Gear Requirements for the Solo Diver?

[CuzzA]

All of these things could be addressed simply by either a set of BM doubles or sidemount. Just my 2PSI.

Yes, I believe I asked earlier if sidemount would be cumbersome while fishing. I would think it would. Plus a typical fishing trip over here is a 2-4 tank dive. Doubles wouldn't be practical and I don't think many private boats would be very accommodating. It would definitely be a pain in the ass on my boat.

 

[OldNSalty]

An AIR2 is fine for what it is designed for. I used one for years and used it solo but really only because it was already there (I still had a pony). They are no more or less expensive to have serviced and they are about as reliable as any other reg. As for buoyancy control, you are diving warm water and assuming you are properly weighted it isn’t an issue. One thing to learn if you haven’t already is that people are diving in all different conditions on here and so when someone says “X is a bad idea” they can be both right and wrong. I think some of the concern with the AIR2 comes from people who are not diving warm water as you and I do. I don’t need to do a lot to maintain neutral buoyancy throughout the dive and so the AIR2 worked.
With that being said, I wouldn’t go out and buy one for solo diving, you are better off with a pony of adequate size routed in a way that is comfortable for you.

Edit....

If you solo dive, do take a redundant air supply. It's fine to have an AIR2 on your gear but not in place of a pony or doubles.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Ok. A few questions.

1. IF I were to go to an AIR2 and necklace the pony, what do you guys think is the best way to route the hose assuming the pony is inverted for valve control and my primary is a 40" hose under my arm? I'm thinking run a long hose rubber banded at the bottom of the tank with the hose tucked between the tank and wing and run it over my shoulder to a necklace and elbow. OR run it in front of me to the necklace. The latter option seems as though the hose would get in the way, especially while fishing.

2. The inverted pony does introduce some risk of damage to the first stage while top side on a boat. My pony is a DIN, so do you think it's worth giving up valve control to reduce the potential of damaging the first stage?

3. How reliable are these AIR2's? How well do they breath? How easy/cheap are they to have serviced? The one I specifically found is from DGE https://www.divegearexpress.com/bc-integrated-backup-regulator

4. How difficult is it to control buoyancy while breathing on an AIR2? I assume you must be vertical with the reg above the top of you bladder to dump air. Otherwise you could pull dump.

Maybe try what i use.. The pony is upright and on. no extra swivel etc (to fail). If the pony reg is on your neck, a significant freeflow will be noticable if it is around your neck.

An Air 2 breaths as good as most any regulator.

The DGX clone looks identical to the one I bought from Leisure Pro - it was very cheap like $60 on sale, but was a total piece of crap. Blue Reef brand. I got two of them and neither worked. Really a horrible piece of gear.

If you are gonna get an air 2 buy a SP brand one (used) or possibly Tusa .. I have one of those and it appears to be an identical clone and works fine. Another company Atomic makes them as well... they are expensive, but I am sure they work very well.

If you normally vent your BC, by holding the inflator up and pressing the deflate button, then that is exactly how you will do it with an AIR 2. Of course during that 2-4 second period you will not be inhaling from it, but this should not be too terrifying - if you practice..

If you would not use a pre-owned AIR 2 without having it professionaly serviced, then I might be able to dig one out of the garage (along with a hose). I have a few extra ones in the box and I have some others that need service.. those are the only ones i would sell.. Service is probably like $35 or something.

 

[tomfcrist]

Yes, I believe I asked earlier if sidemount would be cumbersome while fishing. I would think it would. Plus a typical fishing trip over here is a 2-4 tank dive. Doubles wouldn't be practical and I don't think many private boats would be very accommodating. It would definitely be a pain in the ass on my boat.

I spear in back mount doubles with 2 deco bottles, which is arguably much more cumbersome than sidemount....I have no issues with it.

My stringer is bungeed to the butt of my gun and can break away if need be.

Back mounted doubles aren't too bad on small boats...and they take up the same amount of space as two singles. Getting back onboard without doffing the gear is a bit tougher though. Honestly I think it would be less of s hassle than having a back mounted pony.

 

[CuzzA]

Ok. I think I've nailed it down after testing some configurations this evening and reading some reviews of the 5th generation ScubaPro AIR2.

Some of my reluctance to accept the AIR2 as a viable option was from bad reviews on other BC regulators. Many of the reviews I read complained of the regs breathing wet, free flowing and overall poor design. My biggest concern has always been I want a octo equally as good as my primary. The thought of donating my primary only to find out now I'm basically OOA and I have to fight to get my primary back seemed foolish. However, from the reviews of the ScubaPro 5th gen it sounds like a really well designed and reliable product. I also like the fact it has a pre dive/dive venturi switch.

Inverted pony is out. Too high of a possibility of damaging the first stage. Not to mention I can easily reach back and pull the cam strap to remove the tank if I need to shut the tank down for whatever reason. A 29" hose from the pony under my arm is nice and streamlined with the necklace, coupled with my 40" primary also under my arm, everything is nice and tight and feels exactly the same as how I was diving before. Also I like the fact there is one less hose on my back gas first stage and I'll probably find it an enjoyable configuration when shallow buddy diving without the pony.

Thanks to everyone for chiming in. I know my diving will eventually progress to technical diving and eventually CCR and my configurations will change again, but it takes time. If anyone has any other thoughts on solo diving, please share. It's nice to hear what others are doing. And if anyone has a 5th Gen SP AIR2 let me know.

