Is the air 2 a good octo?

[mer]

Other than the reasons mentioned, one reason I decided NOT to get an AIR2 (or other BC integrated back-up second stage) was that I wanted my regulator system separate from my BC.

I believe it is advantageous (sp) to have the reg set separate from the BC because:
1. If I travel on business and want to bring some equipment, I can bring my entire reg set (in the carry-on mind you) without lugging the BC along. If my back-up second source was on my BC, and I was diving somewhere without AIR2s on their rental BCs, I'd be SOL.
2. Having an independant reg set means that if my BC is damaged and I have to rent one, I still have a complete regulator of my one.
3. When (not if) I upgrade to a backplate and wings, I'm all good to go with the currect regulators and don't have to worry about purchasing another reg.

And another reason:
When traveling with all of my equipment, the parts in my octo are more readily available than an AIR2 in most cases. The inflator integrated air sources often have very custom parts that are specific to that reg only.

I had my doubts, but love my octo. I didn't get the bottom of the line one either and I think it was worth the little extra bit of money.

Hope this helps.

 

[agstreet]

jonnythan once bubbled...


Um, what?

Well, the BC inflator hose, on which was the Sherwood shadow serving as the back-up regulator.

Sorry, I should have said that a bit more clearly.

Alan

 

[jonnythan]

agstreet once bubbled...


Well, the BC inflator hose, on which was the Sherwood shadow serving as the back-up regulator.

Sorry, I should have said that a bit more clearly.

Alan

So you got into the water with only one working regulator?

 

[Scotty]

So what do you all think about the IST high performance octo, the oceanic alpha 7, and the mares mr 12 axis?

 

[agstreet]

jonnythan once bubbled...


So you got into the water with only one working regulator?

No. My primary worked on the surface, but became harder and harder to breathe as I descended. Below 30 ft or so, it was impossible. I switched to the back-up and continued the dive.

In retrospect I should have aborted and surfaced. But I was inexperienced, this was a DM led group dive (typical tropical cattle boat dive), and I wasn't sure where the boat was and how I would get picked up being so seperate from the group. I now realize the boat driver has probably picked so many errant divers he could do it in his sleep, but I didn't know at the time. I also wanted to try doing an entire dive on the back-up kind of as a test. As a "test" it taught me that BC hose mounted back-ups are cumbersome in actual use, especially after the first few minutes.

 

[coberry7]

I'm a fan of ScubaPro gear. I dive and have sold it, and highly reccomend it to my students and my family. It is quality gear!

Diving with some instructor buddies, (without students), they prefer to streamline and remove the octo and use the Air 2 as their primary reg in an OOA situation. Myself, I've never noticed any problems with having an octo and an Air 2, along with my primary reg. I dive with all three.

So, as an instructor, I have to have the octo for training, and as a diver, I like to have it because every new diver will look for the octo on their buddy. If the buddy of the OOA diver does not have an octo and is using an Air2 instead, the OOA diver will almost go for the primary reg. That might lead to a dangerous situation if the primary reg of the air supplying diver is unexpectedly removed. Why not have an octo? It simplifies things.

I have my Air 2 because I believe that one other regulator, especially as unobtrusive as the Air2 is a good idea. My BCD has several dump valves (3), so that is not a concern. I do have problems remembering which button does what when I'm diving though. It's not as easy to identify the dump valve, the inflate valve, and in total darkness you might accidentally hit the purge valve. Practice will cure that problem.

I have breathed off of my Air 2 on several dives below 50 feet. It worked fine. It tends to pull and I need to hold it in my mouth. It doesn't breathe as good as my S600, but what does?

Simply put, it will get me to the surface, is unobtrusive, and the downfalls of it are minimal when you consider what it can do for you if that worse case scenario occurs.

 

[detroit diver]

You must dive with 2 BC's, an extra fin, 2 knives, and 3 masks!

Although I was just kidding above, why would you add an additional point of failure (the Air2) to your system? If you have 2 working regulators (and I assume you test them on each and every dive), what is the point of the 3rd? Not to mention a total waste of money.

You admit that the inflate/deflate buttons are confusing. Imagine what would happen in a real emergency and the stress that it brings on.

coberry7 once bubbled...
I'm a fan of ScubaPro gear. I dive and have sold it, and highly reccomend it to my students and my family. It is quality gear!

