Travel gear?

[NCK]

Hi new here. Was thinking of getting back into diving and picking up some new gear specifically for travel and local on the California coast. Got a few questions..

1. Is there any reason to get an octopus style regulator? It seems the ScubaPro Lighthawk with the Air2 chest style regulator would be more compact (and that's actually the style I was originally trained on). Would this really be more compact all packed up (I haven't actually seen it in person)? Any reason this setup wouldn't be good for the California coast or packing and travel? Seems like the octopus style is much more popular??

2. I'm not stuck on any one brand or model. But I do spend 6 months abroad every year(work 6 week on/off rotation). Time is split between SE Asia, Philippines and Latin America. As for parts, servicing, problems are there any manufactures you would lean toward or avoid based on parts/service availability? Simply from a maintenance standpoint what would be the most easily maintained brands in Asia and Latin America? For example I have one local shop, a Sherwood dealer but I'm just not sure about their international dealer network? And Cressi?

3. Is there any reason to avoid these travel style BCD's? They all appear to be a little more of a lighter backplate style. Am I crazy for looking at this type of gear when I could just get high quality standard non travel BDC for California and use rental gear abroad (basically offered at no additional charge everywhere I will be diving).


Thanks

 

[jlcnuke]

1. Many, but all depend on the personal preferences/opinions of the person getting them. Personally, I wouldn't want to be trying to do an ascent from depth, donating air to an insta-buddy on the other side of the world, while trying to ascend safely while breathing from an Air 2. I'm also not a fan of 1 failure taking out two things (your backup regulator and your ability to inflate your BCD), but that's a smaller concern to me than the first. Second issue is that if your BCD has an issue, so you have to rent, now you need to rent regs too since your regs aren't configured with anything to donate if not using your BCD.

2. Couldn't say about availability of service internationally for all brands. That said, servicing should be done regularly, so if you're home regularly you shouldn't really need servicing abroad.

3. I travel with my backplate and wing setup (same style I dive locally). Using an AL backplate or lighter for travel really doesn't take up much room or weight. Additionally, always diving the same thing means you always understand everything about your rig, and don't have to learn new dump locations etc. You may wish to look into the advantages of using a backplate and wing over a more traditional "BCD" that most people learn in.

 

[MichaelMc]

Your backup second stage being a normal regulator, an octo or (pre-covid) a necklaced backup, also means it will be easier to swap out if it has an issue during travel. The dive op will have many second stages on their rental rigs that they could swap out quickly if yours has an issue. That is less likely if your backup is a specialized branded part of your BC. The task loading of sharing air while breathing from an inflator/regulator while managing a panicked out of air diver ascending and managing your buoyancy with the thing you are breathing off is possible if well-drilled but can be avoided with a gear choice that does not task load you quite as much in that already stressed situation.

One 'service' option to consider is having a spare first stage and second stage. The second stages are easy to swap out with two small wrenches. I'm assuming here that you are equally happy breathing off your primary regulator, backup, and 'service' spare. Another option is renting if things go down.

+1 on BPW for travel and local diving. They are compact and very durable. With an AL or cut out steel plate they can also be light while retaining their durability. Also, if your needs or preferences in setup change, they can be changed by changing out separate components, from a wide range of manufacturers, instead of getting a full new BC.

If your travel is temporarily moving your base some where, then I think having your own gear makes sense. If you are changing hotels every other day and diving every 10th, renting starts to look really attractive.

Welcome to the board!

 

[NCK]

1. Many, but all depend on the personal preferences/opinions of the person getting them. Personally, I wouldn't want to be trying to do an ascent from depth, donating air to an insta-buddy on the other side of the world, while trying to ascend safely while breathing from an Air 2. I'm also not a fan of 1 failure taking out two things (your backup regulator and your ability to inflate your BCD), but that's a smaller concern to me than the first. Second issue is that if your BCD has an issue, so you have to rent, now you need to rent regs too since your regs aren't configured with anything to donate if not using your BCD.

I hadn't considered that, good point.

If your travel is temporarily moving your base some where, then I think having your own gear makes sense. If you are changing hotels every other day and diving every 10th, renting starts to look really attractive.

Welcome to the board!

I generally either get a condo for 6 weeks or I might get a hotel in one location for 2 weeks then a condo in another for a month.

 

[NCK]

Looked at the AquaLung Outlaw today, looks like exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

1. Go with the two standard second stage setup. In my opinion it is less about performance (i've used the Atomic SS1 and really liked it) but the fact that you want your regset to be standard. A rental BCD has at risk for not fitting easilly with an air integrated second stage. So if you choose to rent or get separated from your travel BCD, it could be a problem.

2. Just pick the brand you like and where you have the best service options for when you are at home. Have a local dive shop you like? Ask them what they prefer to service.

3. The Outlaw is a nice BCD. Especially for tropical travelling. Beware of the plastic connectors that keep this modular BCD together. I put about 100 dives on an Outlaw before swapping to a stainless steel BP and Wing to travel with. I chose the extra weight of the BP/W for a better in-water experience and no need to wear extra lead. The weight is nice and flat against my back. You could consider an aluminum back plate and come in pretty close to an Outlaw, while benefiting from better durability and configuration options.

 

[Divrtim]

From experience, an AIRII is a very, very, very, small reg to breath out of and negotiate with another diver who has just ripped your primary from your mouth. From my experience, I use two regs, quality second stages. I have one on a short hose(27") bungeed over my head right below my chin. My primary has a 40" hose that I loop under my wing and up.
9/10 times an out of diver probably wont give you the out of air sign and leisurely swim to you. They'll come out of somewhere, grab your primary and start sucking. Having had this experience it was easy for me to let the primary go and simply lower my face and pick up the back up with my mouth. It was right there. All's well that ends well.

 

[rongoodman]

I would just buy a duplicate of whatever second stage I was using for the back-up.

 

[weeksd]

For your cold water diving a BCD with lots of lift is necessary. My scuba pro compac travel BCD is 24lbs lift, my finseal BCD is 50lbs of lift for the additional gear needed for cold water.

 

[uiowa96]

Like anything else...it depends. It depends on preference, how your going to use it and MOST importantly, how you plan on using it if the **** hits the fan. I have normal repeat dive buddies, but on the rare occasion when I don't, there is a discussion to be had. But I do this with every buddy. You each need to understand each others equipment.

I dive a travel style BCD (Scubapro Go with Air 2) all of the time. I am in the Midwestern US and outside of a rare quarry or pool work, I travel to dive. I practice with the Air 2 in the pool and while I have never had to bring someone up from depth in open water (Knock on wood) I am confident that I could. If they were panicked, the panic would be more of an issue than the Air 2 in my opinion. I would also look at the Hydros Pro. I got cheap when I bought the Go.

As far as renting parts of your kit, the travel BCD will come with an inflator hose, you might need to set up a regulator if you rent one. It sounds like most of your travels are to warmer locations, this should be easy in any case. AIr 2 has been around for quite some time now. It is compact and lightweight. It is also increasingly common. I would recommend a little extra length on your primary hose. Maybe 15-20cm.