I do have a question about depth gauges. I see many technical divers only use an SPG. Is this due to the fact they have a computer AND a backup computer or depth and bottom timer? Perhaps the better way to ask this is when do you ditch the boot and depth gauge?

 

[uncfnp]

CuzzA. I don't recall your wing. Just make sure the Air 2 is compatible.

 

[tomfcrist]

I do have a question about depth gauges. I see many technical divers only use an SPG. Is this due to the fact they have a computer AND a backup computer or depth and bottom timer? Perhaps the better way to ask this is when do you ditch the boot and depth gauge?

Yup. Just a brass and glass SPG and two depth devices(electronic). Some folks use computers, others use bottom timers. The time to ditch the booted gauge is whenever you feel like it...definitely when you switch to a twinset of any kind.

As far as the Air 2, it's a solid product. Don't overlook the Zeagle OctoZ either. It is also a great breather, and pretty much bulletproof.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Ok. I think I've nailed it down after testing some configurations this evening and reading some reviews of the 5th generation ScubaPro AIR2.

Some of my reluctance to accept the AIR2 as a viable option was from bad reviews on other BC regulators. Many of the reviews I read complained of the regs breathing wet, free flowing and overall poor design. My biggest concern has always been I want a octo equally as good as my primary. The thought of donating my primary only to find out now I'm basically OOA and I have to fight to get my primary back seemed foolish. However, from the reviews of the ScubaPro 5th gen it sounds like a really well designed and reliable product. I also like the fact it has a pre dive/dive venturi switch.

Inverted pony is out. Too high of a possibility of damaging the first stage. Not to mention I can easily reach back and pull the cam strap to remove the tank if I need to shut the tank down for whatever reason. A 29" hose from the pony under my arm is nice and streamlined with the necklace, coupled with my 40" primary also under my arm, everything is nice and tight and feels exactly the same as how I was diving before. Also I like the fact there is one less hose on my back gas first stage and I'll probably find it an enjoyable configuration when shallow buddy diving without the pony.

Thanks to everyone for chiming in. I know my diving will eventually progress to technical diving and eventually CCR and my configurations will change again, but it takes time. If anyone has any other thoughts on solo diving, please share. It's nice to hear what others are doing. And if anyone has a 5th Gen SP AIR2 let me know.



I do have a question about depth gauges. I see many technical divers only use an SPG. Is this due to the fact they have a computer AND a backup computer or depth and bottom timer? Perhaps the better way to ask this is when do you ditch the boot and depth gauge?

sounds like the rig is similar to mine. Wearing a compass on the wrist is a much better and easier way to navigate versus having one on a console. However, for most spearfishing, you are going to want to hit say a N-S aligned ledge and swim to the east... this requires a quick glance at the compass and accuracy of plus or minus 30 degrees is inconsequential..

So.. if you envision yourself reaching into holes to pull out lobster or stuck fish, you may not want a compass, computer and who knows what else strapped to your wrist. I know all the great tech divers in the world want a tiny pressure gage with no boot for streamlined issues (which is ridiculous in my opinion), but I find a big honking console with spg, computer, compass and sometimes even my watch strapped to it, to be more convenient. There are some very good spearfisherman who will wear a computer on their wrist. So i don't have a really strong opinion on it.

Spearfishing is a somewhat unique application. So some of the prejudice against consoles being "tourist" gear doesn't cause me any concern. Wrestling with fish is quite different than frog kicking around in a neutral condition with your knees bent and both arms extended as they strive to use no air and reach their primary goal - of maintaining perfect trim.

 

[CuzzA]

No doubt fishing changes your approach to diving. I have a AI wrist computer and it has a compass built in. I'm right handed and wear it on my left so I would almost always be using my right arm to reach in a hole. I like the AI and the wrist computer especially while fishing because it's like a heads up display that puts that info right in front of me while holding my gun. I can simply glance down and instantly get my tank pressure without having to stop and unsnap my SPG from my waist d ring. I set two tank pressure alarms, halfway and reserve and upon the two alarms I verify the SPG and AI are in agreement.

I'm curious... Theoretically, I could ditch the high pressure hose all together. Is that a wise idea given the AI computer? Do AI users do that? It's dead acurate, has never failed to connect and has never failed to correlate with my SPG and at this point in my diving and until I have NDL's memorized and a back up depth/timer/computer I would likely end a dive if my computer failed and then resort to my tables topside assuming I had a timer. I could keep the SPG/depth gauge in my gear bag as a backup. Thoughts?

 

[OldNSalty]

I'm curious... Theoretically, I could ditch the high pressure hose all together. Is that a wise idea given the AI computer? Do AI users do that? It's dead acurate, has never failed to connect and has never failed to correlate with my SPG and at this point in my diving and until I have NDL's memorized and a back up depth/timer/computer I would likely end a dive if my computer failed and then resort to my tables topside assuming I had a timer. I could keep the SPG/depth gauge in my gear bag as a backup. Thoughts?

In my experience it is not a wise idea. The hoseless AI computers work but not 100% of the time. I have a simple SPG and the hoseless computer as a backup. You could go with just the computer but you will have to accept the fact that at some point it is likely that a battery will go dead or a connection will be lost and you will have to surface prematurely.