im thinking about a couple of spare aurs they look like a good idea. do they work well are they reliable. is it worth getting one. can you take the tanks full on a plane

They are a great idea. They are designed to get you to the surface and they do the job well. You cant take the spare air on the plane when its full. The nice thing about the spare air is you can re-fill it from your own tank.

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Originally posted by amazingdiver:
im thinking about a couple of spare aurs they look like a good idea. do they work well are they reliable. is it worth getting one. can you take the tanks full on a plane

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[This message has been edited by Rebecca (edited 02-15-2001).]

I would agree that they do their job well.....from a relatively shallow depth. If you are doing any deep diving then you should get a pony bottle. You said you were going to get "a couple spare airs". SpareAir is around $300. For $600 you could get a great pony setup.

Im personally not a fan of spare air systems. I prefer a pony bottle. While you may be able to fill spare airs from your tanks, you have to go get your main tanks filled anyway brining a 13 to 40 ft3 cylinder along isn't any inconvienence really. Also, having the other regulator around can be convienient in case of unforseen pre dive problems with your primary. Hope this was helpful and the final call is really a matter of you weighing the pro's and con's of all available options.

I have heard from many divers with much more experience than I that a PONY is the way to go - SPARE AIR is not good for very deep dives - its ok for shallow reef dives, but thats about it - I know guys that had 6 cu in PONY bottles that after on OOA Emergency, they barely made it to the stop with their SAFETY STOP - and thats with a 6 cu in PONY vs a 3 cu in SPARE AIR! I heard one gentleman came in the dive shop the VERY next day after that and bought a 13 cu in PONY instead of using his 6 cu in PONY any longer. I am going to a 13 cu in myself! PS I agree - that since you are going to get your 80's filled, its not a big deal to get your PONY filled/checked at the same time - a $4 fill is sure 'cheap' insurance!

I tend to agree with the other posters on this question. While the spare air seems like a good idea, generally speaking if you have an OOA emergency, your redundant air supply should be as big as you can conviently carry. Nothing has given me more peace of mind while diving than having a pony bottle strapped to the side of my primary air supply. I am sure that my pony is bigger than I'll ever need. I purchased a 30ft bottle, a reliable regulator, and a mounting system for about $375. The mounting system for a 13ft bottle is the same as the 30ft. So, once I decided to strap on the extra tank, it made sense to me to get the larger bottle just in case.

Basically what I'm trying to say is.... I beleive EVERYONE should dive with a redunant air source. The Spare Air is a good option, but a pony bottle can do much more for basically the same price.

Very good summary NoBends! I totally agree. For me I carry a Spare Air up to 80ft. After that, go with a pony bottle. I think its great that everyone dives with a safe second now, but I would still have something there for yourself just incase...

I agree with most of the people here. I think that the Spare Air is a great thing if you are doing shallow dives(above 60'). If you are going to do anything deeper than that I would suggest getting a pony bottle.

I'm going to buy a 19cf pony bottle sometime over the next few weeks for wreck diving here in Jersey. Many of the boats won't let you dive without one and anyway I'm a little uncomfortable without a redundant air supply. Posted a note here a while ago about the X-tra system and got no response. The system really intrigues me, but I'm concerned about one reference I've seen about the ability of the first stage to keep up at depth.

So. I'll ask once more: Has anyone out there actually used the Aquavit X-tra?

I agree the pony bottle is the way to go. I fly on USAF helicopters and carry the "spare air" military version (actually it is exactly the same except for color). Our life support troops hate working on them (although they aren't certified scuba repairmen). Generally we all agree the spare air will not provide us enough air in an emergency situation. You don't know how long you will be under for and of course you are breathing rapidly anyway if you go down in the water. Get a pony bottle and you won't have to worry about those problems.