Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:32 am
Not sure I have had enough coffee but here goes. -
Ok, I get the rig is position dependent, but how "bad" is it? I often dive slightly tilted upwards and every now and then must go into an unusual position to get the camera to a better angle. Is it possible to do that with a DH or does being "heads down" make breathing too difficult to be sustainable? Can I swim/stop/shoot sideways? If I roll over my back (to shoot the boat from bellow, for instance), does the regulator have a tendency to freeflow or will it freeflow for sure?
Assuming you have the reg properly placed and secure (not flopping around) the difference is minimal and easy to become accustomed to. I carry a camera quite often and routinely get into a lot of unnatural diving positions, including head down, feet up inside a coral head. The amount of breathing resistance change is by no means uncomfortable, much less “difficult” but it is noticeable. What I think is more "difficult" for a new DH diver to get use to is the breathing cadence that is best for a DH reg. It is a long slow inhale and exhale as opposed to a shorter and more rapid one than is typically used with a single hose reg, more of a yoga type breath if you will. On your back looking up is the one place where the reg is most likely to give you an issue. The reg do tend to freeflow in that position, how much depends on a lot of factors including your angle and how close to the edge the reg is tuned. I tend to keep mine set up fairly aggressive and I don’t find it’s freeflowing to be much of an issue. I personally find the reduced noise and no bubbles in my face well worth the slight changes in breathing performance.
- How "self-serviceable" is a Kraken unit, considering I'm thousands of miles away from the experts and have never seen a double hose? Doesn't seem impossible to do, I just don't want to need a phd in engineering.
In general DH regs are no more difficult than any other reg, assuming you can get parts. The Kraken is not difficult to service for anyone failure with US Divers/Aqualung regs. If you want to experiment, get a Conshelf (or Titan) and learning to service it is a great way to start. If you understand how regs work, DH regs are really no different, just the same components packaged differently.
- Is it nitrox compatible out of the box?
I personally do not see any reason it cannot be used with mixes under 40%, I can tell you mine (and the Phoenix before it) has seen a lot of 32% nitrox over the years. At worst the internal orings age at a slightly different pace but the increase is nowhere near enough to require a shorter maintance routine.
- What is the total weight of a reg like the Kraken? That's a big deal when you travel with camera rig included.
I have not weighed mine but on average it is close to the same weight as a larger size single hose reg. At worst you are adding a few ounces (100-150 grams) to your overall kit weight.
- How does it fare in cold water?
DH regs are by their very design highly resistant to cold water, one of our members routinely uses DH regs for ice diving….no me however.
- How do you keep it clean after diving? I understand some water will enter the mouthpiece and be exhaled through the left hose, so how do you remove the salt after the dive? Is it any "harder" than a modern single hose reg?
IMO this Is the one area where a DH reg is inferior to a single hose reg, but nowhere near the level that a rebreather needs. On a daily basis, simple rinsing and external drying is all that is needed, however after a dive or series of dives, the reg needs to be cleaned and dried properly. That involves removing the hoses, flushing them with warm water and insuring they dry properly. The removal and cleaning of the hoses does NOT need to be done on a daily basis as long as you are continuing to dive daily, just at the end on the diving period. Although I do tend to remove them mid-week on week long dive trips. I store my DH regs with the hoses off so removing them for cleaning is not an additional chore for me.
- How do you handle surface swims? Is a plug necessary to swim over your back at the surface?
Long surface swims on your back do require you either hold the mouthpiece below the surface or use a mouthpiece plug. There is an upgraded mouthpiece that can be opened and closed in the works now to solve this issue.
- How tough are the hoses? Do they handle crowded boat dives well?
The silicone hoses are very tough and will take a good bit of abuse. I have had DH regs on hundreds of boat dives with no problems but like any other reg, you need to keep an eye on it to head off the occasional moron.
- How do you remove it from the water if your BCD doesn't have a handle (and of course the boat doesn't have stairs)? More often than not I've seen boat crew just grabbing the first stage/tank valve and pulling it up to the boat, which doesn't sound like a very good idea with a DH reg.
A DH reg should never be handled by the cans or hoses (a single hose regs shouldn’t either) . Nothing wrong with grabbing the TANK VALVE but the best way is to grab the shoulder straps of the BC….you need to educate/watch the crew any time they are around your gear, DH or not.
- And last but not least: I get the backplate is better to keep the can close to you. With that being said, is it still usable on a jacket BCD? How noticeable would be the performance loss?
It is useable, you will get air but depending on the jacket BC, the performance can be quite noticeably affected. Most do not keep the reg close enough to you and to make matters worse, will not allow the tank/reg to be placed low enough….which by the way is another thing you have to educate overly “helpful” boat crews about. They like to “help “you by moving your BC down. Usually, simply telling them this is a “special reg” and please do not touch it enough to keep them at bay. Until I am sure the crew understands to leave my reg along, I keep my eye on it.
My apologies if some of these questions sound "too basic" or just plain stupid, but these were some of the doubts I came across. I have not yet received the unit and I'm sure a few more will follow after I start using it.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions, many of us have been exactly where you are and needed help. DH diving is easy and a lot of fun but it does take a slightly different style that is not often intuitive. Hope that answered your questions, if not fire away.
Herman