Give up my primary regulator???

[AJ]

OK, didn't get any of that from your post that I responded to. You just said "Don't mess with your system because that will get you in trouble easy".

Sometimes it's not easy to explain just by typing and keeping your reply short. No problem, glad we agree

I'am having a very good buddy who is transitioning from a recreational setup to Hogarthian setup. All of those things that are very normal to me are'nt for him and vice versa. It's kind of interesting how we accept and understand what were trained with and how we both have to look for answers during the transition. For instance, I have accepted the bungee setup without any hestitaion as the right way. He's insist to use a removable bungee setup because he is used to have his octo in a flexible holder. Those litle things can go wrong big way if you don't understand the system.

That's why I say: don't mess with the system without thorough knowledge. You can mess up easily if you don't comprehend the system you're altering. That does not mean one should not experiment, but be aware of what you're doing.

 

[Dan_P]

The problem in saying what is the "right" way, is that things are usually not black and white - and even if they are, it's difficult to prove. What one can approach is the "why" of things - does it add up in a greater context, "seem" reasonable, build on sound arguments, etc.

Consider the following:
At one point, I was looking into a series of fatalities in one country, involving divers specifically from one other country.
It's no easy feat to figure out if there was a general trend, as:

1) There was a tiny data base to begin with - while it was particularly small in the situation I faced, it's a general issue in diving. If we look at divers overall, even that doesn't provide a massive number by comparison to the total population. Much, much less so if we start looking into specific groups, say, divers from one country diving in another, technical divers, rebreather divers, sidemount divers, etc.

2) Massive lack of coordinated data assimilation - there was no official registry containing these cases, much less a comprehensive and systematic presentation of information. In fact, in the particular situation I was facing, responsible officials referred me to the local sports diving organization, which had neither an obligation, authority, capacity or compensation to administrate such a task.

3) Extensive unknowns - how many cases weren't reported, reported incorrectly or incompletely, is unclear.

Because of the above, obtaining any kind of empiric proof, let alone basis in scientific methodology, proved a very difficult feat to me (mind you, I'm no scholar).

The challenges, however, would hold true across many other questions in diving, including, arguably, this one.

What I can say is that donating from the mouth, on a longhose, provides a solution which - CCR exempt - works exactly the same way even in the worst case scenario, regardless of brand (think Air2) or configuration (in my case backmount single-tank, backmount doubles and/or sidemount) and in every domain (ref. traversing a narrow constriction while gassharing).

That's my reason for diving that way, and hence, teaching that way.