Thank you for this video it was a HUGE help. Especially since I was considering the air buddy. The idea of supporting dual divers sounded helpful but hearing your experience makes me shy away from it. I work with a non profit clearing hazards from area waterways. Recently we removed a piece of rebar that likely came from a construction site. It was lodged in a water feature making a dangerous hazard for paddlers. Thankfully we got it out. However it would have been tricky had we needed to cut it because it was below snorkel depth. We were considering scuba but seeing systems like these are intriguing as they look to be ideal for our work. we are rarely below 20 feet and often kayak into sites so needs to be portable. Really appreciate the video.
I have an AquaRobo 819 and I love it! ❤❤❤ I can use it for 3-4 hours on one charge with or, without a BCD. I contract out doing boat bottoms and I can do 2-3 boats on a single charge. The company is in China and I know that's often times a Red Flag but, Eric and his staff are GREAT! If there is an issue they go out of their way to assist. GREAT COMPANY! Howard Whitaker "DESTINY II" South Beach Miami, FL.
Awesome! I agree sometimes it is definitely a red flag but Eric and Arron at the TX distribution center are great to work with. The 819 is definitely awesome.
Great comparison - well done. If you are in Australia and want to get your hands on the NOMAD, we are here for you, we also have an Australian service centre now!
@MysticalDragon73 I did.. invested in the blu3 Nomad... really like the quality. Have 2 batteries. Serving my purposes really well in both Florida and Minnesota so far! Don't regret the choice at all.
Great comparison but what a pity so far there is no comparison with the world's biggest selling portable system, DiveBuddy Air. DiveBuddy air solves all of the negatives mentioned. DiveBuddy runs for 4 hours on the same battery. Has plenty of air to 10 meters. Get the second dive hose free included. 2 divers to 7 meters with world-wide supply of parts and easy to maintain in your local area. And the kicker is it is $ 600-$800 cheaper and more dive time, better warranty terms, 1-2 divers. and dive better.
BLU3 is relatively easy to get service on because it is made in the USa, but not on a compressor that has to be shipped to Australia to an Australia-based manufacturer - leave that to Australian consumers and even they would suffer the cost of expensive shipping back to the factory for repairs or service.
Does the nomad need to be in the water while running? I’m looking for a system to clean the bottom of my boat and would just leave it on the dock. Will also want it to take out on our dinghy to dive reefs.
???? QUESTION ...Great video..... Thank you for your work. You said you liked the coiled blue air hose with the airbuddy.... Is it possible to install a coiled air hose for use with the nomad???
Very helpful video! I see you also have the Aquarobo 819. Is It a decently built unit also you said the Nomad gets a little harder to breath over 20ft and the Airbuddy at 30ft did you have a chance to test the 819 in the same way? My wife and I are hoping to get the Aquarobo pro and dive both at the same time. I think the pro is 117LPM but I am trying to find the LPM on the Airbuddy so I can compare with your 30ft on the Airbuddy. Would you know the LPM on the Airbuddy? Sorry so many questions I just don't like wasting money.
Hi, thanks! The 819 builds up a pressure revisor like the AirBuddy. The AirBuddy has a pressure value (unit keeps running but does not build pressure past 35psi, acts like a dump valve) that stops it at 35 psi. The 819 has a pressure switch set to 50 psi. This turns the unit on and off when it builds up pressure. I use a larger external plastic tank with the 819 than the one that comes with it. It breathes very well at 30 feet. Both AirBuddy and the 819 get to pressure quickly. The 819 is a well built unit and has worked great.. As for longevity, i have only had it out 3 times so i cannot speak to that yet. If you and your wife are diving together why not grab two single regular 819 units? Having some experience with combo diving with the AirBuddy i would recommend that over sharing.
