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Old 07/13/2005, 02:40 PM
Tech Diver Tech Diver is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Concord, MA
Posts: 168
OK, here's my opinion. I really really dislike this product for several reasons. First off, let's look at their "large" version with a 3 cu-ft capacity. If you are down at 100 ft (where the pressure is 4 ATA) those 3 cu-ft shrink down to a mere 0.75 cu-ft because of Boyle's Law (P1 V1 = P2 V2). They claim they can supply 57 SURFACE breaths, which translates to a mere 14 breaths at 100 ft again due to Boyle's Law. Unless a diver has had harassment drill training where your tank valve is shutoff when you least expect it, that diver will be totally panic stricken and will be hyperventilating and sucking breaths like a Hoover. If that diver knows that they have very little time before the SpareAir runs out, they will bolt for the surface and probably get a very serious DCS hit. A better approach is to get a 13 cu-ft pony bottle and ascend normally to the surface with a safety stop. Still better is to do team diving with a good dive buddy and plan your gas usage using the rule-of-thirds (or other comparable methods), where 1/3 of your gas supply is for heading out, 1/3 is for getting back, and 1/3 is reserve to bring your buddy back with you.

As for the other gear, the safety sausage is a good idea if it is durable and has reflective markings that can also be seen by radar. A length of 10 ft sounds a bit excessive as you would probably have a hard time keeping it vertical (4 or 5 ft should be adequate). These are typically butt mounted by tying two bungee loops at the bottom of you backplate or BCD.

Light sticks are not too effective as they are too dim to be seen at a distance. Also, once you break them, they keep glowing and can not be conserved for selected use. A flashlight would be a better choice. The new ones that make use of LEDs have a very long burn time.

Whistles are good to have and are rather inexpensive. However, don't expect to be heard unless someone is fairly close and not using a motor.

A jon line (buddy lanyard) is convenient in high current environments if you want to tether yourself to the ascent line. This is a good idea and does not take up much space.

I am neutral about the mirror. In full daylight I suspect that a bright orange marker would have a better chance to be seen. At night it obviously doesn't work.

I really don't like mesh bags. They get snagged on just about everything. I have pockets on both my dry-suit and wet suit (you can get glue-ons), which inside have a big bungee loop. Since every single "portable" item I have has a bolt-snap on it. I can reach in my pockets and pull everything out without loosing a single item. I merely unclip what I need, and re-clip what I don't need. Everything is neat, organized, and out of the way until you need it.