Left handed?

[T Mogle]

Any left-handed divers out there?

I am 100% left-handed; I play football with my left foot. At school in the mid-70s tried to force me to use my right hand when I wrote. It did not go down well. I am a newbie to diving, just started on my certification. Not really newbie; Did plenty of snorkelling in my youth and some diving with older friends in my childhood.

Everything I do, I want to do well, and most of the time I am a perfectionist. It is all or nothing.

Back to diving! Do I set up my equipment left handed? Forget renting. I do think I know what will work for me. Planning as set up with; Hardness, wing, twin-tanks, (might have to go for a single tank until I got my first certification.) My prospect PADI instructor told me I must start with a single tank. I can reluctant to understand that, anyway he is the pro.

Was thinking of getting a small set of twin-tanks. 2x 7 litre 300 BIN. Moving forward I will quickly start with some solo dives.

Back to my question; Will left-handed diver set their equipment up lefthanded? I just know with myself – after 50 years I am 100% left-handed, there is nothing I can do. In a critical situation, I know for a fact that I will instantly react “lefthanded”. As a person, I stay unusual calm in critical situations. It probably goes back to my time as an instructor in the air-force and my time in the ski patrol in the alps. Often been alone in critical situations and been the one that has to take action and to help others. Nothing agents the buddy-system – but you need to find the right buddy.

 

[AJ]

Diving doubles is both hands. I'am right handed but have my light on teh left. I turn my left valve with left. I wear my stage left. I don't think it's a problem. Just try and see how it goes.

 

[T Mogle]

Been looking at different horseshoe wings and hardness, the inflator is always fitted on the left. Could get a double wing, and disconnect on the left...

 

[1atm]

IMHO there is no reason at all to set up anything differently. In recreational diving you don’t really need much hands, and in tech diving you sometimes need both hands. Not much difference in dexterity required between the different hands. I have never seen a “left handed” setup, and thinking about it now, I would have no idea what I would change if I were left handed.

Besides, once you go tech, you might end up with a system that benefits from standardization with your buddies. Not everyone might agree, but you’ll figure that out once you get there.

 

[1atm]

Been looking at different horseshoe wings and hardness, the inflator is always fitted on the left. Could get a double wing, and disconnect on the left...

You can inflate with either hand, doesn’t matter where the inflator is. You can only deflate with the left hand, but if anything it’s a bonus for you as a lefty, because in recreational diving the right hand doesn’t have any job/doesn’t have any equipment to manipulate.

 

[T Mogle]

You can inflate with either hand, doesn’t matter where the inflator is. You can only deflate with the left hand, but if anything it’s a bonus for you as a lefty, because in recreational diving the right hand doesn’t have any job/doesn’t have any equipment to manipulate.

When you inflate, I would think you use your right hand 80-99% of the time?

 

[rhwestfall]

I am left handed, and follow all the "norms" of configuration without any issue.

YMMV

 

[rhwestfall]

When you inflate, I would think you use your right hand 80-99% of the time?

nope

 

[1atm]

When you inflate, I would think you use your right hand 80-99% of the time?

No. You can use either hand, it makes zero difference.

In recreational diving I would always use my left to inflate. In Tech diving I usually use the right hand, but only because the light is in my left hand and I am sometimes too lazy to swap the light to the right just to inflate. But really, to inflate it makes no difference.

 

[1atm]

To illustrate for you: if you are physiologically able to touch your left nipple with either hand, then it doesn’t matter. If you cannot touch your left nipple with one of your hands, then you might have to think. But in that case I’d imagine you have a different issue at hand <pun>