Should I get slightly lower quality octo than my primary?

[Capt. Bas]

What did @alex_can_dive do to you that you recommend a suunto? I don't wish them on anyone.

Nothing, its only half of European recreational divers are diving suunto computers without a problem. (Prices in The Netherlands are around E180 for a new Zoop Novo, 300 for the vyper excl transmitter, and 470 for the Shearwater)
For the standard rec diver they are a more than sufficient option for use and safe diving.
They use their own "conservative" model, to be honest, is that a bad idea?

Same as the standard supplied octo is more than capable of bringing a OoA diver safe to the surface.
The standards, are that high, a Scubapro R195 should be capable of supplying 1400ltr/gas p/m.
If you need close to that amount you're way out of the limits for diving a rec gear, and draining your cylinder within a very limited amount of time.
At max rec depth 40m/120ft a normal ascend will take about 4minutes (9/10m/s ascend rate) and a speedy ascent just a bit more than 2. (18m/sec ascend rate)
The lack of comfort or extra breathing effort will have a max duration of 4.5m if takes longer you have another problem in draining the donor's gas supply. (keeping in mind to service your gear at proper intervals)

Going full technical and using a long hose the use of a similar or comparable 2nd stage is understandable, due to greater depths, potential longer stays on the secondary at the time and added comfort.

Is it nice to have a full set of nice and shiny equipment worth 1000's of Euro's/Dollars/currency to be added. Yes! I like it to, but its not a necessity in my opinion.
Spending upto 2000US$ on a single reg. (1st stage and 2 second stages) seems a bit excessive for the standard recreational diver, using their kit a few times a year on holiday or diving the local lake/river/sea/quarry. (if you can spend the money oke, but personally I do not have that budget to spend on a single piece of equipment.)

 

[Edward3c]

What did @alex_can_dive do to you that you recommend a suunto? I don't wish them on anyone.

I'm on my third Suunto model, never had a problem. Do often have to wait for others to finish their mandatory stops; of late it’s been those waring a Shearwater.

Ops, off topic.

 

[kelemvor]

You guys may not have heard over on the other side of the pond. There was a big class action suit against suunto because the pressure sensors in pretty much every suunto computer was defective. Suunto ended up settling before the suit was adjudicated.

The models in question were built between January 1st, 2006 and August 10th, 2018, and include the Cobra, Cobra 2, Cobra 3, Cobra 3 Black, Vyper, Vyper Novo, Vyper 2, Vyper Air, HelO2, Gekko, Vytec, Vytec DS, Zoop, Zoop Novo, Mosquito, D4, D6, D9, D4i, D6i, D4i Novo, D6i Novo, D9tx, and DX.

No idea if that's all of their computer models or not, but it seems like it's a lot of them.

That said, I don't think suunto makes regulators so it's not really relevant to this thread. I'm sure there are other threads on the topic with more details.

 

[grf88]

It has been my experience that the 2nd. stage needs more service than the 1st. stage especially on environmentally sealed regs. With two of the same 2nd's you can swap them over during their service life so that they each take some of the wear. It is normal to have both 2nd's serviced at the same time even when the one used as an octo has seen no action.

 

[Akimbo]

An alternate perspective is that the simplest regulators are inherently the most reliable, though not the best performing. Unbalanced second stages have fewer moving parts and O-rings to fail. Performance is a non-issue in normal recreational depths.

 

[Edward3c]

You guys may not have heard over on the other side of the pond. There was a big class action suit against suunto because the pressure sensors in pretty much every suunto computer was defective. Suunto ended up settling before the suit was adjudicated.



No idea if that's all of their computer models or not, but it seems like it's a lot of them.

That said, I don't think suunto makes regulators so it's not really relevant to this thread. I'm sure there are other threads on the topic with more details.

Mine were made before 2006 or not listed. Did have a pressure issue in 1994, but that was down to a dead battery.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

Match up your T3 with one of these.


Atomic Titanium Ti2 Octopus, Yellow

 

[M-diver]

To echo others, I consider both 2nd stages on my regs (doubles or single) as primary.

Assuming an emergency scenario where diver B has to use the 2nd reg of diver A, the diver B will be likely under stress due to the event that created that need, breathing heavily; hence the reg shall perform well providing reliable gas flow.

Assuming out-of-gas emergency with a diver B out of air, the panic diver B will most likely grab a reg that can be seen to provide gas - the one in the mouth of diver A, hence the "octo" will be likely a saver for diver A to use. The common "tech" practice is to carry the secondary reg under the chin while the one in the mouth will be donated to other diver and the "secondary" becomes the primary.

Lastly, I had a scenario where I got my primary reg falling apart (post mortem it was cross threaded cap as it came out of service) at 110ft in cold water of Lake Superior, some 40 minutes after descending. I had to use my secondary to get back to the surface safely and slow (some deco obligation at that point). Yes, I had a buddy with me but relying on someone else gas shall be the last resort and not a plan. I had plenty of gas and a good reg to use to return safely without creating emergency scenario for another diver.

I will not debate how much to pay and what brand to choose, only I suggest that you get what you feel comfortable to use yourself in any scenario.