Long hose and ...

[GreenDiverDown]

Hi Dave,

I'm sure that a good alternate air inflator can be used effectively but let me ask you two questions...

Does your Sherwood Shadow perform as well as your primary reg?

During an air share under the worst imaginable conditions, wouldn't you rather not have to control buoyancy with an alternate air inflator?

Of course, it doesn't...and...you wouldn't.

I went through the phase of trying to slim down my reg...got it down to two hoses with an alt air and a transmitter. I thought it was pretty cool for a while...easy to pack, quick to set up. But my alt air was pretty crappy...it breathed hard and wet... and I eventually dumped the wireless computer. About that time, I stumbled upon the 'Hogarthian thing'.

I guess that there are some pretty good alt airs available. Will they ever be the best solution? I don't know...I guess it depends on one's definition of the best solution. The questions above are the ones that I think are the most important but they may not be the key questions for someone else.

 

[Mo2vation]

I guess that there are some pretty good alt airs available. Will they ever be the best solution? I don't know...I guess it depends on one's definition of the best solution. The questions above are the ones that I think are the most important but they may not be the key questions for someone else.

Its a fine solution, until you get into an actuall OOA or emergency like we did in Belize last month.

Imagine your trident deathtrap swivel blows up, and you're instantly in a loud, whiteout jacuzzi at 65 feet. You're not getting any gas from your primary, so you reach down to your AirSource with your left hand - just as you've done a zillion times in preparing for this very situation.

Only this time you're a little excited (to say the least) cuz its real.

The INFLATE button is on the palm side of this evil device. So wifie grabs it with left hand (death grips it in the throes of the moment) and puts it into her mouth. Good news - she has gas to breathe. Bad news, she's filling her BC and doesn't realize it - doing a rocket ship to the surface.

Not a fan of these after that situation. Definately perfer the "extra hose", normal inflator, real back up reg.

---
Ken

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Watching from across the room...

"And here's the top of the line BC...the mercedes...it has it all... even the alternate air inflator."

I want to shout, "Don't do it."

 

[PerroneFord]

Hi Dave,

Air II are the classic example of something that seems like a good idea, but upon closer examination are not.

Regards,

Tobin

I once asked a fairly experienced diver about the Air2 after seeing them in the shops, and hearing recreational divers talk about having them. Mind you, I'm pretty ignorant about stuff like this but my question went something like this:

Ok, so we're at 60ft. You run out of air and come swimming toward me. I hand you my primary, and switch to my air2. You get calmed down a bit and we now try to ascend. I am having to control this diver, float us both, manage my breathing gas and buoyancy with just my left hand, check my ascent rate (which arm is that computer/depth guage on?), and then hold a safety stop at 15 feet on an upline?

What if there is current? What if I am stressed? How do I check my gas pressure?


His response was much the same as yours. It seems like a good idea at the time, but under duress, I think I'd prefer to simply have the extra hose and a real, smooth breathing second reg around my neck. Everyone has preferences I guess.

 

[NineGill]

Thanks again for all the quick replies.

Just to clarify, the Shadow is not like an AIR2. AIR2s replace inflator/deflator valves, move your buttons around, have the wrong size fittings and are big and ugly.

The Shadow replaces your LP inflator hose; the inflator/deflator valves and corrugated hose are not affected.

However you've all brought up excellent points about its downsides:
less easy to locate
more difficult to maintain buoyancy in an emergency
breathes like a rental
requires a longer corrugated hose
less comfortable
less range of motion

Thats exactly the kind of info that I was looking for.

The bungee short hose alternate goes on the buy list.

Stephen: Just curious, what made you get rid of your hoseless computer? The D9 looks interesting. At the very least, it could serve as a backup SPG/compass.

Thanks again all,

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Stephen: Just curious, what made you get rid of your hoseless computer?

Oh... I still have 'em... but I rarely use them. Instead, they serve as loaners.

At the time I was mostly using the Oceanic DataTrans Plus. It has a relatively big profile...at least when compared to some of the more recent products. Mounted on a small, thin cable retractor, I would put it on one of the chest D-rings of my Oceanic Chute 2 BC. The reg...a Seaquest XR2...had a primary off the right and an LPI off the left. Also on the left was the HP transmitter for the DataTrans.

Although, I was fortunate to have very few occasions with linkage issues, I saw customers and friends with the same model get bit with increasing frequency. "Dang...this son of a gun won't link", was the common start to the beginning of the show. Everybody standing around had a different method or ritual that they swore by. "You have to do this...No, try it this way....". It would have been funny if not for the frustration of the diver who was left to dive without any air pressure information.

Granted, the DataTrans was well known to be buggy and newer models are much more dependable but even some of those can be flaky at times. I decided to just dispense with that "weak link" altogether and went back to using a plain SPG and a wrist mount computer for depth and time. This combination is hard to beat in terms of dependability, ease of use, and slick integration into the rest of the rig. I love my Uwatec MasterDiver SPGs routed Hog style and use either a Suunto Vytec or Stinger depending on my mood. They are great for recording the dive profile for downloading later to my laptop log. They also have a nifty timer button that is very nice for timing navigation legs or deco stops.

The D9 looks interesting. At the very least, it could serve as a backup SPG/compass.

Yes, I agree. The D9 does look very interesting but I don't find it at all tempting...thank goodness! Too expensive, too small and too gimmicky. Speaking for myself, I think that there are better, less expensive products available.

I do see one use for the hoseless computers. They are great tools for teaching air consumption and gas management. After learning the concepts, a student can easily track their dives and have immediate access to their SAC rates. (I think the Suunto models are great for this.) Chalk up enough dives and the student will have a pretty good data set.

Of course, one doesn't need an expensive hoseless computer to do this...the math is pretty simple. But...a computer like the Vytec, Stinger or D9...never forgets to record your start and end pressures...something some folks can have a hard time remembering.