Spare Air

[NSDiver]

I notice everyone here continues to debate the usefullness of the 3 cu ft bottle - what about the smaller one? They also have a Spare Air that has a 1.7 cu ft capacity - I can't imagine what good that would do...

-Nick

 

[trucker girl]

I have a 2.7 cu ft (don't anyone jump on me, okay?)

 

[SparticleBrane]

I notice everyone here continues to debate the usefullness of the 3 cu ft bottle - what about the smaller one? They also have a Spare Air that has a 1.7 cu ft capacity - I can't imagine what good that would do...

-Nick

I think we've all concluded (or at least I have...) that the 1.7cf bottle is essentially useless. Unless you're at 140' for lobster on our first night dive, and we aren't paying attention to our air supply, and need one more breath as we're racing to the surface... :shakehead
Here's what I won't debate--if I were on a a helicopter, I wouldn't mind having one. It MIGHT let me get out alive if the helicopter crashed.

Air-2s are on notice.

Spare Airs are dead to me.

:lol:

 

[ItsBruce]

1. I agree that at 100 feet a Spare Air is virtually useless, except perhaps if one has the presence of mind to deploy it after their buddy has strayed a few feet from a normal position. Then one should beat up the buddy when they are back on the boat.

2. I agree that for someone who puts it in a zipped pocket, it is utterly useless. But, such a person would have forgotten a pony on the boat.

3. A once a year warm water diver should be in a refresher course, not at 100 feet. If such a diver had a pony and had an OOA, he or she would probably forget to open the valve.

4. As to a false sense of security, think how many things give divers a false sense of security...e.g. a resort course, ...

5. I don't believe any of the testimonials.

6. The 1.7 is good only for divers who clean the bottoms of shoal drafted boats at their moorings. But, so too, is a snorkel.

 

[TheRedHead]

I have a 2.7 cu ft (don't anyone jump on me, okay?)

trucker girl, I think everyone understands the anxiety of a newish diver. We've all been in the same place and felt the same way. A few dives after certification, I was in Belize on a 70 ft dive and was watching my SPG go down. My buddy and I swam up to the DM and made the "boat" signal and he just looked at us like he didn't understand. Then we gave him a thumbs up and he just returned an ok sign. Finally we found the anchorline to boat on our own and I had only 300 psi when I returned to the boat. I was thinking Spare Air too at that point.

The pont everyone is trying to make is that Spare Air may not save your life on a deep dive and the company insinuates that it is a sure thing.

 

[Dan Gibson]

Just make sure you get a cave fill and then you can say you have 4 cft

I have a 2.7 cu ft (don't anyone jump on me, okay?)

 

[HowardE]

1. I agree that at 100 feet a Spare Air is virtually useless, except perhaps if one has the presence of mind to deploy it after their buddy has strayed a few feet from a normal position. Then one should beat up the buddy when they are back on the boat.

So - deploy your spare air every time you lose sight of your buddy?

2. I agree that for someone who puts it in a zipped pocket, it is utterly useless. But, such a person would have forgotten a pony on the boat.

4. As to a false sense of security, think how many things give divers a false sense of security...e.g. a resort course, ...

I've never taken a resort course, but I doubt that resort courses give people the confidence that they'll keep the user alive at 100' if they run out of air.

6. The 1.7 is good only for divers who clean the bottoms of shoal drafted boats at their moorings.

If you can accomplish that in 2-3 minutes... I don't know.


- I just did a little "window shopping" online, and found that basically for the same price as a 3cf spare air (SRP $299) - you can get a 30 cuft pony, and a mares regulator for about $325 total. Granted a mares isn't the best reg, but compare it to the spare air regulator...

- Personally I think that in buddy diving situations, in NON-Overhead environments, looking at your SPG is probably one of the best ways NOT to run OOA. Look at your gauges more. Learn how to calculate your SAC, and have an IDEA of how long you can stay at deeper depths before you make the dive.

 

[lamont]

- Personally I think that in buddy diving situations, in NON-Overhead environments, looking at your SPG is probably one of the best ways NOT to run OOA. Look at your gauges more. Learn how to calculate your SAC, and have an IDEA of how long you can stay at deeper depths before you make the dive.

Having a rockbottom turn pressure, and giving the DM a middle finger if they ignore your thumb would avoid most of the problems that a spare air attempts to solve.

 

[Thalassamania]

Ah, Red, my thanks to you for your bringing the real issue back into focus. One of my failings is my belief in dialectic and that the presentation of data which I feel should result in a foregone conclusion obviates the need to actually present that conclusion.

 

[El Orans]

I have a 2.7 cu ft (don't anyone jump on me, okay?)