please tell me your fav bc & why

[freedive]

I use the Cressi Aquapro 5. It's a vest type BC which has performed well as far as my limited knowledge goes, no complaints. I purchased it while taking my certification course from my LDS. I was looking for a inexpensive quality BC that wouldn't cost much ($200) if I didn't continue with my diving and at the same time one that would perform well for a few years if I did. So far very happy wih it

 

[ew1usnr]

The Nautilus is an automatic BC. You set the bouyancy at the beginning of the dive and a built-in regulator automatically adds and subtracts air as needed thereafter. It actually works pretty good. It is weight integrated and the big wide back pack is comfortable to wear. This one really is "High Tech".

 

[cyklon_300]

buoyancy with a low-tech BP/W. The word 'automatic' always reads like 'failure point' to me...

That big, wide backpack looks like it might induce just a bit of drag, too...

 

[ew1usnr]

1. Regulators are automatic devices.
2. An auto-inflator is a failure point.
3. Some people said "It'll never fly Orville".
4. The guy I bought the Nautilus from said that it is DIR approved.


D.I.R.W.A.N. = Doing it Right with a Nautilus

 

[ScottyK]

ew1usnr- I don't think Cyclon is jealous

IMHO he's giving you good advice. If your regulator fails, you have another, and your buddy has two more. If your automatic BC fails, and rockets you up to the surface, or plunges you into the abyss, you could be in trouble.

A standard auto inflator can fail, as you said, but whatever your auto BC is using has to be a far more complicated mechanism. This makes it, by definition, more likely to fail at some point.

If you're just using it for general rec diving, and you're happy with it, that's totally cool. Just be aware of the possible failure points of any equipment you choose.

If you're serious about someone telling you that BC is DIR approved, you got lied to.

Scott

 

[BIGSAGE136]

Age has its subtleties

 

[ew1usnr]

ScottyK once bubbled...
A standard auto inflator can fail, as you said, but whatever your auto BC is using has to be a far more complicated mechanism. This makes it, by definition, more likely to fail at some point. Scott

Actually, a standard BC is much more likely to produce a runaway ascent. That is the whole point of the Nautilus. As for a plunge into the abyss, a regular BC can split at a seam and do the same thing. That's why it's always good to not use any more weight than is necessary.

Let me explain. If an auto-inflator on a standard BC sticks in the inflate position (and its happened to me), you have to yank your dump valve while also trying to pop the disconnect fitting or you will have a runaway ascent. Also, while ascending with a standard BC, you have to dump air or again, you will have a runaway ascent.

The Nautilus acts like the ballast tank on a submarine. It has a hard shell which you flood with water to go down, rather than let air out. Once your bouyance is set, you close the inlet valve. Then as you go down, the built-in regulator senses the pressure difference and adds air until it is equalized. Constant volume and constant bouyance are maintained. If you rise the air expands within the hard shell. The tank has a two valves set at a 1.5 psi (approximately) spring tension which vents the expanding air until the pressure is again equalized, maintaining constant volume and bouyancy. If the automatic regulator leaks air, the excess air is vented in the same manner. You cannot have a runaway ascent like on a standard BC with a stuck auto inflator. While ascending, the valves vent the expanding air automatically. A runaway ascent cannot happen this way either. As an added benefit, the Nautilus diver can establish a slight positive ascent rate (say 10-feet per minute) at the beginning of the ascent. The Nautilus will then maintain that pre-set, constant, non-accelerating rate all the way up. Again, a run-away ascent will not occur. The valves can also always be mannually opened if need be.

The funtion of the Dacor Nautilus needs to be approached with an open mind to be understood and appreciated. Don't get locked into a mindset that there is only one correct way to do things. Isn't that the DIR philosophy?

D.I.R.W.A.N. = Doing it Right with a Nautilus

 

[ScottyK]

I'm trying to keep an open mind, as always

I don't know enough about the system to debate the finer points of which one is better, so I'll take a pass on that.

From your description, I'm not as sure as you are as to how foolproof the system is. It sounds like it's replacing one set of potential problems with another, but any gear will have it's failure points, as I said above.

The only thing about your description that makes me a little leery (from a not wanting to see you die perspective ) is your absolute confidence that your system is foolproof. Now I'm hoping that you're maybe just being a little over assertive in defending your particular equipment choice, as many people are. If not, I would hand you back some of your own advice about not getting locked into a certain mindset. Your BC, like every other piece of equipment has potential failure points. Make sure you figure out what they are, and have a plan to deal with them when they happen.

Other than that, enjoy your BC, and dive safe.

Scott

 

[BIGSAGE136]

WASNT A BAD SETUP. CAN YOU GET ME ONE?

 

[ew1usnr]

A BC is a convieniance item. Its not life suport equipment. You should be able to not drown just because it fails. Divers used to not even wear them. Maybe being in a cave is different. But I'm not going cave diving with the Nautilus. If the Nautilus leaks, I'm not going to drown because I don't depend on it to keep me afloat. I don't swim with so much lead that I will sink like a brick without my BC inflated and I don't swim with a backup lift bag to get me to the top in case the BC fails. I don't put blind faith or total dependence on any piece of equipment. Not the Nautilus or a fancy back inflate BC with D-rings all over it.

Total dependence on a BC does not strike me as a DIR way of thinking.