I was looking at the 819 and ran across a bunch of videos shown here. I am not sure these are built very well. You can be the judge. I would not trust it down further than 20ft and I am a certified diver. TRhe fittings look plastic. www.youtube.com/@aquarobo
@@johnrowlette7430 hey John, its a system made in China. I do like the 4 hour 819 because its reasonably priced at $500 ish. I have not had an issue with it. I use most of my own equipment (hose,air tank, regulator) with it though. If bought directly from Aquarobo on there website Eric does offer a 1 year warranty. They also have a warehouse in Texas. I beat mine up pretty bad last year testing that it can be dunked underwater. Still running good. I still cannot speak to longevity on any of the Hookahs i have used because i have only been using them for a couple of seasons.
Had a blue3 nemo. Worked great for about 6 dives and then it shorted out smoke coming out of the unit....yes everything was put together properly...sent it back to Amazon and got a refund..now I see that the Nemo is no longer on Blue 3's website..discontinued? now they have a Nomad minnie? I really liked the unit and was disappointed when it broke so quickly especially at the price point they offer it..may revisit in the future...I know nothing about engineering but the battery under water thing on the nemo and nomad just seems prone to problems.
Hi Michael, diving depth is very individual in hookah diving as it depends on the diver's breathing rate. Experienced divers typically consume somewhere between 12-18 l/min of air when diving in normal conditions (relaxed dive). But in extreme cases divers can breathe up to 80-90 l/min (for example in panic or fighting with massive current). The depth rating of AirBuddy is calculated at 24 l/min breathing rate. Correct breathing is relaxed, taking in slow and deep breaths. As they teach in OW, "4 seconds to breathe in and 4 seconds to breathe out". In such scenario, you can even achieve greater depths than rated, such as in this video both divers diving at 38 feet and breathing out of one AirBuddy: ruclips.net/video/mSPhTcsH72w/видео.html, i.e. almost twice the rated depth.
Thanks for the feedback. Many factors underwater can make a diver unrelaxed or excited. Being down at depth (we were at 10 feet or less) and hoping the other person stays relaxed so i can continue to breathe is not something I look forward to. I would have questioned (if it was just my Air Buddy) if others have not also mentioned the same feedback.
Air consumption is individual as we explain in FAQ 2-08 on our website. It's about experience, state of mind, level of activity, currents, trim, swimming style, correct weighting, water temperature, etc. In SCUBA it's time that depends on your breathing (and depth is rather limited just by NDL, nitrogen narcosis, oxygen toxicity, etc). Some SCUBA divers breathe more and may run low on air in 15-20min, whereas some others in the same group (same tank size, same depth profile, same conditions) will last 50-60min. When diving with AirBuddy your time is fixed to about 55+10 min, but the depth is variable as it depends on your air consumption vs. air supply. If you read the diver groups you will find all kind of people. Those who couldn't comfortably reach the depth as well as those who have significantly exceeded the rating (which is not recommended) and been diving to 60ft as single divers or 35&35ft as buddy divers (with two long hoses). So is the nature of hookah diving.
@@DivingEasier thanks for the info. We are two that couldn’t with the Air Buddy. Id like to say we were pretty relaxed at the time.. but like you mentioned air consumption is individual and bringing another individual into Air Buddy’s air supply simply did not work for us. All i heard for the rest of the day was that i tried to kill her haha 😆. Single diver it works great.
Very nice review. I know this review is about a month old but I had a question. I noticed on one of your other videos, you adapted your hookah system to a scuba bcd & inflator. I am curious when you and your wife were having “trouble” breathing if the two of you were using the scuba bcd and regulator or if you were using the AirBuddy vest and regulators.
@@BassAngler2718 hey, we were just using the air buddy combo pack, vest and regulators provided by AirBuddy, no bcd’s. Each had the 20 foot line hooked up to the Air Buddy. We took it to FL on a trip and it was our second combo dive that we noticed the lack of air issue. Day 1 was good , we did not have weights on and stayed on the surface, basically snorkeling but with the Air Buddy. Day 2 was when we rented weights to dive a reef with some cannons. That was when we had the lack of air issues. Air Buddy with one diver provides plenty of air. Either me or my wife was an air hog and the air buddy could not keep up.
