The Mares & Dacor HUB

[norcaldiver]

Didn't Zeagle have some kinda hose routing thing that mounted on the side of the BC? I can't find it on thee website anymore....are they trying to tell the HUB guys something?

 

[lacydiver]

Hi folks,

Well, that was all great reading, all of your comments on the HUB as well as the websites. I am convinced now to remain 'traditional' as far as gear goes. My buddy purchased a HUB and that is why I was curious about what your opinions would be.

I dive about half the time in warm waters in the Caribbean and the other half up here in cold North Atlantic waters... geez those icebergs really cool off the water!

What BCD and regulator would you guys recommend? I get in about 25 dives a year.

Thanks,

 

[ElectricZombie]

Regs: If you don't mind spending the extra bit of cash, get a ScubaPro Mk25/S600 with a R380 as a backup. If you want to save a little cash, go with the Mk16/S550 with a R190 backup. There is not a whole lot of difference in price either way. Great regs that will last forever.


BC: Halcyon Pioneer setup with 27lbs wing. A simple, rugged, streamlined and versitile BC. A great setup for anyone. I have one and think it's great. You can't go wrong with the Halcyon setup.

 

[wetlettuce]

Hi

You might want to try the 36lb wing if you wear a drysuit in the colder water

Also you might want to look at Aqualung Legends as the first stage is fully sealed and designed for colder water.

IMHO

 

[Diver0001]

lacydiver once bubbled...
Hi folks,

Well, that was all great reading, all of your comments on the HUB as well as the websites. I am convinced now to remain 'traditional' as far as gear goes. My buddy purchased a HUB and that is why I was curious about what your opinions would be.

I dive about half the time in warm waters in the Caribbean and the other half up here in cold North Atlantic waters... geez those icebergs really cool off the water!

What BCD and regulator would you guys recommend? I get in about 25 dives a year.

Thanks,

As far as regs go, I'm an Aqualung fan.

R..

 

[Jonathan]

Wetlettuce - finally a review from someone that has actually used it rather than the usual "death trap" comments, thanks!

Jonathan

 

[Ian Wigg]

Hi

I've got a question - the one thing which crops up in pretty well every criticism of the HUB is the fact that if a hose splits you lose everything. Surely even on a 'standard' setup, if you have a hose fail you are going to lose all your air pretty quickly anyway and hence octo, and bcd will fail.

I must say I'm surprised at the comment regarding the inability to dump air whilst horizontal - works fine on mine (even works when on my back - not something I do regularly but I just wanted to see if it would!)

Ian

 

[stiebs]

Ian Wigg once bubbled...
I've got a question - the one thing which crops up in pretty well every criticism of the HUB is the fact that if a hose splits you lose everything. Surely even on a 'standard' setup, if you have a hose fail you are going to lose all your air pretty quickly anyway and hence octo, and bcd will fail.

Hi Ian,

In any situation, especially ones where your life depends on a piece of equipment, points of failure are of utmost importance.

All the individual components are generally considered to be reliable, however there are differing degress of said reliability. For example, most people would consider a hose extremely reliable - there's not a lot that can go wrong in normal operation.

The weakest point in your SCUBA equipment are in the connections between components. Most basic setups will have 9 points of connection:
1.Valve to 1st stage
2 & 3. 1st stage to primary
4 & 5. 1st stage to occy
6 & 7. 1st stage to BC
8 & 9. 1st stage to SPG

On the hub, you have all of these failure points, plus all the additional connections with all the other T-pieces and the 'hub' in the back of the BC.

 

[raxafarian]

Ian Wigg once bubbled...
Hi

I've got a question - the one thing which crops up in pretty well every criticism of the HUB is the fact that if a hose splits you lose everything. Surely even on a 'standard' setup, if you have a hose fail you are going to lose all your air pretty quickly anyway and hence octo, and bcd will fail.

Ian

Let's say that you are on a liveaboard. You turn on the air to your 'standard setup' regs, and a hose/oring blows. Change it, and off you go.

Same situation with a HUB... you turn on the air and hear a huge leak coming from inside... somewhere... you're done diving unless there's rental gear.


Plus there are many more failure points on the HUB... more orings, some type of splitters, etc.


Another thought... if your lp inflator hose goes, you will still be able to breath from your reg...until the air is gone, yes, but you'll still get a couple of breaths.... seperate hose to first stage.

If that mess inside the HUB goes, you'll immediately get no more breaths.

 

[Ian Wigg]

raxafarian once bubbled...


Let's say that you are on a liveaboard. You turn on the air to your 'standard setup' regs, and a hose/oring blows. Change it, and off you go.

Same situation with a HUB... you turn on the air and hear a huge leak coming from inside... somewhere...

Undo four screws, change hose/o-ring, off you go!