Question BOV for Choptima?

[justinthedeeps]

There are more components and a BOV is physically larger.

Ok you're right, and it's more expensive too, and requires more maintenance.

Not required for a casual diver in easy conditions, or a seasoned diver with established protocols.

Could be an obvious upgrade in safety and convenience though when looking at currents, task loadings, photography, surf zones, thick gloves, many stages.

It was easier to install a BOV than to fuss around with a necklace reg twice (or more) on every dive, and the bailout 'drill' becomes so easy it feels like cheating, or not even a drill anymore. Practicing off-board stage reg switch is probably still good though as a backup/deco strategy.

 

[rddvet]

Not required for a casual diver in easy conditions, or a seasoned diver with established protocols.

Could be an obvious upgrade in safety and convenience though when looking at currents, task loadings, photography, surf zones, thick gloves, many stages.

I disagree. I think a bov is a valuable piece of equipment regardless of the level and imo should be standard. To me there are no negatives. The fact that they’re slightly bulkier or take up more room are just silly arguments. I dive bov and necklaced reg

 

[PEDiver]

Still lots of people that are convinced they are such superior specimens that they can always locate a reg on a bottle, pull it, and get it in their mouths during a CO2 hit as fast as they can flip a bov or switch to the necklace.

I know I've argued this in other threads, but even with the DSV + necklaced regulator, it's not foolproof in the event of a CO2 hit.

To provide more context, someone I know was diving their Choptima when they got a major CO2 hit (resulting from diver error with packing the scrubber) and attempted to bailout to their necklaced regulator. In their hurry, they accidentally pulled the regulator from the necklace and lost hold of it before losing consciousness. Luckily, they are still here to tell the story, even though they probably shouldn't be.

That incident cemented two things for me: 1) use a BOV, and 2) do not use off-the-shelf necklaces that simply fit over the mouthpiece. Instead, capture the necklace under the cable tie so it can't be easily pulled off.

 

[Underwater Tourist]

Purely educational questions as I only dive OC

What do you guys think about dsv+necklace for tighter MX-style caves instead of bov?
(I am not talking about Bogaerts-level tight, but something that would still give you a squeeze)

Warm water reduces the chances of a co2 hit, plus maybe there is a risk of clogging the bov with the silt? Does it change the calculus at all? Especially interested what people who are squarely in the bov camp think

 

[rddvet]

I know I've argued this in other threads, but even with the DSV + necklaced regulator, it's not foolproof in the event of a CO2 hit.

I fully agree. I'm full in on BOVs. I'm sure there may be some applications eventually where I choose DSV for some reason, but I can't actually think of any. Until then, I feel safer with a BOV. Not that feeling safer = being safer, but I can guarantee I can flip the bov faster than anyone can switch to their necklace.