Tankless Diving System: Airbuddy Vs Blu3 Nemo/Nomad

[Shir9406]

Has anyone tried these? They look like a pretty sweet system without worrying about all the scuba gear... I thought about picking one up because I like to snorkel, but would love to go deeper without all the hassle of the scuba gear... Just wanted to know if anyone has any experiance with either of these systems because I would not consider them to be super cheap...... Thanks in advance..

Videos:
Blu3 Nomad
Airbuddy

 

[zipper]

Has anyone tried these? They look like a pretty sweet system without worrying about all the scuba gear... I thought about picking one up because I like to snorkel, but would love to go deeper without all the hassle of the scuba gear... Just wanted to know if anyone has any experiance with either of these systems because I would not consider them to be super cheap...... Thanks in advance..

Videos:
Blu3 Nomad
Airbuddy

I have not. I have been a scuba diver since 1981. Never cared for a tether and did not like towing around the dive flag strapped to an inner tube. I like to move around underwater and not be confined by a length of air hose. That said, these do have that in between scuba and snorkeling thing going for it. Cleaning the hull, unfouling an anchor in shallow water, retrieving something dropped overboard again shallow, less than 30' or so. I would still prefer scuba gear, but I could see someone making a business of cleaning hulls with one of these.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I have not. I have been a scuba diver since 1981. Never cared for a tether and did not like towing around the dive flag strapped to an inner tube. I like to move around underwater and not be confined by a length of air hose. That said, these do have that in between scuba and snorkeling thing going for it. Cleaning the hull, unfouling an anchor in shallow water, retrieving something dropped overboard again shallow, less than 30' or so. I would still prefer scuba gear, but I could see someone making a business of cleaning hulls with one of these.

Could come in handy for clearing a fouled pump from below if the clean out ports were not enough… especially if on a long journey far from the dock.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I used something very similiar, in Jamaica. I believe they call it Snuba. Pretty cool cause I didn't need to take lessons. You just put on the mask and a weight belt and they hooked up several of us two it and we went down 20' or so, maybe a bit more. FYI the water and camera add 40lbs

 

[Julian]

They look like a cool idea....one of those expensive toys that if I lived on a Caribbean island I'd have a whole lot more justification to own.

 

[zipper]

I used something very similiar, in Jamaica. I believe they call it Snuba. Pretty cool cause I didn't need to take lessons. You just put on the mask and a weight belt and they hooked up several of us two it and we went down 20' or so, maybe a bit more.

View attachment 171352

Did they tell you to hold your nose and blow gently on the decent and yawn, with your jaw, on the ascent to keep you from rupturing your eardrums at least? 20' can do damage if you don't equalize the pressure.

Edit: Was the camera person on a scuba tank or on the snuba?

 

[HangOutdoors]

Yes. I am just guestimating on the depth. I actually took the PADI course "Open Water Diver" and was supposed to take the test with an instructor in Jamaica at the resort. I was told it would be about $200, but when I got there the guy I talked to in the dive shop wanted $1000 and when I realized I was getting hustled he dropped it to $800 cash. I was pissed off. So instead I saw the Snuba thing and the brother in law, his 3 boys and I went and did that instead. I really wanted to get certified that week, this was 4-5 years ago. Never got my open water diver, though.

 

[Shir9406]

Did they tell you to hold your nose and blow gently on the decent and yawn, with your jaw, on the ascent to keep you from rupturing your eardrums at least? 20' can do damage if you don't equalize the pressure.

Edit: Was the camera person on a scuba tank or on the snuba?

I believe there is a little online safety training for diving at these depths given by the blu3 or Airbuddy company. .

 

[HangOutdoors]

Edit: Was the camera person on a scuba tank or on the snuba?

He was on a Scuba Tank. I have multiple waterproof camera's and I gave him mine to take pictures of us. He want down with us and also had a gas charged spear and some other gear just in case of shark, etc.

It was one of the coolest things I have done. I think we were in 50' or so of water. The experience was awesome. I just hung there down in the water, it was so clear.

 

[Shir9406]

I think this would be awesome using for spear fishing in 20ft of water... At a lake...

 

[HangOutdoors]

I also have thought it would be really cool when we are out in Lake Michigan in 20 ish or so feet of water or less, where the clarity is crystal clear. Some cool things to see, a lot of sunken things.

 

[Shir9406]

So I have researched a little and here is what I got:

Blu3 Nemo only goes 10 feet, battery last 60-90 mins... (no replacement parts)
Pricing: $899 , with only one battery, add $150 for each extra battery

Blu3 Nomad goes to 30ft, battery last from 45-60 mins... (no replacement parts)
Pricing: $1999, with only one battery, add like $300 for an extra battery

AirBuddy: Goes to around 40 ft for 1 person, or 20 feet with two lines hooked up (same system, so only have to purchase a separate line), Battery last 45-60 mins, (has replacement parts)

Pricing: Approximately $1510 with 1 40ft line... one battery
Extra Lines: roughly $100, and extra battery $350

You can buy extra batteries for any of the systems...

Seems like AirBuddy is the better system in case a line breaks or something, you can replace it unlike the Blu3 systems... Just wanted to throw that out there.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Viewing from the Bob Ueker seats.. it looks like the air buddy would be better suited to diving in a lake or river where there are waves and wakes. The Blu system seems like it might be vulnerable to capsizing when a wake boat wake comes by.. just my two cents.

 

[Shir9406]

Viewing from the Bob Ueker seats.. it looks like the air buddy would be better suited to diving in a lake or river where there are waves and wakes. The Blu system seems like it might be vulnerable to capsizing when a wake boat wake comes by.. just my two cents.

That’s a good point!! I wonder why they made a flotation device for the Nemo, but not the nomad that seems a little more top heavy…

 

[BigN8]

I wouldn't waste my money on it. You can get a great BCD for much less than that. Then get some fins and mask (which you have to buy anyway), and you are good to go. You can rent the weights and the regulator at any good dive shop. My sailing crew did a lot of diving at 30-40 feet and it is great because you can stay down an hour or more if you want, really no safety stop but we did anyway. We rented tanks because we all had our own gear and we did 2 separate dives at avg 30' with one tank with each dive lasting around an hour. Tank rental was $10. Plus having the classes under you belt gives you much more knowledge and preparation for some type of emergency or problem while underwater.

 

[BigN8]

Also, I meant to add, if you check with most local fishing regs, I believe just about all of them don't allow you to harvest game fish and lobster with air supported devices. Spearfishing most of the time can only be done using a Hawaiin sling and only while free diving.