Boogie711:Darn right we are. And I wonder how your buddy feels about the fact that you are now hogging HIS regulator in the event of a problem because you unplugged your backup regulator.
And by the way - there is no such thing as "backup life support gear." You only have one life. It's all life support gear.
That's it! What we need to go along with these equipment configurations is a backup life. See? Simple. problem solved!