A buddy with no Octo?

[StraitsdiverGeo]

I think it's all about having back up air source, an Octo or pony bottle. If you don't have a back up alt air source, you are asking for trouble. All my dive buddies and a lot of divers in my area use Pony bottles.
Little extra weight and some drag, so what. If you have a equipment failure you have something to fall back on and won't drown for the sake of saving yourself a few Oz of weight to haul around. The First rule of scuba is to "always breathe",the second "safety first". I don't understand why someone wouldn't take one more step to keep them selfs and their buddies out of harms way? Diving Fun! Death Bad!

Regards, George

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Well I am personally comfortable buddy breathing..

My reasoning for possibly going without an octo, is to remove as much excess equipment as possible.. while still scuba diving

I'm working on a travel setup for myself.. for mostly shallow reef.. 30-40 foot range.. 60 ft max..

The less stuff I have that can break, or have to pack.. the better

Right now the plan is a travel backplate, a hogarthian harness, AI hoseless computer, and a single first/second stage.... no buoyancy compensator, no octo, no pony.. Total travel weight not including mask/fins/wetsuit, about 4 pounds...
Things I'm carrying that can fail,.. first stage, regulator hose, second stage, computer..

It's not a cost issue, its a bare minimum as streamlined and lightweight as possible on scuba issue =)

I want to feel as free and unencumbered as possible..

You could just jump in with the tank like they did in Into the blue (I think that is the title) and breathe right from the valve. Very minimalistic...

 

[ScottB]

Lol... I *might* actually try that just for kicks .. in the pool at least..

I assume it would be pretty much like breathing from a freeflowing reg

 

[JulesVerne]

answer to post is yes provided that a) i trust the buddy, b) we've practiced buddy breathing recently and c) an emergency ascent doesn't get us into more trouble that we are already in if we are faced with an OOA (strong surface drift or swell, being far from exit/boat, etc.). Still, I wouldn't like it and would probably not enjoy the dive as much.

ScottB - if you are willing to forgo an octo, you can probably be satisfied with an Air2 (or any brand of combo inflator/octo). it doesn't add much weight or drag still it's another second stage. That's what I have for my travel set up.

 

[H2Andy]

yes, i'd dive with a buddy with no secondary

if

we can do an air-share drill at the beginning of the dive and it looks like he can handle me sharing his primary

 

[CBulla]

Dove with a guy that had this as his octo, you would think it was no big deal,

HE WAS DIVING FFM!!! What do you think?

It was mostly just a poke of a question to see if the poster was paying attention to what he was asking (boredom, etc.) -- my closest dive buddy here dove with one for a while then decided it wasn't as safe as it looked and made some changes that were closer to what I dive now. It works out either way, as long as we're comfortable with what the other has for gear and how to use it.

FFM.. full face mask? Thats what we mix up and dive with now and again now. I'm particularly fond of the positive pressure making it way easier to equalize. The side benefit is the sideband ultrasound communications that make LOW VIZ diving much more fun and some of our skillz games more easy to accomplish. It did occur to me at one point that if we were diving the FFM in a place where contaimination was a concern, then its pretty much a futile idea to carry an octo second. The reason for the pos pressure is to keep the nasties out and if a diver has to doff that mask for a back up, they'd better be thinking the next step is out of that water very soon.... at least in the type of diving we do while wearing the full face

It counts. Per my agency's standards.

Honest curiosity, which agency?

BTW - yes, I'd dive with the person.

 

[Jason Ooi]

It counts. Per my agency's standards.

I got not idea which agency's???

 

[lamont]

i've done it before... shallow and i had doubles...

 

[thomjinx]

I have also put together a streamlined, light weight travel rig. I use either an inflator/reg like the Air II, or a lightweight octo, because I am usually diving with strangers. I offset the small extra weight by using a Titanium 1st stage (Oceanic). It saves more weight than the octo adds. I have been using a SeaQuest Passport travel BC, but am in the process of putting together a different setup using a DR Transpac and Travel Wing. FF-9 Tusa X-Pert Zoom Full foot fins are my current fave for power-to-weight.
When I learned to dive the first time, there were no BCDs, so it is certainly possible, but there is something you may want to consider....
Since you don't want to carry a heavy backplate, you will likely need to wear weights of some kind. Depending on where you travel, all dive ops may not have the exact same size weights.
I had figured out exactly how many pounds of weight I needed....and then I am on a boat in SEAsia and their weights are 1 Kilogram and .8 kg and something smaller that nobody was sure about.
So I just made my best guess, rounding UP, knowing that my BC could adjust for any small extra weight.
If I had been diving without a BC, I would have had to take the time to do a bouyancy check to get the weights more exact.
If you will be diving with strangers.....you WILL need an alternate 2nd stage of some kind.
If you use an Air II type safe second, practice adjusting your bouyancy while you are breathing through it. It can be tricky, and not something you want to be figuring out during an emergency.

 

[Dectek]

If it is purely a travel weight issue and not a money thing... why not look into an air buddy? A bungied Sherwood Minimus on a short hose does not weigh much either. Not great to breath off of at 100 feet but will keep you alive.