Spare Air: some thoughts

[Herk_Man]

True, they do fill them off of their tank - the first time - and then use it for however long they need to. So, on the first dive, it is a wash, but the second (and subsequent dives over a defined period) it is just that pinch more air to provide that one or more breath that may be needed.

I happen to agree that it is a tool that can be useful in some situations and not so useful in others.

These analogies and metaphors are great though. Keep em coming.

It's a wash as far as total air available, but it's not a wash as far as how much is available when you suddenly realize your primary is empty!

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

Let me see if I understand the argument for SpareAir so I will know whether to buy one for myself. A SpareAir is "Better than Nothing" for me provided that:

• I refuse to go to the trouble of purchasing or renting fully redundant gas equipment such as doubles;
• I refuse to purchase and carry a pony bottle;
• I refuse to sit out any dive where I don't trust my so-called buddy, and I refuse to restrict myself to diving with trusted buddies;
• I refuse to restrict myself to dives where I feel comfortable executing a CESA should I find myself unable to access my gas and alone at the same time;
• I refuse to follow the DM or guide around and rely on their gas and/or I refuse to dive with a DM or guide I can trust.

Given all these things I refuse to do of my own choice and volition, a SpareAir is better than nothing, is that correct?

 

[idocsteve]

Let me see if I understand the argument for SpareAir so I will know whether to buy one for myself. A SpareAir is "Better than Nothing" for me provided that:

• I refuse to go to the trouble of purchasing or renting fully redundant gas equipment such as doubles;
• I refuse to purchase and carry a pony bottle;
• I refuse to sit out any dive where I don't trust my so-called buddy, and I refuse to restrict myself to diving with trusted buddies;
• I refuse to restrict myself to dives where I feel comfortable executing a CESA should I find myself unable to access my gas and alone at the same time;
• I refuse to follow the DM or guide around and rely on their gas and/or I refuse to dive with a DM or guide I can trust.

Given all these things I refuse to do of my own choice and volition, a SpareAir is better than nothing, is that correct?

Sort of. Your wording is poor and your premise is flawed because you start with the assumption that if all those conditions are met, a Spare Air is at best "better than nothing" when in fact the argument is whether or not Spare Air is a useful tool.

Doubles or a pony bottle are far superior options to a Spare Air, that much is beyond debate. The question is whether or not for any individual diver if those pieces of gear are worth the additional expense and the work involved in carrying them.

Regarding diving with buddies, that too is a controversial and highly debated issue which has probably filled more threads than the Spare Air controversy. Some divers such as myself prefer to solo dive rather than be hooked up with an "instabuddy" of unknown skills who might be more of a liability than an asset. Of course solo diving requires redundancy. I personally would not rely on a Spare Air (although I did at one time) but some divers just might. Again, it's risk vs benefit.

Most if not all divers are going to restrict themselves to depths from which they know they can safely perform an emergency ascent, to suggest that a diver do such a thing is bordering on the ludicrous, as are many posts on this very thread. Diving is a sport that has inherent risks, as with BASE jumping or high diving, or sky diving for example...if you don't want to pay, then you don't play.

Some divers are not the least bit interested in "following a Divemaster around" nor would they blindly trust a Divemaster who they know little to nothing about. I know I wouldn't. I prefer to do my own dive unless it's a site that is best seen by a tour with a Divemaster who is knowledgable about that location.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

Sort of. Your wording is poor and your premise is flawed because you start with the assumption that if all those conditions are met, a Spare Air is at best "better than nothing" when in fact the argument is whether or not Spare Air is a useful tool.

No, the argument is not whether X or Y is a "Useful Tool," the argument is given a set of options, which is the best option for a given diver. Or to rephrase it, under which circumstances is SpareAir the best choice for a diver? My point is that it is the best choice for a diver when he chooses not to choose any of the other choices.

I have no problem with you choosing to dive solo or same-ocean-buddy or with divemasters you have just met and do not trust, or anything else. Rock on! But if we choose the SpareAir, we should be honest about the fact that it is the best tool for the job when we decide of our own free will not to employ any of the other tools available.

