Spare Air

[Dhboner]

This seems to be really controversial subject but I was curious what the divers in this community felt about "Spare Air" a strictly recreational redundant air system. My thoughts are it would be useful in the event of a first stage problem at recreational depths.

Bob (Toronto)

[Bill]

I think they are a waste of money. It would be better to spend the money on additional training and or equipment maintenance.

My primarily issue is their small size. Let's assume an 'average' diver uses 0.7 cubic feet of gas per minute on the surface. At 66' that same diver needs 2.1cf per minute when everything is fine. Throw in a little stress and that could easily double.
Spare Air comes in a 1.7cf and 3.0 cf size... the math doesn't look too good.

a redundant source of gas (dive buddy or separate cylinder) is a good idea only if you bring enough gas