Horse Collar BCD with AIR 2?

[Andre171]

Hi, cleaned up the cellar and reviewed some unused scuba gear. I combined some to a somehow vintage setup. Scubapro MK2 + 109 + SPG, Barrakuda ABLJ + AIR2 (3rd), backpack, depth gauge, watch and a analog dive planner forming this recycled setup. Gonna try it

Anyway, did people used a horse collar bcd with an AIR2 back then? If so, in which time could my setup belong?

 

[happy-diver]

Dude I hung a 25cf bottle under a horse collar with an airII to a quick dive, snorkel with

Circa: last century

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

Anyway, did people used a horse collar bcd with an AIR2 back then? If so, in which time could my setup belong?

As I recall, Air2's came along in the late 1970's along with the advent of the ScubaPro Stabilizing Jacket. While many folks continued to use horsecollar BCs at that time, I noticed they were being phased out in favor of Jacket-style BCs, and Back Inflation Units (BIU). Many of us had been using At-Pac's since the early 1970s. I stuck an Air2 on my At-Pac inflator hose and used that for a while. Never used an Air2 on a horse collar BC and have never seen it done, but no reason you couldn't do so.

What made the Air2 mesh so well with the Stabilizing Jacket was that the corrugated hose connected to the Jacket on the front (rather than back up behind the shoulder). That kept the other end if the short hose with the Air2 attached in a fixed easily accessible position at your left chest level that never varied. You always knew exactly where it was.

I applaud you for experimenting as that is how you find out what works best for you. Good luck. My 2-psi.

 

[johndiver999]

The back pack is too low and the inflator hose needs to go in a different port.

 

[Waterwulf]

I never saw anybody using an AIR 2 or anything similar with a Horse Collar BC but a lot of us used/use power inflators. I think your rig would date to the late seventies maybe. I still snorkel and dive with a Horse Collar BC and use a power inflator.

 

[DiverYohand]

Just stumbled cross this & chuckled. We always ran Air 2’s on our horsecollars. In my case up-side-down (it didn’t know the difference) as a FENZY inflator hose is on the right side. We were too cheap to buy “the newest & hottest thing with 4 patents for diving”….Scubapro’s Stab jacket (that is til we bought 1….or 3). Then had to re-learn the Air 2 left handed…. Always something.

 

[MarkA]

Another person who used an Air2 with a horse collar BC. This was in the late 80’s and worked with a first stage with 3 low pressure outlets, second stage, dry suit and Air2. Will dig out the photo when I have time.

Edit. The photo



It shows a buddy artic BC folded up with an Air2 (2nd gen) fed from a Cyklon 300. It was at least 1988 as the slate in the pocket is BSAC88 tables.

 

[USdiver1]

I've never seen an Air2 on a horse collar BC, and I used HCs exclusively from 1977 through about 1984. My first HC was a SeaTec with an manual/oral inflator and a double CO2 emergency surface inflation system. IIRC around 1980 I added a power inflator, and plugged the CO2 system.

Fast forward to 2025 and my old SeaTec still holds air. The last dive I had it out was in 2023. I have several SeaTec HCs plus a couple of other HCs such as a Spiro Technique and a USD. SeaTec is still my preferred and IMO the manufacturer of the best HCs.

 

[happy-diver]

Even the rubber Fenzy at some stage came with a breathable inflator with low pressure hose nipple

 

[Waterwulf]

I remember in about the mid seventies, one of the guys in our dive club showed up with a Horse Collar BC. Actually, it was a life jacket he stole from the Air Force but it worked as a Buoyancy Compensatory perfectly. Most of the guys in the club were some kind of Special Forces from the local SpecOps base and had access to all kinds of cool stuff. Whether it was issued or "liberated" meant little to them. I had to have one. By the time I got mine, many of the others already had one. All were OD Green except for mine. I stole mine from the Coast Guard so I got a cool bright orange one.

All of them has started life as a life jacket and came with a CO2 cartridge emergency inflator and a mouth inflator on the left chest. They worked perfectly as a BC and were nice to float with while waiting to get in the boat. Just blow it up and lay back and relax. Perfect except for one problem. Blowing it up was no big deal. Just remove the regulator from your mouth and blow into the tube on the left chest. Letting air out was a whole different story. You had to roll onto your right side, angle your body slightly towards the surface and then push down on the mouthpiece and hold it so air could escape. None of them were meant to be used that way but it was lots better than the old method of adjusting your weight from the bag of weights tied to the anchor.

Then one dive, I saw something different. It was a Horse Collar BC but it had a hose that ran from the top of the neck down the left side. It had some kind of valve looking thing on the end with a mouthpiece. What in the world is all that mess for? Then when we were all floating in the water next to the boat getting ready to descend and everybody is twisting up on their right sides to get the air out and he just lifted the hose in the air and presses a button!!!! Now that is convenient. A little while later, I saw him on the bottom adjusting his buoyancy. He just pressed another button to let air into it!! Magic! I have to get one of those, was my thought.

I ordered one from the Base Exchange and never looked back. That one even had a dump valve on the bottom so I could dump air from it while heading downwards. I still use one to this day. My only complaint about it, is the lack of gear stowage room.