OP
jh_MacLeod
Contributor
What is one of the major things that you and your buddy do before a dive? If you aren't doing a Pre-dive check with your buddy and going over the topics below then you're always going to have two divers who are expecting different things:
So, with that said, if your weren't practicing this prior to the theft of your primary regulator I am in some way glad you learned a lesson to discuss these things with your buddy prior to the dive.
All said, I don't see a problem with you asking a buddy to use your octo instead of ripping your teeth out for the primary but I also don't see a problem if the diver, in the heat of the moment, forgets that you asked that of them.
We did a standard buddy check before the dive and checked each other's octopuses. I even demonstrated how to release my octopus from the bungee. He was wearing a rented BCD and his octopus hose was folded and secured by sliding it up into a shoulder strap sleave. We didn't discuss the issue in any more detail (but I think the plan was clear to both of us); yet as you said, in the heat of the moment, the octopus was forgotten and he reverted to the core belief that "it's okay to take a reg out of your buddy's mouth". What I learned from this experience, and from the discussion of the issue here on the board, is that, like it or not, I need to be prepared to deal with this kind of behavior.
John