Octo on left or right?

[John_B]

So Primary right, drysuit right, BC left, octo left for the LP stuff. Works quite nicely on most of the setups ive seen.

Ahhhh, OK I could see that. I was trying to get my brain around how you would have three LP hoses off the left, but obviously that's not the case.

 

[Standingbear56]

Edit:- I'd never seen an octopus on the right setup until i started going abroad, in the UK at least octo left is by far the most common. Having seen and tried both methods i will always teach octo left whether its BSAC or PADI as i think its the best system. Both work but the left in my view has advantages over right. That said, when im diving for myself as opposed to teaching i use primary donate/long hose which i believe is the best method of the lot.[/QUOTE]

One crazy question - why would you teach one method, yet use another method which you consider superior? I'm not bashing you, I teach donating the long hose primary, octo on necklace also. But it's also the same configuration I use anytime I dive. Why teach a technique you consider inferior?
Safe Diving,
George

 

[String]

One crazy question - why would you teach one method, yet use another method which you consider superior?

No its a sensible question and my answer is unfortunately simple. BSAC do not allow primary donation to be taught at an entry level (for "non experienced divers" in their wording) and its against their safe dive practices to do so. That means i HAVE to teach a more standard setup (although i mention the alternatives and when the students dive with me outside a course they see my normal setup).
In an ideal world i'd be allowed to teach my preferred method.

 

[Sideband]

Then speaking to the LDS again, he says well what if your 150 yds from the boat and you need to swim back. he said you don't want to surface that far from the boat and you can't swim facing each other. He also said trying to make a controled accent hanging on to each other is a hard thing to do.
Tom

This is the part I am having trouble with. I hope he isn't an instructor.

 

[tomboyy]

This is the part I am having trouble with. I hope he isn't an instructor.

Yes he is

Tom

 

[tomboyy]

Tom, You are new diver and good for you for seeking advice here. However, as you see the opinions vary. So munch so that it appears either side works.

My 2psi.
Do you have available LP ports on each side of your first stage? Do you dive dry? Plan to? More importantly, do you have a regular buddy and if so then it really does not matter. If you are diving with new buddies, I suspect most have the Otco on the right side. I’d put it there to reduce confusion.

1) yes 2 lp ports oneach side
2) no .... but I want to
3) no not a regular dive buddy...The worst part

 

[String]

Provided its in the "triangle" i cant see how the side the hose feeds from can cause any confusion at all.

 

[sambolino44]

I had heard this is why Apeks made their new second stages reconfigurable from either side. I must be daft, but I can't picture this with the inflator, octo and pressure gauge all on the left.

Where is that "this thread is worthless without pictures" smiley when you need it? Found it (its the : useless : tag but the animated gif says "worthless"):

If you look at it with your primary octo inflator reg in your mouth from the left side upside-down and your toe in your nose it says, "Useless." Or Ulysses.

 

[John_B]

If you look at it with your primary octo inflator reg in your mouth from the left side upside-down and your toe in your nose it says, "Useless." Or Ulysses.

 

[sambolino44]

Just because someone is a LDS does NOT mean they know everything...

Now compare this to the LDS owner... I told him I wanted a new mask as I couldn't see very well downwards... his responce.." well theres a trade off .. you can either see good down or up but not both" and thats it. His responce should have been well I have a few masks in the shop that might help you out ... stop in and we'll see what will work for you...

guess this is off the left or right question sorry

Tom

Actually, I think this does have something to do with the right or left question, or at least why the OP got conflicting info from the DM and the LDS. A lot of LDS owners are simply not good businessmen/women, they just want to mix diving and making a living. They are not necessarily good communicators, or even like people. Some of them are more like fish. That does not make them evil, it just means that we should learn how to deal with them. Sometimes that means smiling politely and saying "OK", then going home, checking it out yourself (like you did by posting here), and then getting out the wrenches and doing it yourself, if you feel confident enough to mess with your "Life Support System®".

Some of us don't have the luxury of being within a close drive of several good shops to choose from, so "keep looking until you find a shop that isn't owned by a jerk" just isn't an option. Sometimes we have to learn how to get the jerk to do what we want. It's amazing how well the "Wow, you really know a lot about this stuff! You must be a real expert!" line works to get a puffed-up blowhard to soften up and do it your way despite what he thinks he knows.

This is another example where standards, like DIN, ISO, ANSI (why are there so many different standards organizations? Hmmm.) would come in handy. Not having guv'mint intervention in diving is probably good, but chaos, confusion, and crap is not much better.

I use a Hog rig with my primary looped around on a 5' hose, and my secondary slung under my chin on a necklace. Both second stages are on the right, and the inflators and gauge are on the left. In the absence of standardized configuration, communication with your buddy and DM is called for. And that means before the OOA situation comes up.