Spare Air: some thoughts

[Tanked]

There were not two divers who misinterpreted my comment ... there was one admitted "nit picker" who knew better (and acknowledged it) and another who was not confused either, only somewhat anal retentive.

Anal retentive? I assume your talking about me. I wasn't being anal, I (as i admitted earlier) simply misinterpreted your comment.

Thal not only refuses to acknowledge that he used very poor wording that can and already has confused others as per posts on this thread by several newbie divers.

Did I just get called a newbie?

 

[BrotherBear]

OK, now that I've let myself be drawn in from my usual lurking posture...and pardon me if I break ettiquette and post on topic...I think the OP missed a category in the Spare Air Dismissers, I don't know how best to label them.

There seems to be a camp that doesn't believe in The Unpredictable, they believe there is actually no such thing. They say that if you are well trained and well practiced you will be ready for anything and NEVER need a redundant air source. By definition The Unpredictable is something you cannot train for and cannot practice for because...anyone? anyone? Bueller?...you could not have predicted it! If you reply with an example of a problem scenario and how you would handle it then you aren't listening From my outsiders point of view it looks like this category of diver has gotten so wrapped up in touting safety through proper training that they are now confusing risk reduction with risk removal and seem to think they're bullet proof.

How do I respond to the Unbeliver in The Unpredictable?

Well, I'm not a hugely experienced diver but I have been on earth for over 50 years and one thing that has kept me alive and whole is acknowledging that The Unpredictable exists and being forever on the lookout for it. I've been called paranoid and endured the pointing and laughing of the Unbeliever because I'll carry a full pack for wilderness survival on an easy 5 mile hike. Once in a while I get a sheepish apology and a request for assistance when The Unpredictable shows up on the trail.

I believe that those who deny The Unpredictable are usually stubbornly ignorant (it can't happen to ME because I'm just that good) or inexperienced enough to think they can beat The Unpredictable no matter what. Of course there are those sainted souls who walk around with a horseshoe carefully tucked away where the sun don't shine...but they are few and far between.

What in the hell does this new guy think he's talking about anyway?

To me at my inexperienced level carrying fully redundant spare gas sounds like a reasonable thing for a diver to choose to do. It may well be that 99.9999% of divers never ever need it, but if The Unpredictable shows up on a dive that I'M on and turns me or someone I'm with into that .0001% whose life would be saved by 15-30 breaths of air, then I don't want anyone to get hurt or get dead (least of all me) because my training said I would PROBABLY never need this piece of safety gear that was relatively easy to obtain and carry. That's my choice and no one else's. Crap, I keep hearing about divers carrying a spare MASK in their BCD and no one blinks an eye! Mention that you want to carry a couple of breaths of air in case you become the one in a million that needs it and you end up with a 25+ page thread in a few days!!
Personally I would like to see the Unbelievers in The Unpredictable go explain to the survivors of Mr. Dead .0001% that they believe he was right to not carry spare air even though it cost him his life and, had someone offered it to him before his last dive, they would have worked their brains out to talk him out of it.

Oh, one other thing. Some in the camp of the Unbelivers of The Unpredictable have said that it's more dangerous to carry spare gas because it will make you (read: me) a sloppier diver who will take more unecessary chances.
Well someone also once said that we went the wrong way in making cars ever safer, that the roads would be far less dangerous if the driver were strapped to the front bumper with nothing more than a plastic windshield for protection (us bikers find this funny). I think of this as the "more chlorine in the gene pool" theory and kind of like it, as a general concept. However I like my nice safe car and am still a careful driver...I think if the levels of energy and commitment were spent arguing against spare air were invested in helping us newbies learn to be better and more confident divers (as they suggest) then we'd all be that much better off...I'm sure the use of SA and learning better diving aren't mutually exclusive.

