolutely love to get into rebreathers, I'm about 25k and 5 certification shy of that point right now.