Resort's " New Normal " Rule - No AIR 2 or diving your long hose

[Gareth J]

Weird, my atomic ss1 breathes very much like my other atomic regs at depth. Like other regs, there are some air2s that breath great and there are some that breath poorly.

Also, if you're the casualty in a rescue scenario, the use of an air 2 is totally transparent to you. Unless you guys over there are training that the air2 is donated, in which case, this is a training problem, not an equipment problem.

Whilst the BSAC don't teach primary take. That isn't really an issue, I've trained with enough agencies to have done both primary take and secondary donate.
If your buddy only has an AIR2 and doesn't anticipate or has an issue, you may be forced into using the AIR2, so you better learn how to use it incase it's the only thing available in your hour of need.

I have limited experience of AIR2's, I've used them in training. I had one on the CCR during training and on my unit before I swapped it out for a dedicated regulator. Didn't enjoy breathing from them at depth, at least on the CCR below 20m I was always carrying a bailout stage.
I found during rescue drills that my head movement felt restricted, and the 'casualty' was far too close for comfort when they where using my primary regulator. Not something I would like to do 'for real' especially in a restricted environment like a wreck.
One of the nice things about the long hose is that you can give yourself some space if the casualty is panicking, not viable when on an air2. (It's also the nice thing about a bailiff stage, you can sort the casualty out with gas then hand off the complete stage which is nice).

 

[saxman242]

not viable when on an air2.

How does an air2 effect the length of your primary reg hose?


I 100% agree than an air 2 is not a suitable tool for a wreck penetration dive, but then I also don't think a standard octo on a 40" hose is the right tool for that either.

 

[formernuke]

This seems the logical adaptation to me. Good for the economy too.

Yup have to buy a reg set, the pony, training on it, then pay extra baggage fees if flying, then for a lot of people pay for vis and reassembly at each point.... lots of business for several organizations.

 

[Gareth J]

How does an air2 effect the length of your primary reg hose?

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Yes, you could change the primary reg hose length for a longer hose. Not what I experienced in the states though.

Those I mainly dive with are probably disproportional. A large number from the same branch (club). We dive 12 month's of the year in the UK, so cold, dark, water, often with poor visibility. Only dive as buddy pairs, never with a DM, never as follow the leader. Although it shouldn't happen, we dive with an expectation that it's not that unlikely that you could separate from your buddy, so you need to be self reliant. The basic kit is either 12litre + 3 litre pony, or twinset, so all divers have a fully independent bailout.

 

[scubadada]

I'm in sidemount. I can take care of myself. Don't assign me a buddy. Problem solved.

Have you been to Bonaire? Have you done any boat dives? Whether you are diving on your own or with the guide, close or loose, you are on a supervised activity.

Of course, it is very easy on Bonaire to have no supervised activities, just do shore dives for all of you activities

 

[-JD-]

This seems the logical adaptation to me. Good for the economy too.

Yup have to buy a reg set, the pony, training on it, then pay extra baggage fees if flying, then for a lot of people pay for vis and reassembly at each point.... lots of business for several organizations.

Flying with a bottle is an annoyance The whole point is making the ponys "standard" and readily available at the destination. I'd be happy to bring my own reg and preferred mounting HW and pay the DiveOp $10 a week for the filled pony. That pony-reg is also my backup/parts if there is an issue with my "main" reg. (then rent a pony-reg if required).

Lets say a DiveOp gets an effective 30 rental weeks out of a pony or $300. That should pretty much cover the acquisition, fills and maintenance. The next 4 years, it is mostly profit. Sell them off when the hydro is due. They may need to keep a couple bank cylinders around for top-ups and the (unusual) refill if they farm out cylinder fills.

IMO, pony training should be SOP as part of OW anyway, but it is not much more complex than showing an un-exposed diver how to use a weight-integrated BC.

 

[scubadada]

Guys. It’s irrelevant if you like Air 2’s or not. The question is whether primary donate poses enough of a general risk to divers for dive ops to mandate gear configurations. As pointed out by many, and in my opinion, the answer is no. It IS a suitable question between buddies.

Inflator/regulator combos are quite common, perhaps only in the US, I don't know Resort's " New Normal " Rule - No AIR 2 or diving your long hose To prohibit diving with this configuration has serious ramifications. The easiest way to deal with it would be to add a 2nd, octo reg to you configuration to be able to dive with Buddy Dive in Bonaire. This is beyond the work I would go to in order to dive with this operator.

 

[uncfnp]

Inflator/regulator combos are quite common, perhaps only in the US, I don't know Resort's " New Normal " Rule - No AIR 2 or diving your long hose To prohibit diving with this configuration has serious ramifications. The easiest way to deal with it would be to add a 2nd, octo reg to you configuration to be able to dive with Buddy Dive in Bonaire. This is beyond the work I would go to in order to dive with this operator.

And defeats the point of diving Air 2 configurations.

All this just validates my choice to only shore dive Bonaire

Someone might just want to share a link to this thread with Buddy Dive. I believe threads on SB have been known to have positive impact on dive ops/shops/agencies in the past.

 

[johndiver999]

exactly, primary donate is not common anywhere, except SB.

I think you are mistaken. Air 2's and similar devices are rather common in many recreational settings. Perhaps you are unaware of that situation. A good percentage of people who use scuba Pro Bc's use them - based on my causal observations.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Have you been to Bonaire? Have you done any boat dives? Whether you are diving on your own or with the guide, close or loose, you are on a supervised activity.

Of course, it is very easy on Bonaire to have no supervised activities, just do shore dives for all of you activities

I have not been to Bonaire. I have been boat diving in a number of places, where what I suggest has been acceptable to all boat captains.