I don’t know who brought it up in this thread, I’m not re-reading it, but I like the idea of using the tool box analogy. I think it’s useful to think in these terms: What tools do I have in my tool box? What are they useful for? Do I know how to use it well? Do I have a tool for X purpose? What tools do I need to add? Do I maintain my tools in good working condition? and so forth .........
To add one last comment along these lines about the valve manipulation tool. There are preventive tools used to properly prepare beforehand. There are operational tools to insure dive proceeds smoothly. There are corrective tools to recover from or correct diver errors, equipment malfunctions, and abnormal environmental influences. Underwater valve manipulation falls under the latter category. It is useful for activating and shutting off gas system with all that entails, such as gas conservation during severe leakage. Considering the primary importance of gas supply underwater, do you have a tool which facilitates gas supply control underwater?
pilot fish:
Are there any significant negatives to the long hose, bungee setup?
As the long hose bungeed setup gains in popularity with some divers in the recreational community, it is taken out of the context in which it originated and expanded into a standard setup for many in the tech community. Tech divers are generally better trained and more experienced than the average rec diver. This affords them the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent complications and solve problems should they arise. In my opinion, this change of context into the rec. arena does create significant potential negatives which few of its proponents seldom address, and sometimes I wonder how many rec divers using it are really aware of them.
The positives are repeated on all these threads over and over again so I’ll explain some of the most important negatives.
In the unlikely possibility the bungeed backup reg should come loose and be swept to the back, the arm sweep recovery method taught rec divers is unlikely to work due to the short length of the hose. The reach back, find primary reg on tank valve, identify backup reg hose, and follow/pull hose method will likely need to be used. How about that, another good reason for being able to reach your tank valve area, regardless of reg setup used.
If the hose is deployed at length when donating air to another diver who may lack good buoyancy control the advantage of length can become a liability. Instead of comfortably swimming and ascending in a controlled manner, it is possible the donee may go off pace requiring donor exercise extra effort to maintain pace, or grab a hold of donee to try and exercise greater control. I believe at least one of the major rec training agencies teach air sharing ascent while maintaining physical contact between donor and donee. In the event maximum distance limits imposed by hose length is reached between donor and donee the chance of complications increase, likely to manifest itself in the form of a fast ascent by donee, in which case the reg may come out of recipients mouth or he may drag donor with him. A tug of war is always a possibility until there's a clear victor. This scenerio presents identical complications to regular rec setup, except for the distance between divers, which could prove advantageous or not depending on circumstances.
Probably the most significant negative complication to the donor using this setup is the possibility that an OOA diver, near or in full panic mode, approaches donor and reaches for backup reg. The short length of the hose would require OOA diver to get face right up next to donor’s face, as he would be unable to pull it towards his mouth but a few inches away from other diver. Depends on exact hose length used. The reaction of a donor seeing another diver approach in such a frenzy at close proximity is likely to be to attempt to keep donee at arms length while donating primary.
There was thread a while back posted by someone who encountered this exact situation. Without warning and time to react, OOA diver approached in near panic and reached for bungeed backup, couldn’t place it in his mouth beginning a panicked struggle with donor who repeatedly attempted to donate primary second stage reg only to have donee repeatedly reject it and continue to struggle with donor as buoyancy control was lost. The outcome turned out fine, as I believe the donee eventually accepted donating reg. after struggling for some time. But this was a very serious situation that could just as easily have turned out different. The donor was an experienced competent diver who handled the situation well to overcome substantial obstacles.
There are several lessons in the example above. It may be useful to use a bright yellow color for second stage used as primary and donor reg and to camouflage backup reg color with suit color. A rec diver is likely to associate yellow with donating reg and go for that one instead of one in mouth. The skills and equipment present in tech divers is missing in many rec divers. While advanced, or tech divers, may have multiple cylinders with regs available, a single cylinder rec diver creates a potentially dangerous situation when one of the regulators, backup, is either difficult to access, or practically unuseable by another diver, who in many cases in the general rec population is likely to lack the knowledge, skills and poise to adequately handle the situation, taxing the skills of the donor or potentially compromising both divers safety if neither one is up to task. In cases where bungeed reg hose is very short, it may be a good idea to add a few inches so a diver who reaches for it can access it, even if not easily. And it’s best to be prepare for, learn to recognize and handled such events.
I point these issues out not to denigrate the long hose bungeed setup, as its advantages can be found on many threads. Like any system, it contains potentially serious drawbacks, especially when its application is viewed within a specific context. And this does not imply by any means that the standard rec reg/octo configuration doesn’t contain its own set of advantages and disadvantages. I hope this thread doesn't turn into one setup vs the other, as it is already off topic and there are many others on this topic.
When diving with others using a setup unfamiliar to them, or vice versa, the chance of complications increase. It helps to know who you are diving with, forwarn when possible, restrict your diving, adopt an adequate setup as deemed, and prepare to handle the worst.