I would be great if the nomad had a internal microprocessor like an ESP and share the battery condition and charge status to a "smart dive watch". That would be a nice fail-safe device and also they should look for a float-able additional power packs in order to hook 3 or 4 batteries at once and thus no battery-changing during a scuba session. Do you guys bring additional batteries on paddle board or go to shore for battery change. Let me know in the comments.
Cool ideas, i have floated a battery with me to swap on the Nomad a few times. Mainly when i am alone and do not want a battery or a backpack sitting alone on shore. Definitely would not try that with the Air Buddy.
I work on aerospace industry and i can use sealants that normally perform in extreme situations so would be a walk in the park for Aeronautic sealing mastic PR1782 to isolate the batteries. If it isolate a fuel tank on a A320 also can isolate a mini battery (mini compared on a A320 :) Also i can use the aerospace 3M structural bonding glue that when dry is harder than steal with minimum weight, poured on a silicone case mold to make the battery case or a "dummy" case that only had to have the same 4pin connector as OEM battery but just as way of connect in a sort of OEM look the "extender" or "external" powerpack on his own floater. I will try to sort some things in 3D design, so hope to have news on this soon..... Maybe a Nomad floating device case (a empty Nomad per say) copy just to hold the new powerpack. Just for me to calculate things how many amp/h and voltage is Nomad battery? Assumining a media time of 1h dive time with 1 battery what would be a good Amp/h for 6h scuba? Just an idea for blu3 R&D team to dive in!
Thanks John, I look for everything. I live in RI and have lakes around me that powered our towns old mills, great for metal detecting and also loaded with old bottles. What areas are your maps from?
It's more expensive by quite a bit, but any comparison or experience with the brownie Sea Lion / VS system - if you have several people you end up with multiple Nomads vs. possibly one VS system and then longer run time if solo (it says 3-4 hours). It's quite a bit heavier and bulkier though. Just wondered if you've ever used. Thanks so much for the very informative video you seemed very fair and balanced on pros and cons of both.
I definitely recommend getting certified before doing any diving. You learn safety measures that are needed even when hookah diving. Plus the classes are allot of fun. Different options out there but my wife and I chose PADI.
Thank you for this video it was a HUGE help. Especially since I was considering the air buddy. The idea of supporting dual divers sounded helpful but hearing your experience makes me shy away from it.
I work with a non profit clearing hazards from area waterways. Recently we removed a piece of rebar that likely came from a construction site. It was lodged in a water feature making a dangerous hazard for paddlers. Thankfully we got it out. However it would have been tricky had we needed to cut it because it was below snorkel depth. We were considering scuba but seeing systems like these are intriguing as they look to be ideal for our work. we are rarely below 20 feet and often kayak into sites so needs to be portable.
Really appreciate the video.
Welcome! Thank you for cleaning up the waterways. Happy 4th.
This is great to share, thanks Iffy, these are great products. Great publicity for the dive industry. From the love of AQUAROBO.
Thanks Eric. 👍
I have an AquaRobo 819 and I love it! ❤❤❤
I can use it for 3-4 hours on one charge with or, without a BCD.
I contract out doing boat bottoms and I can do 2-3 boats on a single charge.
The company is in China and I know that's often times a Red Flag but, Eric and his staff are GREAT!
If there is an issue they go out of their way to assist.
GREAT COMPANY!
Howard Whitaker
"DESTINY II"
South Beach Miami, FL.
Awesome! I agree sometimes it is definitely a red flag but Eric and Arron at the TX distribution center are great to work with. The 819 is definitely awesome.
Great comparison - well done. If you are in Australia and want to get your hands on the NOMAD, we are here for you, we also have an Australian service centre now!
Thanks 👍
I am getting close to jumping into the above water air supply game. Trying to be deliberate about this.
I learned a lot from your video - well done!
Thx! If you have any questions let me know.
Mike
have you decided on one?
@MysticalDragon73 I did.. invested in the blu3 Nomad... really like the quality. Have 2 batteries. Serving my purposes really well in both Florida and Minnesota so far! Don't regret the choice at all.
Nice 👍
@@TGenoRock thanks for the info.
Great comparison but what a pity so far there is no comparison with the world's biggest selling portable system, DiveBuddy Air. DiveBuddy air solves all of the negatives mentioned. DiveBuddy runs for 4 hours on the same battery. Has plenty of air to 10 meters. Get the second dive hose free included. 2 divers to 7 meters with world-wide supply of parts and easy to maintain in your local area. And the kicker is it is $ 600-$800 cheaper and more dive time, better warranty terms, 1-2 divers. and dive better.
Thanks for the info.
do you have a link? we are looking at a system like this for work.
the website doenst work the fb page is new so how is it the biggest system?
I enjoyed you're video thank you for sharing.
Thanks Jimmy!
Welcome@@IffySignals
Pretty cool. Both are really compact and portable.
Yea! Really comes down to what style/features you prefer. Fast battery swap while staying in the water is a big one for me. That goes to the Nomad.
@@IffySignals I'd have to agree with you on that
BLU3 is relatively easy to get service on because it is made in the USa, but not on a compressor that has to be shipped to Australia to an Australia-based manufacturer - leave that to Australian consumers and even they would suffer the cost of expensive shipping back to the factory for repairs or service.
Yea, its not cheap. Around $100 each way or more.
Could I buy the coil hose and hook it to the nomad? Since it’s so quiet, it could hover right over me if it was on a coil. Right?
No, the Nomad, Nemo, and Nomad Mini have a proprietary hose with a wire inside to work the smart reg.
Does the nomad need to be in the water while running? I’m looking for a system to clean the bottom of my boat and would just leave it on the dock. Will also want it to take out on our dinghy to dive reefs.
Hey Jim, yes it has to be in the water. Thats how it keeps the pump cool.
???? QUESTION ...Great video..... Thank you for your work. You said you liked the coiled blue air hose with the airbuddy.... Is it possible to install a coiled air hose for use with the nomad???
No, it cannot be removed. There are wires inside of that black air line that control the smart regulator.
In Amazon there are many of such device ..! So I wonder which one is good enough for maximum 3 meters diving? .
From Amazon, the Aquarobo 819 is good.
Very helpful video! I see you also have the Aquarobo 819. Is It a decently built unit also you said the Nomad gets a little harder to breath over 20ft and the Airbuddy at 30ft did you have a chance to test the 819 in the same way? My wife and I are hoping to get the Aquarobo pro and dive both at the same time. I think the pro is 117LPM but I am trying to find the LPM on the Airbuddy so I can compare with your 30ft on the Airbuddy. Would you know the LPM on the Airbuddy? Sorry so many questions I just don't like wasting money.
Hi, thanks! The 819 builds up a pressure revisor like the AirBuddy. The AirBuddy has a pressure value (unit keeps running but does not build pressure past 35psi, acts like a dump valve) that stops it at 35 psi. The 819 has a pressure switch set to 50 psi. This turns the unit on and off when it builds up pressure. I use a larger external plastic tank with the 819 than the one that comes with it. It breathes very well at 30 feet. Both AirBuddy and the 819 get to pressure quickly. The 819 is a well built unit and has worked great.. As for longevity, i have only had it out 3 times so i cannot speak to that yet. If you and your wife are diving together why not grab two single regular 819 units? Having some experience with combo diving with the AirBuddy i would recommend that over sharing.
I was looking at the 819 and ran across a bunch of videos shown here. I am not sure these are built very well. You can be the judge. I would not trust it down further than 20ft and I am a certified diver. TRhe fittings look plastic. www.youtube.com/@aquarobo
@@johnrowlette7430 hey John, its a system made in China. I do like the 4 hour 819 because its reasonably priced at $500 ish. I have not had an issue with it. I use most of my own equipment (hose,air tank, regulator) with it though. If bought directly from Aquarobo on there website Eric does offer a 1 year warranty. They also have a warehouse in Texas. I beat mine up pretty bad last year testing that it can be dunked underwater. Still running good. I still cannot speak to longevity on any of the Hookahs i have used because i have only been using them for a couple of seasons.
great video Iffy
Thanks 👍
Hi.good rewiev👍so its possible or not to get spare parts for nomad?
