Why all the flames on BC Regulator's??

[gqllc]

Before the bonfire starts let me explain.
1) I use one occasionally for travel and "shallow dives" under 100'
2) I have been diving for 38 years and I "practice" with ascents
3) Who cares if I have been diving only 6 months you need to "practice " with the gear you wear, be qualified
4) When I wreck/deco dive I use combo of DIR and what I have become use to and NO BC regulator
5) Also you can do a controlled emergency ascent with BC reg in your mouth and depressing the deflator portion as excess air flows out the exhaust diagphram. Been there done that.
6) Even my "spare air" gets a work out......on my boat
7) I recommend a regular Octo over a BC octo to everyone but the BC octo is a viable option
8) I also try to wear a pony as a redundant system at all times
9) Obviously there are alot of variables to the scuba diving environment
10) I also dive solo
11) Valid point if inflator sticks and you disconnect LP hose there goes your octo....However why not save a life and abort the dive at this point
12) I am just trying to open the eyes of some of the newbies

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

Hey man, It all sounds good to me. I personally don't like the BC/OCTO but I have 2 friends that LOVE them and I say more power to them.

My philosophy is that half the world is filled with A-holes...What can you do!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I have used a variant of the Air 2 for several years and I like it. It is an idea that is neither inherently good nor bad, just different.

It is ideal for filling lift bags in cold water as, unlike a conventional second stage, it can be disconnected if it freezes and then reconnected and used after few seconds when the ice melts.

It works as an octo as long as you donate your primary, and like the advertising says, it is always easy to find. It is also a top notch balanced inflator.

I normally dive doubles and at a bare minimum have a pony, so it it really is not even used as a secondary reg in general use. But for divers who use a pony, it offers the advantage of providing a backup second stage for your primary tank without another hose and another second stage that could be confused with the pony. In this situation they are ideal, particularly for a solo diver.

The flames result to some extent I think from the rise of agencies and individuals that have developed technical diving concepts and are now bleeding them over into rec diving. I suspect some of the push is due to the belief that if a gear configuration works in the most exterme situations, it must be a great idea for everything else and everyone else everywhere else.

I won't debate that or go into detail on the logical fallacy, but I will say I am always far more comfortable thinking out my own gear configuration based on my own needs and preferences and am always more comfortable diving with divers who have the maturity and experience to do the same rather than diving with a relative new guy with a lot of tech courses and little real world experience. They do not tend to be open minded or very flexible in their thinking.

There is much to be gained in terms of self concept and self confidence from adhering rigidly to a certain "philosophy" in a small tech community where doing so means acceptance and a certain amount of automatic respect just for sharing a gear configuration. However accepting an authoritatian position on a subject does not substitute for experience or neccesarily for understanding.

The trend has also resulted in what amounts to a diving version of politically correct speech. And like PC speech on any subject, it sounds like a good idea but is, if you think about it, just another form of censorship as the only opinions that are permitted and free from harsh critisim are those that are considered "PC". In this regard the concept of political correctness is the biggest single threat to free speech in the US today. (and it is most definitely not PC to point this out.) I really do not like to see it raise its ugly head in the diving communty

I really don't care if people want to push DIR or similar philosophies as a great idea. But I get real uncomfortable when they push it as the one true way and I get a little hot when they slam others for holding differring ideas or being certified through a different agency. To do so is to restrict the freedom to learn and grow in the diving community as a whole and in the long run we will go a lot farther with large amounts of mutual tolerance.

 

[rmediver2002]

It is also a top notch balanced inflator

Good point on the quality and control of the current units on the market.

Dive Lab www.divelab.com in Panama City just completed testing of 14 different makes and models of BC regulator and were apparently very impressed by the performance of many of the units.

I am not sure who requested the testing but expect to see someone print the results shortly...

Jeff Lane

 

[TCDiver1]

DA Aquamaster once bubbled...

It is ideal for filling lift bags in cold water as, unlike a conventional second stage, it can be disconnected if it freezes and then reconnected and used after few seconds when the ice melts.

I don't like them because i have seen lots of dives aborted because of air-2's. Lots of freeflows and slow leaks in colder water that were not caused by filling lift bags. They seem to be finnicky as heck FME. Could just be who was setting them up and rebuilding them but i never plan on finishing a cold water dive if my buddy is wearing an air-2.

Like you mentioned above, if it freeflows you could disconnect it but then your without an alternate air source until its reconnected. Not good, no flaming required.

 

[Boogie711]

...It's a compromise.

"Yeah, I could have a full backup regulator, but that's one more hose, so I'll just go with this" doesn't cut it for me.

It's a compromise on a piece of life support. To me, it's the equivalent of saying "I'm just running to the corner store for some milk. Rather than wear a seatbelt, I'm just going to bungee myself to the seat. It's quicker and easier to just slip the bungee over my body, and besides, I'm only traveling a few blocks at slow speed, so I'll be safe, right?"

No, you're not safe. I'm sorry, but that just doesn't cut it for me.

What's the big deal about one extra hose? Why are people so paranoid about one extra hose? If hoses are a big deal, carry a holster full of spare airs and forget about tanks and everything else. Sheesh.

 

[Atticus]

One very nice use for these critters is when working with students. Some of the instructors in this area have a regular octo *and* an Air2. This way they can donate their octo to a student during a drill, and still be able to hand their primary to a second diver who is having a problem (the instructor falls back to their Air2).

I've seen this happen. Wow, talk about a Charlie Foxtrot.

Now it's my job to keep the instructors from having to go to this extreme . . .

That being said, my experience with the Air2's is that they are quite finnicky, and I haven't put one on my rig. I'm also not fond of the non-standard connector which forever leads to problems when we swap gear around to cover for someone.

 

[Walter]

Until I read additional posts and saw the reference to an Air II, I had no idea what a BC regulator could possibly be. Why would you call it a BC regulator? It's a combination LPI/Octo, but "BC regulator" will merely cause confusion.

 

[gqllc]

Sorry my fault, I do know it is a LPI/Octo. I use an Atomic SS1 that has been flawless. I also used a Zeagle Octo + that worked fine. However my Air 2 was tossed away

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

gqllc once bubbled...
Sorry my fault, I do know it is a LPI/Octo. I use an Atomic SS1 that has been flawless. I also used a Zeagle Octo + that worked fine. However my Air 2 was tossed away

Don't be sorry because they couldn't figure out what you were talking about. Most everyone else on the planet new what you were referring too.

What else could a BC/Reg possibly be? I dont' even want to know.