charlesml3:
Why does everyone hate on the AIRII so much? I fail to see how an AIRII is any less reliable than a regular octopus. It just happens to integrate into your BC power inflator and eliminate a hose from your rig.
problem is that if your inflator hose connection fails (or something else goes wrong with it), you've lost both the AIRII and your BC inflation ... and now you only have one working second stage
whereas having a second stage separate from your BC hose will eliminate this problem
that's the thinking. you can accept or discard.
I also don't understand why people here say anything less than a 7' hose on the octopus is useless. That makes no sense at all. How far does my buddy need to be from me?
actually, no one said less than 7 feet is useless. you're making that up.
many people use a 5 foot hose.
if you're ever in a real OOA or try practicing a few realistic ones, you'll realize that the more room and distance you have between you and the other person, the smoother it goes.
it's great to have some room to manuever and not be wall-papered to your buddy when you're both highly stressed.
do you have to have it? of course not. you can do OOA with a one-foot hose.
is it easier with a seven foot hose? oh ya...
and when you're under that much stress and have a stressed diver in your hands, making it easier can make the difference between life and death