I am a little nervous

[ahava]

That's not necessarily true. A lot of those were sold to new divers who never used anything else (I was one), or experienced divers who bought all new gear for some reason and ended up with the Air2 for one reason or another (such as being included in a package). That's a bit different from the question I asked - that is - the percentage of Air2 users who specifically decided, "I've been using this octo right here, and now I am going to ditch it and go get myself an Air2".

OK, probably Lots and Lots. Have no clue where you can come up with stats on this. So thats my answer.

 

[miketrance84]

When any of you are saying Air 2 which is a specific Scuba Pro product are you referring to the concept of using the BC inflator hose as a backup regulator or this specific piece of Scuba Pro gear?

As well, how many of you, this means you, not someone you know or some idea you have in your head, have ever experienced an OOA situation, and I am not talking about training situations? I believe there will be very few responses to this.

Here is where I am coming from. I have a lot of logged and even more unlogged hours underwater. I have only been in two OOA situations before I became a SOLO diver. But that was after many many hours as a buddy. It was not the gear that made everything easy. It was my training that paid out in real situations where my buddy was in distress. In one case they were full blown panicked. It was my training that kept us both alive. Not the gear. I feel that scuba divers can get over focused on gear. You can have the best gear in the world but it is your training that will keep you alive.

This sounds more like a locker room brawl than a real discussion about your safety. My perception is that you believe your gear is at the heart of your survival in a BAD situation. I would like to suggest that the real focus should be on you decision making processes both before your dive and during your dive. No one has addressed why a buddy ran out of air in the first place during this discussion as well.

I think most of the people here arnt saying gear will get you out of a bad situation. I think the people arguing against air2 are simply saying it might make a bad situation worse. There is no substitute for good training. My buddy(my wife) and I make it a point to practice OOA on EVERY dive. It takes less than 5 min to do the drill both ways while mantaining bouyancy,
We use a short hose primary and a long hose octo config. They make easy bungies that hold the octo securely and release it by simply pulling on the octo. Seems to work great for us.

 

[Captain12Pk]

I've seen it posted in this thread a few times, that you should be sure your buddy knows how to operate your equipment. I certainly would not disagree with that. However, how often is it that your dive buddy is the one actually performing the rescue? I would venture to say (though I do not have statistics to support my thought) that outside the tech. world, that number is rather low. So even though you and your buddy may both be competent regarding the operation of your particular equipment, the rescuer may not be. Thus potentially complicating a rescue because of the use of (for lack of a better term)"nonstandard" equipment. I stand by my (much earlier) post, that I believe this type of alternate air source is only doing the user a disservice.
Now all that said, dive with the gear you're comfortable in. But understand the implications of your choices.

 

[NudeDiver]

OK, probably Lots and Lots. Have no clue where you can come up with stats on this. So thats my answer.

I guess I will be more clear

How many people are SCUBABOARD are "Air2 to Octo switchers" vs "Octo to Air2 switchers"? Using this, admitedly small, sample, it does seem, through cursory examination, that there are a lot more of the former than the later.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

. . . So even though you and your buddy may both be competent regarding the operation of your particular equipment, the rescuer may not be. Thus potentially complicating a rescue because of the use of (for lack of a better term)"nonstandard" equipment.

These things have been around since 1979. Maybe it's time people took the minute or two it would take to learn their operation. They really are a simple device. And they all pretty much work the same. Big button deflate, little button inflate.

 

[Captain12Pk]

These things have been around since 1979. Maybe it's time people took the minute or two it would take to learn their operation. They really are a simple device. And they all pretty much work the same. Big button deflate, little button inflate.

Well, like I said dive with what you like...

You say "they all pretty much work the same" So do some kind of work different?
Just for the record, I've been a diver since 1992, and what you just explained there is the first training I've had on them. If I had to rescue someone who was using that device, I now have to remember "big butoon, little button" For your sake I sure hope I
remember that when the time comes.
How long has the Octopus been in use? I'll bet longer than the "Air 2" type device, and everybody knows how that works.

 

[Daveo957]

THere is nothing wrong with the air 2. I dont use one personally but there is nothing at all that makes them unsafe. They are identical inside as thier octos. Just a diff. setup.

 

[Daveo957]

There is only three buttons, everyone knows what a purge valve looks like, so its only two buttons you have to try to inflate. If your buddy helping you is so paniced he cant figure it out I dont think the Air2 is the problem.

 

[sabbath999]

Well, like I said dive with what you like...

You say "they all pretty much work the same" So do some kind of work different?
Just for the record, I've been a diver since 1992, and what you just explained there is the first training I've had on them. If I had to rescue someone who was using that device, I now have to remember "big butoon, little button" For your sake I sure hope I
remember that when the time comes.
How long has the Octopus been in use? I'll bet longer than the "Air 2" type device, and everybody knows how that works.

I am not really sure how this is really all that different than "normal" BCD inflator hoses. Generally, isn't there a low pressure inflator button you push to put air into the bcd and a button to let the air out on a "standard" hose? Two buttons? How is the AIR2 any tricker? There is a purge button on the end, but we all know how to use a purge button.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

Well, like I said dive with what you like...

You say "they all pretty much work the same" So do some kind of work different?
Just for the record, I've been a diver since 1992, and what you just explained there is the first training I've had on them. If I had to rescue someone who was using that device, I now have to remember "big butoon, little button" For your sake I sure hope I remember that when the time comes.

There are always going to be exceptions to the rules, whether it's a BC, second stage, or octo/inflater. You can imagine the look on one us recreational divers faces if we were to run across a Poseidon Xstream second stage and have to learn to work it on the fly?!?! But for the most part, yes, big button deflate, little button inflate.

How long has the Octopus been in use? I'll bet longer than the "Air 2" type device, and everybody knows how that works.

It really doesn't matter how long the stand alone octo has been around. My point is, the octo/inflater has been around for 30 years and it doesn't appear as though it's going away. So instead of making the threat that someone using it better hope that you, "remember that when the time comes." Why not just except the fact that they're here, and apparently here to stay, and learn to use one? I don't know you personally, but if it were me that couldn't help a fellow diver out simply because I didn't like a piece of common equipment and refused to learn about it, I'd feel pretty bad. I'm just guessing on this, but people probably expect the octo/inflater users to still know how to use a "standard" inflater. But since they don't often use one they're going to be expected to remember where the buttons are probably going to be.

In conclusion, discussion about the pro's/con's of the octo/inflater is great. And I enjoy reading the posts. However, at the end of the day, this discussion is just academic because these things are out there. And in just my limited experience, they're out there in pretty good numbers. They're definitely not as prevalent as the stand-alone octo, but there are a lot of them. Enough to make it worth while for people to at least learn about them.