 Older
divers will remember the nostalgic days of
the original twin house regulator and anybody
who used to watch the Jacques Cousteau Saga’s
on television will be familiar with it.
The
good news is, an old legend is back in town
and better then ever – The Mistral Returns!
The new "Mistral," is a modern version
of the original Mistral regulator created
in 1958 by Aqua Lung founder Jacques Cousteau.
The
original Mistral was named after the northerly
winds that blow toward the Mediterranean coast
of southern France and was used extensively
by the U.S. and French navies.
Popularized
by Mike Nelson of the 60s TV show, Sea Hunt,
double hose regulators use two corrugated
hoses that wrap around a divers head; a right
one for inhalation and a left one for exhalation.
While the old Mistral was state-of-the-art
and highly successful in its day, it sadly
went the way of most double hose regulators
and got replaced with the modern single hose
regulators that scuba divers use today.
 ’Divers
miss the many benefits of the double house
regulators - plus, they're nostalgic for scuba
equipment from the early days,’ said
Don Rockwell, President of Aqua Lung America.
‘So we combined the best features of
the old double hose regulator - including
having the bubbles come out from behind the
diver's head and not obstructing the field
of vision - and updated it with new modern
regulator technology.’
With the single hose design, a diver has a
small diameter hose coming over his right
shoulder for inhalation, and exhalation comes
out of the mouthpiece in the form of bubbles,
obstructing the diver's view.
The
updated product will appeal to underwater
photographers, videographers, ice divers,
commercial divers, military divers, search
and rescue divers, scientific divers, and
an older generation of divers nostalgic for
the 'good old diving days.’Double hose
regulators also perform very well in icy waters
where single hose designs could freeze up
and quit working.
This is because the diver's humid exhalation
doesn't pass over the moving parts of the
regulator, which could cause ice crystals
to form.
The new Mistral, while at first offering a
nostalgic appeal, incorporates all the developments
and refinements of a modern regulator and
allows today’s diving in complete safety.
With its multiple MP and HP ports the diver
can connect the full range of peripheral elements:
octopus, submersible pressure gauge, BC and
dry suit inflators. The Mistral first stage
can be supplied with either a 232 bar yoke
fitting, a DIN 300 bar fitting or with Nitrox/O2
M26x2 to allow the full range of configuration.
The Mistral, based on a well-known tried and
tested design, will be easy to maintain in
complete safety. Its first stage is based
on the highly regarded Titan Regulator. This
makes routine servicing easy and available
worldwide.
The Aqua Lung Mistral is the first modern
twin hose regulator to pass the draconian
tests for the European Standards EN 250, EN
144-3 and EN 13949.
To
commemorate this diving industry landmark,
Aqua Lung is releasing 500 limited editions
of the Mistral. The Mistral will come in a
sophisticated hardwood case with a beautiful
PVD finish. The Limited Editions carry a unique
serial number and a Certificate of Authenticity
signed by the President of Aqua Lung.
Key Features:
•
Bubbles exhaust behind the diver – No
more bubble interference - great for photographers
• Superior resistance to freeze-up –
The second stage is not exposed to exhalation
humidity
• Dry Sealed first stage and second
stage – Makes this the ideal regulator
for extreme cold or polluted environments
• Breathing performance is better than
old style double hose regulators – The
benefits of a double hose regulator with better
breathing characteristics
• Easy adjustment of mouthpiece orientation
Improves comfort
• Easy flow hose design with non return
valves Keeps airway drier
• Comfo Bite Mouthpiece Eliminates jaw
fatigue
• Nitrox 40% compatib
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Innovations: