How the Air Buddy works

 Do you need to learn new skills?

Sure. Instead of sucking, you squeeze it with your mouth in a biting motion to make it work. When you stop squeezing, the air stops, just as when you stop sucking on a regulator 2nd stage the air stops. Air Buddy alternate air source
You exhale around it instead of through it like you do with a standard regulator. It will take only a few minutes practice until you feel comfortable with it. Learning new skills is what makes us better divers. And, you are only going to use it as an air source during that short amount of time that it takes to get you back safely to the surface.

Why should you upgrade your old octopus to an Air Buddy now?

Up until now, divers carried an extra regulator 2nd stage hanging from his first stage, as a safe second, in case his buddy ran out of air. It was a good idea when it first started.
The double hose regulator was a good idea, originally, but it was replaced by the single hose regulator.
The horse collar life vest with the little C02 cartridge was a good idea, but it was replaced by the buoyancy compensator. The C02 cartridge was eliminated because it was actually a safety hazard.
Using an extra 2nd stage as an octopus was a good idea at the time because there was nothing else.
But it is time to modernize and upgrade to better equipment again. The regulator 2nd stage was designed to be carried in the mouth of the diver, not hang loose in the water. The Air Buddy was designed specifically to hang loose until it was needed.


A regulator 2nd stage is expensive to maintain.
The Air Buddy does not need expensive annual maintenance or adjustments. Just rinse it off. And it costs much less to purchase.


A regulator 2nd stage has to be cleared before you can breathe from it.
The Air Buddy does not neet to be cleared before breathing. Just bite and breathe.


A regulator 2nd stage with a diaphragm will free flow. That includes the standard ones and the new ones that are being combined with power inflators on BCD's. Losing air is serious.
The Air Buddy is specifically designed so that it cannot free flow.


A regulator 2nd stage carried on a hose as an octopus is cumbersome and gets in the way. If you tuck it inside your pocket or under a strap, it is a real nuisance because of its size, and it is not easy to get out in a hurry. If you leave it hanging behind you, it can get hung up on coral, monofiliment line, nets, various underwater obstructions. It can get filled with mud or sand.
The Air Buddy is virtually the same size as the hose on which it is mounted. It won't get hung up on fishing line, coral, nets, anchor lines, other divers, etc. It doesn't take up any room in your BCD pocket. It can be tucked into almost anyplace on your gear.


A regulator 2nd stage has caused potentially serious accidents were divers mistakenly submerged with the second stage from their pony bottle in their mouth instead of the one from their primary air tank.
The Air Buddy mouthpiece is so different from a 2nd stage, a diver could never get the wrong one in his/her mouth.


A regulator 2nd stage is not only inconvenient as a safe second, but give you no other practical uses.
The Air Buddy is a convenient source of air for filling lift bags and other flotation gear. It only takes a squeeze of your fingers to release air where you want it. It can even be used to easily put air into the BCD of a diver who is out of air.


A regulator 2nd stage is of no help to a diver trapped behind in inside some kind of obstruction.
The Air Buddy can be passed through an opening almost as small as the hose, to get air to a trapped victim.