RRP: £40

Description: Buddy Auto Air (excludes corrugated hose and LPI hose) Originally invented in 1972 by David Parker the Auto Air was years ahead of its time preceding all of the current crop of octo-inflators. It combines in one compact unit- the AP jacket breathing facility- a direct feed power inflator and an alternate air source octopus bail-out. The new Auto Air 2006 has been improved and restyled. It till offers superb breathing performance but is now a balanced valve with the advantage that it requires no adjustment or setup. It will automatically balance to the interstage pressure of whatever regulator it is fitted to. In an emergency the Auto Air is simplicity itself - just put it in your mouth and breathe! Without having to press any buttons it will draw air from wherever it can- either from your main tank if there is air remaining (octopus mode) or from the bladder of the bcd itself (jacket breathing mode). It will switch between modes automatically (if for example- the air in your tank runs dry) and the difference can be noted by a change in the inhalation resistance. In this case the jacket breathing bailout procedure is exactly the same as for the AP200 outlined below. If the problem is that your demand valve has failed but you still have gas in your cylinder- the Auto Air will operate as a normal octopus DV – just breathe and let it manage the situation for you. The Auto Air is tested to 50m to the same EN250 standard as all primary demand valves- it is simple to maintain and unlike a conventional octopus setup it sits on your chest where it is easily located and ready to hand just when you need it in an emergency. “You can breathe from all emergency valves at normal depths- but the only one which can be assessed as a truly 100% emergency breathing valve is the A.P.Valves Auto Air… pure sunshine… inhalation resistance like a normal breathing regulator.”