Too much gear? Or standardized setup?

[CptTightPants21]

A shallow reef dive in bright daylight and warm, clear water? With a single tank, a can light, and a 7' hose? Makes PERFECT sense! Any OOA diver that approaches you will surely know to wait just a moment, please, while you move the light head to your other hand before you deploy the long hose for their not-drowning convenience, right? (that's how they teach that, right?)

I'm a little confused about what this post is trying to say.

Although I suppose there are some "tech divers" who can't deploy and stow a long hose correctly....so

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'm a little confused about what this post is trying to say.

Although I suppose there are some "tech divers" who can't deploy and stow a long hose correctly....so

... I take it as a knock on GUE from someone who doesn't actually understand what they teach, or why ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[PfcAJ]

A shallow reef dive in bright daylight and warm, clear water? With a single tank, a can light, and a 7' hose? Makes PERFECT sense! Any OOA diver that approaches you will surely know to wait just a moment, please, while you move the light head to your other hand before you deploy the long hose for their not-drowning convenience, right? (that's how they teach that, right?)

You do realized that the entire length of the hose doesn't have to be deployed to share gas, right?

I almost never take doubles or a can light on shallow, bright, clear reef dives.

 

[elgoog]

It's a bonaire dock day dive. Not much need for a light except maybe to look in small holes. No light? No big deal. There are lots of other things to see.

Oh, I totally understand not wanting or needing a light for day dives. There's been dives where I've not turned mine on.

My question/statement was based on this. If you're considering your buddy's light as your backup, to me that means that you do in fact need it. If not, then it's not your backup, it's just their light.
I guess it's just semantics here ...

 

[stuartv]

Not sure if you're being sarcastic here or not but, for my reply below, I'm assuming not.
Clearing the light head, cord, whatever happens after your primary has been donated, the OOG diver has actually started breathing from it and calmed down a bit. In fact, you only start clearing your stuff after the OOG diver has straightened out their equipment.

Well, I was being sarcastic with the first part. I mean, a can light and a 7' hose seems a bit much (as in, unnecessary and added complexity) to adopt as a standard configuration for use on 40' reef dives in warm, clear, well-lit water. That last part was just poking fun, because with normal length hoses and a regular light, there would be not even a question when it came to donating air. Meaning, no worries of hoses and cords becoming intertwined. No worries of the diver donating the air having to give any thought to moving a light around, etc.. it seems to me that those things are (minor) liabilities that technical divers put up with because the benefits are worth it in the types of dives they are doing. But, there is a reason you have to demonstrate proficiency with light handling to get a GUE Tech pass, right? Because it's not so simple, easy, and obvious that the skill can just be assumed, right?

Nobody will ever grab the reg from your mouth and pull a hose tight around your neck if you don't have the hose around your neck at all to start with, right? I dive with a 7' hose on my doubles. I dive that way from boats full of OW divers. I do sometimes have a twinge of worry that someone from my boat (that is not my buddy, whom I am keeping close tabs on) will go OOA and approach me from my left, catch me unaware, yank the reg from my mouth and pull it directly to them, which would result in it being completely wrapped around my neck and being pulled tight. No, I don't lose sleep over it. It's just something I have thought about that *could* happen. The extra complexity/liability of the 7' hose is why I probably would not use one on my single tank reg set. I wouldn't be doing dives in a single tank rig where I'd need a 7' hose - so I wouldn't have one. Which is sort of the theme of this thread, right?

 

[Storker]

I almost never take doubles or a can light on shallow, bright, clear reef dives.

If your only gear is a rec twinset and a can light, that's what you bring to the dive. I've dived with a couple of clubmates who are like that. It's a not very uncommon config around here (perhaps excepting the can light).

 

[stuartv]

If your only gear is a rec twinset and a can light, that's what you bring to the dive. I've dived with a couple of clubmates who are like that. It's a not very uncommon config around here (perhaps excepting the can light).

Right. But, anyone that has a need of a can light probably also has a need for a backup light, too, right? I can totally see doing even shallow reef dives in doubles. That's what I do. I have doubles. I like them. Being a shallow reef is not reason not to use doubles. But, I would not take a can light, even if I had one (for a day dive). And I wouldn't use a 7' hose except that that is what is on my doubles reg set (for use on other types of dives).

 

[Storker]

anyone that has a need of a can light probably also has a need for a backup light, too, right?

Depends. I have a few clubmates who like can lights. Around here, a light is very nice to have, and decent can lights give decent lighting with very nice battery time. Personally, I prefer a non-can light on a soft Goodman, they prefer a can light with a hard Goodman. Should I tell them what they need? I don't think so. But I really don't see any need for a backup light on an OW day dive, even if I really appreciate bringing a decent light on any dive, be it night or day, OW or overhead. So, if my buddy for the day brings a can light, but no backup light, I won't raise even half an eyebrow.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I keep a "standard" rig. By that I mean it's configured to my primary dive location. Which is warm water diving whether local or vacation

For me:

Strobe on the shoulder
Air horn on the inflator
Primary 2m DSMB c/w 50m finger spool in a pocket
Secondary DSMB tucked into the wing spare spool in a second pocket
Reef hook clipped on but stowed in pocket
Small torch in pocket
Small knife on harness and tribolite on computer strap
Large 12' SMB stowed in butt pocket
Generally a pony

If I'm club boat diving them I'll have a lift bag in case I need to re position or send up the anchor.

Twice on vacation off LOB's with a guide I've needed to send up my DSMB and use my air horn to summon the recovery boat and once had to inflate the large SMB as a float to the group (we'd been blown off by a current)

Once dry post dive wash, my gear gets stowed back into the pockets, or box for packing.

If I'm going on vacation I won't take a lift bag, I will take a travel sling so I can rig up a pony at my destination etc, other than that the base gear remains the same.

I have addition gear to standard, Stuff for wreck dives, deco dives perhaps my scooter etc, but these are in addition to my standard set up

I've never been in the water wishing I'd brought something along, I and others however have on a couple of occasions been glad I did

 

[dmaziuk]

I do sometimes have a twinge of worry that someone from my boat (that is not my buddy, whom I am keeping close tabs on) will go OOA and approach me from my left, catch me unaware, yank the reg from my mouth and pull it directly to them, which would result in it being completely wrapped around my neck and being pulled tight.

Spin out of it, whack 'em on the chin with your 1st stages, and turn the whole thing into a drowned diver rescue.

To the OP: I carry a bunch of junk in my mesh bag, but it mostly stays under the bench on the boat. On Bonaire it mostly stays under the seat and/or cylinders in the truck.