 

[Herk_Man]

No, the argument is not whether X or Y is a "Useful Tool," the argument is given a set of options, which is the best option for a given diver. Or to rephrase it, under which circumstances is SpareAir the best choice for a diver? My point is that it is the best choice for a diver when he chooses not to choose any of the other choices.

I have no problem with you choosing to dive solo or same-ocean-buddy or with divemasters you have just met and do not trust, or anything else. Rock on! But if we choose the SpareAir, we should be honest about the fact that it is the best tool for the job when we decide of our own free will not to employ any of the other tools available.

No, it's another option should the primary safety outlet you planned to use fails you, or you choose to dive solo. Why do people insist on making a big thing out of this? Why are they so opposed to Spare Air being a viable tool that a diver might choose to use, given the right set of circumstances, to give himself an extra shot at surviving without taking on a large expense or gear hassle. It's an option, it has benefit, it's a choice, so it's good... for some. Leave it alone. Sheesh.

 

[idocsteve]

! But if we choose the SpareAir, we should be honest about the fact that it is the best tool for the job when we decide of our own free will not to employ any of the other tools available.

Agreed.

In fact that's exactly why I carry a 19 cf pony and I am selling my Spare Air on Ebay.

It's not the best tool for the job and I have decided that for me, it's worth the extra expense and hassle of carrying the pony bottle on every dive. But for many other divers, they're just not going to go to the expense and trouble of obtaining, maintaining, and carrying along a pony bottle. The best tool is the one that isn't sitting in the shop.

 

[RJP]

Why do people insist on making a big thing out of this? Why are they so opposed to Spare Air being a viable tool that a diver might choose to use, given the right set of circumstances...

I guess maybe it's sympathy for the subset of folks that fall for the marketing without REALLY knowing what they are getting. The conditional "given the right set of circumstances" part of your post is kind of the crux of it. I used to have a client that marketed a cholesterol drug - it wasn't very effective but it was safe, well tollerated, and cost less than Lipitor, etc. The dirty little secret of our marketing strategy was that the positioning was essentially "Brand X is the cholesterol drug for patients who don't really need a cholesterol drug."

We sold billions!

Forget the tech diver in me, I guess it's the crass marketer in me that has a problem with what is effectively a positioning of Spare Air as "a redundant air supply for people who don't really need a redundant air supply." That or the age old "promote fear, sell hope" aspect of dramatizing a problem and scaring the uninformed into buying your brand.

I'm OK with a someone who's an experienced diver who understands their training and what a SpareAir does and doesn't offer them making an informed decision to buy one. It's the newb who's poorly trained, doesn't know gas management, and buys one on-line thinking "cool - more bottom time" that makes me nervous.

Gotta go do a Scuba Review. Will be sure to emphasize gas planning and CESA!

 

[elan]

That or the age old "promote fear, sell hope" aspect of dramatizing a problem and scaring the uninformed into buying your brand.

It's a kind of the engine of the current economy is not it ?

 

[Diver0001]

It's a kind of the engine of the current economy is not it ?

No, that would be "sell a lie, take away hope and leave the people in fear"....and don't forget to spend the money you swindled to buy a new jet for your get away.

About the spare air. I liked the comment someone made above about it being "a wash" because it didn't change the total amount of air you're carrying assuming you filled it from your main tank. To me that's the crux of the whole discussoin in a nutshell.

I'll spare you the details of my thinking but my conclusion would be:

1) Real world problems exist that can be mitigated by redundancy but
2) In practice very few of those problems and none of the most life threatening problems can be mitigated by the level of redundancy offered by a spare air.

R..

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

or you choose to dive solo. Why do people insist on making a big thing out of this? Why are they so opposed to Spare Air being a viable tool that a diver might choose to use, given the right set of circumstances

I don't know who "they" are. I'm personally fine with this, as long as we are clear about the matter of choosing to use it and being specific about which circumstances are the "right" ones.

Then again, given my experience, I'm obviously a