lamont
Contributor
Has re-stowage ever been the "defining criterion?"
Who ever suggested that restowing the hose without assistance is a significant consideration? I must have missed the memo.
George made it a big deal.
Problem is that if you have a gas access issue back in a cave at a gas switch (in technical diving most OOA donations should be gas access issues, not gas loss issues), then you will absolutely need to get the long hose stowed properly -- quickly and easily -- or else you risk catching it and slowing down your exist (possibly cutting it) or you waste time and possibly risk silting as your buddy assists in restuffing the long hose.
Also, if you're in a three man team and one buddy does have an OOA/gas-loss issue back in a cave you'd want to switch off on the exit so as not to balance the gas consumption on the exit.
If you google george/trey irvine and "stuffing the long hose" you should find his rants...
...
Still, the long hose is *the* fastest and best way to deliver gas to an OOA diver, which is the really bizzare reason for their rationale in choosing stuffing the long hose and putting it in the triangle because that is "easier to deploy".
Having tried to save someone who blew their lungs secondary to a failed attempt to donate an octopus secured in the triangle, and therefore seen an actual fatality where the octo gear config was involved and failed to deploy, what I like most about donating the primary is that the *mouth* is a fantastically designed quick-release that:
- always releases when you need to donate and never gets stuck in your mouth like an octo can get stuck in a holder
- if it ever pops out of your mouth, the diver will immediately be "notified" of that issue and will be *highly* incentivized to fix their gear config, and the long hose config is absolutely immune to the problem of the primary unintentionally falling out of his holder and trailing behind the diver, spewing bubbles...