Hi! Please Post Your Opinions on MY GEAR! and why? I would love to learn more.

[GJC]

It's always been my understanding that completely covering the octo is asking for a freeflow.

That hasn't happened to me yet, in fact the only octo free flows I have seen have been octos without a complete cover.

Thinking it through, I guess a completely sealed octo cover could trigger the second stage to open on descent, but unless the cover takes very little effort to pop off, it may actually prevent free flow.

The covers I have seen do not completely seal the mouthpiece. There is a small opening where the zip tie is, so I don't think there is negative pressure created on descent.

 

[HellRaZoR]

I can feel your enthusiasm coming through as you post, it’s something that keeps me motivated as an instructor. If I may offer a suggestion, as you live in Rockville MD, you have access to a local shop that offers courses,training and advice that are unique in the diving world. Submerged in Rockville is an amazing shop with incredible staff that can help you in your journey in diving. I say this as I see many divers like you with a passion to be the best diver possible. Checkout their courses and use their knowledge. Keep on diving!

Thank You!

 

[HellRaZoR]

That's a lot nicer setup that my beginning gear. Congrats on your purchase.
Where is your first dive with it going to be????

My first dive was in Grand Cayman, I went to USS Kittiwake twice, Oro Verde, coral wall, deep dive, night dive. Planning second trip.

 

[HellRaZoR]

You should not need the holder in the mouth piece of the MV Octo, especially if you have the hose folded and stuffed in the octo storage pocket of your BC.

Just for clarity, I never referenced the mouth piece. I referenced the end cap of the body of the octo. It is the yellow plastic mesh cap on the end that covers the exhaust valve...see the following picture for reference:

View attachment 501062

If you are going to clip your octo to your BC then I highly recommend switching to something like one of the following:

View attachment 501063View attachment 501064

These securely hold your octo in place and are not damaging to the mouth piece when you need to pull your octo free from the holder during training or an actual emergency.

If you are struggling to remove the octo on land, just imagine what that might be like during a crisis under water...and if the mouthpiece pulls off or is damaged because of it, while it wont render the octo useless, it may compound the problem/crisis being addressed.

Moving forward the best piece of advice I can offer a new diver is to ask lots of questions and evaluate all the responses you receive, then ask some more, and keep thinking...a thinking diver is safe diver, a safe diver is a good diver.

I wish you many happy and safe dives with your new gear.

-Z

Hi Zef, The Mares MV I have is slightly different, it has a membrane on the side with no yellow half ball cover. and YES! I got some of those clips, I will run the procedure multiple times in the water to works out the kinks. Thank you so much for the answer!

 

[Zef]

Hi Zef, The Mares MV I have is slightly different, it has a membrane on the side with no yellow half ball cover. and YES! I got some of those clips, I will run the procedure multiple times in the water to works out the kinks. Thank you so much for the answer!

There should be a cover to protect the membrane...the membrane is the exhaust valve. You are missing a piece.

-Z

 

[HellRaZoR]

Thank you for your concern, the new design has a small black guard that i didnt mention instead of the yellow ball, The mouthpiece inlet, hooks under very safe in there, takes a hard yank to remove it, i feel like im gonna rip the mouthpiece off, but it feels very safe. this 1 looks slightly different from the photos..
Cheers!

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I'll add a vote for a knife. Where I dive (Puget Sound) we can get currents over sand and compacted mud sediments. A knife is a good way to hold position on the bottom. (In fact, the classic James Bond "BFK" works pretty well for this.) For that application, sharp is irrelevant. (A smaller but sharp knife or linecutter is a good backup on the chance you need a knife for it's intended purpose.)

Enjoy your diving! Try to dive close to home so you don't have to put it off for vacation trips.

 

[Zef]

Thank you for your concern, the new design has a small black guard that i didnt mention instead of the yellow ball, The mouthpiece inlet, hooks under very safe in there, takes a hard yank to remove it, i feel like im gonna rip the mouthpiece off, but it feels very safe. this 1 looks slightly different from the photos..
Cheers!

cool, you have the black version of the mv...i dont know if the one with the guard you have is newer or older stock...if it works and you are happy then all is good. My recommendation id to use either an Octo holder likein the previous pics I posted or the mouthpiece insert that came with it, not both.

-Z