Lastly, I apologize in advance if this rambling doesn't make sense, , these long winded missives often sound better in my head than any other format

Lately, the flame-festival de jour has been the Spare Air vs Pony vs true redundancy debate. Just the mention of Spare Air in a thread title has been enough to evoke a ghoulish spectator response, making one peer within the thread, because they seem to inevitably degenerate to name calling and insults.

Usually, these two quotes (although baldly put) seem to polarize the two camps:







Something that’s been lacking is some understanding... understanding of what generated these thoughts in the first place.



The Spare-Air dismissers

It’s a generalization, but the majority of posters I’ve seen in this camp are generally very experienced. They have extensive, precise training, and routinely dive well beyond the No Decompression Limits, or, under a hard overhead barrier.

These divers have experienced the visceral enormity of what overhead-restricted means. There is nothing like your first deco dive, and arriving at your 10’ stop (usually cold and tired); and while looking at the surface, realizing the sudden finality of how you can NOT go there without grave peril. Such a short distance – but, forbidden, and 10 minutes away. This first experience is forever life (and viewpoint) altering. Mine was 30 years ago, and I remember it as if it was yesterday.

Even the most experienced, 20-year worldwide recreational diver cannot understand this shattering change in viewpoint. They may understand it intellectually – but not in their gut. This is truly something that has to be experienced before it is understood.

Thus, these divers think in terms of true redundancy. If a procedure will not give them a 100% chance of waiting out that 10’ stop, then it isn’t worthy of use. Commonly heard is “Two is one, and one is none”. The thought of relying on “thirty breaths” in the overhead environment is ludicrous, and that forever-hardwired thought process spills over into the forum discussions.




The Spare-Air supporters

Again, it’s a generalization, but the majority of posters in this camp either have extensive recreational experience, or, are very low time in the sport.

The ones who are very low time have been let down by the educational process in diving today. Air shares and emergencies are, for the most part, covered and drilled just enough to pass the final (all too soon) skills exam. These skills haven’t been drilled and covered until they are second nature. Plus, they do not have the finely-honed buddy awareness that would support resolution of an emergency. Thus the low-time diver has no innate confidence that the air-share will really work, and they want something that gives them a warm fuzzy. Thirty breaths is better than none, and so they look to the Spare Air.

The experienced recreational diver is the exact opposite. They have the time in the water to be calm and handle practically any issue. To these seasoned divers, thirty breaths is more than enough to resolve a problem and make it to the surface in a leisurely way. Given the questionable skills of an insta-buddy, and small size of a Spare Air, it is for them a compact answer for self dependency.





The Spare Air is a tool. Every tool has advantages and disadvantages. There are situations that I would consider one myself, and many where I would not, but my decision would be made on my needs.


All the best, James

 

[DCBC]

To me at my inexperienced level carrying fully redundant spare gas sounds like a reasonable thing for a diver to choose to do.

Thanks BrotherBear. It seems at times that some so called "experienced" divers become so focused on themselves and their equipment choices that they forget what may be practical for others.

I support your choice of having a Spare Air. I gave one to each of my 3 sons when I certified each of them and use one myself on some dives. Part of the training process should be to learn to equip yourself with the appropriate equipment for the dive planned. Prevention can often make a big difference.

I believe sometimes it's an ego thing. My pony is bigger and better than your Spare Air so yours is useless. I dive doubles, so your less of a diver than I am. Some recreational divers believe that the equipment you use has something to do with a person's competence to use it. Nothing is further from the truth; it's laughable at times.

I think it's safe to say that I have undertaken more training than many of the divers on this board, yet I own a Spare Air. It's just another piece of equipment that from past experience has been valuable for me to take on some dives.

We each have equipment choices to make and I'm opposed to someone else telling you what you should or should not use (unless it presents a direct hazard to the user). Thanks for your post.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

NVM. This thread has reached rock bottom and begun to dig. I'm plonking it.

 

[BodenseeDiver]

for what do you need a Spare Air???
(That's) bull**** for Diver`s

 

[Blackwood]

OK, now that I've let myself be drawn in from my usual lurking posture...and pardon me if I break ettiquette and post on topic...I think the OP missed a category in the Spare Air Dismissers, I don't know how best to label them.