Diving with some instructor buddies, (without students), they prefer to streamline and remove the octo and use the Air 2 as their primary reg in an OOA situation. Myself, I've never noticed any problems with having an octo and an Air 2, along with my primary reg. I dive with all three.

So, as an instructor, I have to have the octo for training, and as a diver, I like to have it because every new diver will look for the octo on their buddy. If the buddy of the OOA diver does not have an octo and is using an Air2 instead, the OOA diver will almost go for the primary reg. That might lead to a dangerous situation if the primary reg of the air supplying diver is unexpectedly removed. Why not have an octo? It simplifies things.

I have my Air 2 because I believe that one other regulator, especially as unobtrusive as the Air2 is a good idea. My BCD has several dump valves (3), so that is not a concern. I do have problems remembering which button does what when I'm diving though. It's not as easy to identify the dump valve, the inflate valve, and in total darkness you might accidentally hit the purge valve. Practice will cure that problem.

I have breathed off of my Air 2 on several dives below 50 feet. It worked fine. It tends to pull and I need to hold it in my mouth. It doesn't breathe as good as my S600, but what does?

Simply put, it will get me to the surface, is unobtrusive, and the downfalls of it are minimal when you consider what it can do for you if that worse case scenario occurs.

 

[Laser]

It's a POS.

 

[Niko714]

I like the Air 2 it streamlines the whole gear setup, the dump valves on my BC work just fine, as for the two buttons one is round and one is square not too difficult to distinguish between. As far as breathing quality Im sure there are better but I think it should be a question of does it work or not if your primary goes its time to surface.




PADI: OW AOW Nitrox

 

[jplacson]

I've been asking the same question for quite a while now... I've been talking to a lot of DIR friends, and dive instructors...

They all tell me NOT to get an AIR2 or similar system.

But honestly, when I save enough for one, (Apeks Octo+) I probably will get one. My current rig is a full Apeks ATX50 stage 3 set (AT40 octo) ... I will keep the octo and inflator hose in my dive bag for back-up... should the Octo+ fail during a dive...I will abort, switch systems, then do the following dive...one dive lost.

Note: I even emailed Apeks on the performance and reliability of their Octo+ and even they said it doesn't perform as well as a regular octo...

But... remember, an octo is an EMERGENCY system... like a life boat. It sucks to use... but it does its job... get you to the surface.

It's like a tow truck or service vehicle... it may not perform like your BMW M3... but it will get you from point A to point B.

I think it's dumber to continue a dive using your octo, instead of aborting, if your primary fails. I think it's dumber to not service your regs (even the Air2 and Octo + are regs...just cuz they are connected to a BC doesn't mean they don't need to be serviced).

Granted they aren't the best or cheapest octos on the market.. but they do their job, and they get rid of a hose.

In an OOA situation... hmmm... is it the Air2 user, or the other guy with an octo who seems to have run out of air? Seems to me that Air2 users are more responsible in managing their air than octo users! (this is a joke, but it seems to be a common Air2 attack) And in an OOA situation... regardless of both your training levels... aren't you supposed to abort ASAP? You're not supposed to linger around and say "Hey, since I can breathe now..lets stay down a little longer" ... to ignore an occuring emergency is worse than worrying about a potential one.

I'm not dissing octos... I think they are still the best way to go. I'm just saying that they aren't the only way to go. Diving is still evolving. If everyone was so scared to even try the most conservative changes... we all wouldn't be diving at all!

I find it even funnier than people are willing to take higher DCS risks by following more aggressive tables than more modern conservative computers. (I've rarely heard a diver complain about an aggressive computer) But call it 'stroked' to risk aborting a dive due to a potential Air2 failure???

If I pursue cave/wreck diving... I will go back to the octo rig. But for OW use... I'm gonna go for the Octo+.

As for confusion... practice..practice...practice. Besides... the Air2 setup is actually closer to DIR than the widely used "PADI, donate octo to OOA diver' procedure.

I believe the Air2 solution is actually less confusing to more OOA divers who instinctively grab their buddies primary reg (I've never seen an OOA diver swim up to their buddy... motion for their octo and wait for the octo to be donated) ... the Air2 is for the convenience of the donor... a guy who donates the Air2 is just an idiot and should be banned from diving. :lol: