What Exactly is the HUB?
According to Mares, the acronym HUB stands for Human Underwater Breathing. I must be mentally challenged because how that acronym relates to the uniqueness of this product is beyond me.
From a distance, the HUB looks much like a standard jacket-style BC — albeit an unusually large and bulky one (can we say “drag,” boy and girls?). Much of the bulk is due to the unusually large pockets on the right and left sides of the jacket. These pockets contain the primary and alternate-air-source second stages, and the instrument console (the balance of the regulator is built into the jacket itself).
What’s missing from the HUB is a conventional BC inflation mechanism. Instead, the HUB uses a proprietary system that employs separate inflation and dump mechanisms, located in non-standard places.
Admittedly, the inflation mechanism found on most BCs is a leftover from the days when a BC power inflator was an after-market add-on to BCs that came standard with just an oral inflator. There is no particular benefit to this configuration — except for the fact every diver knows what it is and how it works.
So, is the fact the HUB employs a non-standard inflator a problem? Imagine, for a second, that you are attempting to assist a struggling diver who happens to be wearing a HUB. Would you know how to locate and use the power inflator? Could you orally inflate the BC if need be? (Hint: The oral inflator is a thin tube that is normally rolled up and zipped inside the left pocket. That’s going to be real easy for a would-be rescuer to find, isn’t it?)
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