Example like smart reg or hoose gets broken..
Thank you🙂
Thanks! They would need to be replaced by Blu3 at a repair facility.
Had a blue3 nemo. Worked great for about 6 dives and then it shorted out smoke coming out of the unit....yes everything was put together properly...sent it back to Amazon and got a refund..now I see that the Nemo is no longer on Blue 3's website..discontinued? now they have a Nomad minnie? I really liked the unit and was disappointed when it broke so quickly especially at the price point they offer it..may revisit in the future...I know nothing about engineering but the battery under water thing on the nemo and nomad just seems prone to problems.
Yikes! Sorry to hear that. Mine has been good so far.
Wish you had shown the buoy for Nomad. Sounds like it floats on its own which doesn't. Also want to hear both running. Thanks for info.
It sure does float on its own. I dive fresh water and never use it. In salt it would be useful to help prevent capsizing but not completely needed.
Good job Iffy !🎉
Thanks Brian!
Let's go let's go treasure and adventure ... I so want one of these. ✌👵
Lets goooo 🎉
does the noise scare away all the fish? seems very loud underwater.
No, its not bad at all.
If you did - I did not hear it - what type of battery , lead or lithium ?
Thanks
Hi, both at lithium.
@@IffySignals Thanks again
Hey I wanted to have a snuba and I have found dideep snuba and I don’t know if I should buy it.
I have never tried one of those. The Aquarobo 819 is a great model (china made as well) they do have a 3hr one on Amazon for $499.
a.co/d/idSl1OU
@@IffySignals thanks!
Hi Michael, diving depth is very individual in hookah diving as it depends on the diver's breathing rate. Experienced divers typically consume somewhere between 12-18 l/min of air when diving in normal conditions (relaxed dive). But in extreme cases divers can breathe up to 80-90 l/min (for example in panic or fighting with massive current). The depth rating of AirBuddy is calculated at 24 l/min breathing rate. Correct breathing is relaxed, taking in slow and deep breaths. As they teach in OW, "4 seconds to breathe in and 4 seconds to breathe out". In such scenario, you can even achieve greater depths than rated, such as in this video both divers diving at 38 feet and breathing out of one AirBuddy: ruclips.net/video/mSPhTcsH72w/видео.html, i.e. almost twice the rated depth.
Thanks for the feedback. Many factors underwater can make a diver unrelaxed or excited. Being down at depth (we were at 10 feet or less) and hoping the other person stays relaxed so i can continue to breathe is not something I look forward to. I would have questioned (if it was just my Air Buddy) if others have not also mentioned the same feedback.
Air consumption is individual as we explain in FAQ 2-08 on our website. It's about experience, state of mind, level of activity, currents, trim, swimming style, correct weighting, water temperature, etc. In SCUBA it's time that depends on your breathing (and depth is rather limited just by NDL, nitrogen narcosis, oxygen toxicity, etc). Some SCUBA divers breathe more and may run low on air in 15-20min, whereas some others in the same group (same tank size, same depth profile, same conditions) will last 50-60min. When diving with AirBuddy your time is fixed to about 55+10 min, but the depth is variable as it depends on your air consumption vs. air supply. If you read the diver groups you will find all kind of people. Those who couldn't comfortably reach the depth as well as those who have significantly exceeded the rating (which is not recommended) and been diving to 60ft as single divers or 35&35ft as buddy divers (with two long hoses). So is the nature of hookah diving.
@@DivingEasier thanks for the info. We are two that couldn’t with the Air Buddy. Id like to say we were pretty relaxed at the time.. but like you mentioned air consumption is individual and bringing another individual into Air Buddy’s air supply simply did not work for us. All i heard for the rest of the day was that i tried to kill her haha 😆. Single diver it works great.
