Question Air Hog

[DeepSeaExplorer]

What do you do when your dive buddy is an air hog? Do you share air to extend the dive?

Ah… find another buddy.

Just kidding….

Seriously though, why is he an air hog? Problem might solve itself by doing more dives, while working on proper weighting, trim, buoyancy, etc.

Sharing air to extend the dive is not a good idea. Doesn’t make for a fin dove either.

 

[undrwater]

Actually I think what would work for me is a pony bottle, would help me relax on some of these dive boat operations here in South Florida. Seems silly to me that here in North America we don't have first stage redundancy other than a buddy.

I should take a solo diver class.

Are you thinking stage bottle rather than pony? An independent cylinder to extend your dive? If so, maybe side mount doubles could work.

 

[Boarderguy]

Get a 13 and back mount it. They travel well (small and lightweight) and provide plenty of air to surface with a stop. I have a bracket that stays on my upper cam band and uses 2 pins to hold the pony. I swap tanks and don't concern myself with needing to have brackets on EVERY main tank.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

Are you thinking stage bottle rather than pony? An independent cylinder to extend your dive? If so, maybe side mount doubles could work.

Pony or H-valve to help me relax on local dives. Vacation dIves, after the first day of three dives I’m pretty relaxed for the rest of the week.

edit: shallow reef dives no problem.

Diving the Vandenberg I would like to have a little more redundancy.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

Get a 13 and back mount it. They travel well (small and lightweight) and provide plenty of air to surface with a stop. I have a bracket that stays on my upper cam band and uses 2 pins to hold the pony. I swap tanks and don't concern myself with needing to have brackets on EVERY main tank.

So two 2nd’s one on the main tank and one on your back mount?

 

[Marie13]

Pony or H-valve to help me relax on local dives. Vacation dIves, after the first day of three dives I’m pretty relaxed for the rest of the week.

edit: shallow reef dives no problem.

Diving the Vandenberg I would like to have a little more redundancy.

H valve ain’t going to do squat for you. It’s two regs on the same tank.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

H valve ain’t going to do squat for you. It’s two regs on the same tank.

Still closer to true redundancy.

 

[Marie13]

Still closer to true redundancy.

It’s not. You have an issue with having enough gas. Two regs on the same tank don’t address that issue at all.

Single tank with a decent sized pony, sidemount, or backmount doubles are the only solutions to your not enough gas issue.

 

[Boarderguy]

So two 2nd’s one on the main tank and one on your back mount?

2 fully separate regs. I'm odd and use a 40" primary and Air2. The pony has a 36" yellow line and is clipped to my chest. Donate primary, turn pony on (that's why it's upside down)... I keep it charged and off and feather it on/off throughout the dive and as I descend. I also turn it on when approaching my stops or when my buddy drops below 750.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

It’s not. You have an issue with having enough gas. Two regs on the same tank don’t address that issue at all.

Single tank with a decent sized pony, sidemount, or backmount doubles are the only solutions to your not enough gas issue.

Has to be, if I have a first stage failure no problem. I didn’t say complete redundancy I just said closer to true redundancy.

It is very popular to use h-valves in Europe from what I understand.