There seems to be a camp that doesn't believe in The Unpredictable, they believe there is actually no such thing. They say that if you are well trained and well practiced you will be ready for anything and NEVER need a redundant air source.

I'm not sure I've ever seen evidence of that group. Rather, I think what the vast majority of people who don't like Spare Air think is that in a situation where redundant gas is needed, a Spare Air doesn't contain enough.

That's a debatable point (as is evident by multitudes of posts on this and other forums), but IMO that's where the discussion usually hinges.

Not: Gunshot Wound is to Bulletproof Vest as OOG is to Spare Air, but rather: Gunshot Wound is to Heavy Sweater as OOG is to Spare Air. Or something like that.

Then of course the cost issue comes into play (i.e. pony bottle versus spare air), and then the travel issues comes into play.

But in all the threads I've read, I've never noticed a minority community which claims imperviousness.

 

[BrotherBear]

For winter cyber-diving in bottomless holes?
For attracting opinionated posters like flypaper?
For forever baffling the truly sanguine readers as why those who "hate these threads" keep opening them, reading them, and responding to them rather than just ignoring them.

for what do you need a Spare Air???
(That's) bull**** for Diver`s

 

[BrotherBear]

But in all the threads I've read, I've never noticed a minority community which claims imperviousness.

My experience is that the Unbelievers in The Unpredictable never identify themselves as being invincible, just ready for anything...literally anything.

 

[DCBC]

I think what the vast majority of people who don't like Spare Air think is that in a situation where redundant gas is needed, a Spare Air doesn't contain enough.

You make an excellent point! I would argue that:

a) In an OOA (or regulator failure) situation in a unrestricted environment (no overhead),

b) Where your buddy isn't immediately available, and

c) Where the diver may have to do a free-ascent (CESA) in a NDD situation,

Spare air may be as effective as a Pony Bottle.

In such a scenario, the Diver only needs to ascend to the surface. From a depth of 60' this will take approximately 2 to 3 minutes if done by the book. Borrowing a Navy term, this may be not within the free-ascent target range (FATR) of a novice Diver (or many advanced ones I've come to know).

If you require 2 to 3 minutes of air and you cannot accomplish a free ascent from this depth, a Spare Air could provide you with all the air you need to do this. A Pony is not needed for this scenario.

If the diver in-question sticks the Spare Air in his mouth and does a free ascent / CESA exhaling, only taking a breath when it's required, s/he could accomplish an ascent from a much greater depth.

Personally, I would feel comfortable to do a free ascent to the first stage from a depth of 300' with a Spare Air. I do not ever need a Pony. That said, this is not within the design specifications of the Spare Air device. I mention this to emphasize a point. In an emergency you only need enough air to either get you to the surface or to a staged cylinder. When I dive deep using multiple gases, I have other cylinders. Again I don't use a Pony. I don't however criticize others for using them; that's their call not mine.

 

[Thalassamania]

You make an excellent point! I would argue that:

a) In an OOA (or regulator failure) situation in a unrestricted environment (no overhead),

b) Where your buddy isn't immediately available, and

c) Where the diver may have to do a free-ascent (CESA) in a NDD situation,

Spare air may be as effective as a Pony Bottle.
...

What you say is true, if and only if you feel it necessary to maintain an emergency ascent rate that is under 60FPM. I am comfortable with a 60FPM emergency ascent rate so the FATR of a competent diver should cover any assistance that a Spare Air might provide down to 130 (or so) and that FATR grades into the lower capability of a small pony.

Sure, this gets into the details of what is a "competent diver" and such ... but that's an entirely different discussion and by definition, a Spare Air becomes the classic, "equipment solution to a skill problem."

As to my own actual preferences: If I need a redundant gas supply I prefer doubles; but at a minimum, I'd use a slung 40.