Very nice review. I know this review is about a month old but I had a question. I noticed on one of your other videos, you adapted your hookah system to a scuba bcd & inflator. I am curious when you and your wife were having “trouble” breathing if the two of you were using the scuba bcd and regulator or if you were using the AirBuddy vest and regulators.
@@BassAngler2718 hey, we were just using the air buddy combo pack, vest and regulators provided by AirBuddy, no bcd’s. Each had the 20 foot line hooked up to the Air Buddy. We took it to FL on a trip and it was our second combo dive that we noticed the lack of air issue. Day 1 was good , we did not have weights on and stayed on the surface, basically snorkeling but with the Air Buddy. Day 2 was when we rented weights to dive a reef with some cannons. That was when we had the lack of air issues. Air Buddy with one diver provides plenty of air. Either me or my wife was an air hog and the air buddy could not keep up.
👍👍
Thanks
I would be great if the nomad had a internal microprocessor like an ESP and share the battery condition and charge status to a "smart dive watch".
That would be a nice fail-safe device and also they should look for a float-able additional power packs in order to hook 3 or 4 batteries at once and thus no battery-changing during a scuba session.
Do you guys bring additional batteries on paddle board or go to shore for battery change.
Let me know in the comments.
Cool ideas, i have floated a battery with me to swap on the Nomad a few times. Mainly when i am alone and do not want a battery or a backpack sitting alone on shore. Definitely would not try that with the Air Buddy.
I work on aerospace industry and i can use sealants that normally perform in extreme situations so would be a walk in the park for Aeronautic sealing mastic PR1782 to isolate the batteries.
If it isolate a fuel tank on a A320 also can isolate a mini battery (mini compared on a A320 :)
Also i can use the aerospace 3M structural bonding glue that when dry is harder than steal with minimum weight, poured on a silicone case mold to make the battery case or a "dummy" case that only had to have the same 4pin connector as OEM battery but just as way of connect in a sort of OEM look the "extender" or "external" powerpack on his own floater.
I will try to sort some things in 3D design, so hope to have news on this soon.....
Maybe a Nomad floating device case (a empty Nomad per say) copy just to hold the new powerpack.
Just for me to calculate things how many amp/h and voltage is Nomad battery?
Assumining a media time of 1h dive time with 1 battery what would be a good Amp/h for 6h scuba?
Just an idea for blu3 R&D team to dive in!
Terrific job comparing the two. It's obvious you know what you are doing and saying. Are ye lookin for gold? I have some old treasure maps.
Thanks John, I look for everything. I live in RI and have lakes around me that powered our towns old mills, great for metal detecting and also loaded with old bottles. What areas are your maps from?
Key West, my brother in law got them some how. @@IffySignals
It's more expensive by quite a bit, but any comparison or experience with the brownie Sea Lion / VS system - if you have several people you end up with multiple Nomads vs. possibly one VS system and then longer run time if solo (it says 3-4 hours). It's quite a bit heavier and bulkier though. Just wondered if you've ever used. Thanks so much for the very informative video you seemed very fair and balanced on pros and cons of both.
I would really like to try the Sea Lion. Looks like an awesome setup. Way out of my price range. Thanks for the feedback! Happy New Year!
Y don’t u like or mention the Brownie? More hose and down time?
I don’t have it. Not as portable for me. Im sure its a great setup.
Qual o preço?
Both around $1500-$1700 depending on the package you purchase.
Price difference is ONLY $100?
Yea, really comes down to shipping.
It’s sad, hookah diving is dangerous if you have no clue about diving. When u get bent or injury you’ll regret it. Companies need to make users aware.
I definitely recommend getting certified before doing any diving. You learn safety measures that are needed even when hookah diving. Plus the classes are allot of fun. Different options out there but my wife and I chose PADI.
Cant get bent at 20-30 feet.
👍👍
👍