[Peter Bailey]

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<font color='#0000FF'>I am thinking of buying a SpareAir system anyone out there own one, used one, or hands on experience ??  info please.
I only dive warm and clear, so the size does matter when taking kit abroad. Never stray much below 35 mtr so I think the thing could get me home if required in an emergency.

Dive safe and be Good !!!

TOG Diver :    

 

[Dominic]

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Absolute waste of money. Do not buy under any circumstances. They cost £150ish. An extra £20 or so will buy you a full-on pony rig that'll get you out of any dive you're likely to do.

DNet test

It didn't even get them up from 18m. It's a 0.2l capacity - a buddy emergency bottle holds twice that, and is still not considered any kind of decent air supply.

Of use only to rebreather divers who need redundant diluent. Anyone else can forget about it.

 

[Peter Bailey]

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<font color='#0000FF'>Dominic
Thanks for the info, you have just saved me £180:00,

Regards

TOG Diver

 

[Dominic]

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My pleasure.
If anyone wants some more detail on it:
My Sapre Air page

 

[Digger]

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What would a rebreather diver use a spare air for? They always seem to have a handy 7l stage with bail out written all over it!!!

I don't see how it would be of much use. Enlighten me!

 

[Dominic]

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I was being sarcastic. The vanishingly small amount of air a Spare Air could supply would be of use only to somebody who could breathe it repeatedly.

 

[Digger]

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Thanks. I was beginning to wonder!!! They'd probably claim to be able to get 2 hours out of a Spare Air!!!

 

[Rob Evans]

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If it was filled with O2 to 240bar we'd get 30-35min off it  

No use as diluent though.

 

[Finless]

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Quote[/b] (Rob Evans @ July 31 2003,15:52)]If it was filled with O2 to 240bar we'd get 30-35min off it  

No use as diluent though.

I reckon all this being able to stay under water for ages on a cylinder three eigths the size of a bees boll*ck is a load fanciful clap trap - I reckon RB divers just hold their breath a lot.  

 

[parahandy]

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Never has a piece of equipment been produced that is such an utter waste of space.  One of my dive buddies was convinced at one point that this was a must have piece of kit and thought it would come in handy in his Divemastering role, thinking it could be used as some sort of redundant air source.

Having tried one of these in a "simulated" out of air situation, admittedly in a cold water environment they fail to deliver the goods, a couple of breaths in a panic situation and that's it.

You'll see in some of the US Diving Magazines and agency publications glowing reports of how the dive proffesional musn't be without one.
Think Dominics link says it all.

 

[Rob Evans]

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Yank dive mags are much more concerned about advertising (and removal of same) than ours are, though many people would struggle to believe that. The Spare Air is the most useless bit of kit ever to be sprung on an unsuspecting - and hopefully gullible- public, ever.
Don't waste your money on it.

 

[Dominic]

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But if they ever come out with that tiny gadget James Bond had, that fit in his mouth and seemed to give about half an hour of air... I'll be first in the queue!

 

[Lou]

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I was just thinking about that...wasn't it some tiny silver cylinders with a mouthpiece between them?  

I also seem to remember Antony Hopkins getting a good long spell underwater using the helicopter pilots "spare air" in "Eight Bells Toll" or whatever it was called.  Great film - loads of diving for gold.....in Scotland.

 

[Finless]

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I agree with everything Dominic said earlier (REPEAT, I AGREE) HOWEVER an extra 2 or 3 breathes at depth s/b enough to get you to your buddy in an OOA situation. 232*0.2=46.4 ltrs. 30 mtrs at SCR 25 lpm = 100 lpm at 30 mtrs = nearly 30 secs of gas.

Pls don't start with the "buddy pairs s/b next to each other etc etc" - it does not happen like that often on holiday dives.

If someone can afford it, are the spare airs worth having for a holiday dive where you can't rent a pony and other divers are usally within a reasonable distance?


The Devil's Advocate has spoken (well, typed).

 

[MATTBIN]

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I think I'd be happier with a bit of rope to make sure the buddy was were I wanted him i.e. bleedin close.

Matt

 

[Finless]

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Quote[/b] (MATTBIN @ Aug. 06 2003,12:29)]I think I'd be happier with a bit of rope to make sure the buddy was were I wanted him i.e. bleedin close.

Matt

Yeah, it's OK for him to swim off, so long as he leaves the cylinder and regs next to me.

 

[Dominic]

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Quote[/b] ]for a holiday dive where you can't rent a pony

Take one with you then

 

[peter k]

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Quote[/b] (Lou @ Aug. 06 2003,11:41)]I also seem to remember Antony Hopkins getting a good long spell underwater using the helicopter pilots "spare air" in "Eight Bells Toll" or whatever it was called.  Great film - loads of diving for gold.....in Scotland.

Lou,
     We're sick of picking up gold here. It's just pointless now. We're more interested in the diamonds.

Peter
PS- For those that are going on my SoM gig I'm taking you to a wreck that there is a chance of "salvaging" silverware.

 

[Finless]

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Quote[/b] (Dominic @ Aug. 06 2003,13:13)]Take one with you then

I'm not as stupid as I appear to be - honest.

If I was given one I would probably take it with me but no way would I buy one or rent one.

I feel another poll coming on about OOA situations.

 

[Mdemon]

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Got the Buddy equivalent with the wing before I got the twins - the nearest I could afford to a redundant air system.  Buddies are great for reporting how the accident happened; I'd rather deal with problems myself if I can.  I leave it on - it's there and I can use it if I want to. It is negligable weight compared to the rest of it.  Should it cause me grief, it'll come off.

The only time I've used it in the water was at Swanage with Seadart Bob.  To save room, the idea was to clip the gear to a lanyard on the side of the boat and get back in "sans kit".  Started to de-kit, but the wing's position in the water was making things awkward.  Rather than faff about, I gave it a blast from the bottle.  Wing inflated, job done.  Pleased to say that's the only time.