lowest profile octo

[Scared Silly]

No experience with disabled divers but one scenario comes to mind - someone who is paralyzed from the waist down will use their hands for propulsion. Having some extra room might help out so they can easily get to one side and not have the reg pulling at them. Talk to the instructor and get their thoughts. All I know is that sharing a reg on a 40" hose is a PITA even in normal abnormal circumstances. I much prefer a 5' or 7' hose on my rig.

Oh - here is another good reason to have an octo that is as good as your prime. Take the above, someone who is paralyzed from the waist down who goes OOA. They are right next to you and may not be able to help with moving forward so you are going to be doing the work - which if against a current you may find that soda straw el-cheapo octo aint doing it for you.

 

[c5diver]

i am a disabled diver and as someone stated above my octo is the same as my primary for one reason, i want to hand off an octo that will perform for my buddy. i dont want to hand them an octo they are scared to use. i did this with my wife/buddies regs to because should i need to use it i want one that works!

 

[Kern]

I use an Egress on a bungi on my rec. regs. I'm quite happy to hand off my long hose & use the Egress myself on any dive within what I consider rec. depths. I find it breaths quite well.

 

[claymore]

I'll second the Egress for a low profile octo. When I was looking for one I asked the shop tech about which was a good low profile octo. He recommended the Egress because he thought that it was a very good 2nd stag reg. It is a balanced second stage and breathes as well as many primary second stages. It's a little pricey new but can be found used for a good price.

 

[scuba.dude]

i am a disabled diver and as someone stated above my octo is the same as my primary for one reason, i want to hand off an octo that will perform for my buddy. i dont want to hand them an octo they are scared to use. i did this with my wife/buddies regs to because should i need to use it i want one that works!

c5 - are you familar w/ Diveheart or Diveheart Military Wounded? Also, as a disabled diver (and vet), I'm interested in any feedback you have about diving, Diveheart, or anything that will help me better buddy with disabled divers. Thx.

 

[c5diver]

i was certified with diveheart, jim elliott runs it he is a great guy and the program they run is top notch. he has trained dive ops all over the world. i just returned from a week of diving in cozumel. i dove with dive paradise. he had trained them 8 month ago. they did great. im sure you will learn tons with diveheart.

 

[Ouvea]

I've three low profile three low profile octos. One from Oceanic, one from Aqualung LPO and my current Mares Viper. Of three here's how I rank them in terms of ease of breathing. If I had to do a dive using a Viper or Oceanic Slim-Line as my primary second stage, it wouldn't bother me.

1. Mares Viper
2. Oceanic Slim-Line
3. Aqualung LPO

Hopefully the Apeks ABS breathes differently the Aqualung LPO (they look awfully similar on the exterior). I thought its performance was worse than the Sherwood Brut I used during my OW1 class many years ago (tried the LPO with an Aqualung Cousteau, Mares V16/V32/MR42T first stage) and made no difference. The one feature I appreciated from all three was that it was reversible and makes hose routing simple during buddy breathing.

C.

 

[spectrum]

I have an integrated octo but need a standalone octo for a class - what is the lowest profile octo that doesn't suck? If it is also the cheapest option that would be great.

TIA
-SD

Well, I agree that a standalone is a better solution than integreated. That's another thread though.

Why low profile? They tend to be wet breathers among other limitations. The only real advantage is that they tend to be omni directional and will rotate and route easilly regardless of relative position. The notion of streamlining as meaningless here at diver velocities.

I much prefer a decent conventional second stage routed on your left. This will present to a needy buddy for a face to face ascent or a side by side return swim. With a common 36 inch hose it keeps the reciepient at a manageable length. It also works fine for the owner in the less lilkely event that you need it. Any second stage tuned to resist freeflow at your IP will do but high visibility (yellow) is desirable.

Confidence is managed by typical care and deploying it for a few minutes every dive or 2. This is common OW teaching in Europe and by some US instructors.

Pete

 

[scuba.dude]

Thanks to all for the feedback. I'm using a SP MK17 and the manual lists IP as 130-142 psi. If I find a good quality second stage and ensure it cracks above 142, is that all that's required to prevent free flow?

 

[Abaco24]

Oceanic Octo Swiv Magnetic
oceanic octo swiv magnetic - Google Search

You tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkZt9cv8-lE