How close is your Buddy?

[Buoyant1]

Usually within about a fin kick of each other. (I tend to hang back about half to a full body length and slightly above with my normal buddy.) I usually have a good visual on him, and he can usually hear me clearing my throat or making some kind of noise so he doesn't need to keep looking behind to find me...we've TRIED tandem diving (side by side) and we usually end up kicking one another, but then again, diving in our usual quarry you kind of need to go one by one through some of the trees and obstacles.

With buddies I don't usually dive with, it's usually about an arms length unless we keep kicked each other then we seperate a little more...

 

[Tomeck]

If I see a beautiful buddy in bikini, I will be to close.

 

[Gombessa]

My buddies and I always joke around saying "We're here in this huge ocean, why are we constantly running into each other?!"

Frankly, I like staying close. Being in line of sight and light-signaling range is an absolute must, and even being close enough for occasional touch contact (like a brush along the fin), is totally fine with me; it lets me know where my buddy is without having to look around, and that occasional touch is usually light enough where I know I'm not in their way or going to kick their mask/reg off. I know that some people hate being crowded and prefer to have a lot of space, but I would have to admit I'd be quite uncomfortable diving with a buddy with that attitude; we don't have to be in touch contact, but there's something about a buddy who is always trying to put distance between you and him/her...

To me, positioning is every bit as important as proximity. We try to stay mindful of the fact that hanging above and to the back seems like a great vantage point to keep everyone in view, but is in fact a huge blind spot for the lower diver. One of the most frustrating things is looking all around for a buddy, not seeing them, only to find them hovering 6ft above and behind me.

 

[Charlie99]

I tend to hang back about half to a full body length and slightly above with my normal buddy. I usually have a good visual on him, and he can usually hear me clearing my throat or making some kind of noise so he doesn't need to keep looking behind to find me

To me, positioning is every bit as important as proximity. We try to stay mindful of the fact that hanging above and to the back seems like a great vantage point to keep everyone in view, but is in fact a huge blind spot for the lower diver. One of the most frustrating things is looking all around for a buddy, not seeing them, only to find them hovering 6ft above and behind me.

I agree with Gombessa. Buoyant1 -- You may have a great vantage point for watching your buddy, but it is very difficult for him to see you. You can check this easily next time you are diving in the up-and-behind position.

Simply stop finning and see how long he takes to notice that you are no longer with him. (With a new buddy, my less obvious method of checking buddy awareness is to find something interesting up in a crack or under a ledge and see how long it takes before he comes over to check it out.)

As I noted in my post above, my criteria for good buddy distance and position is that both my buddy and I can easily reach the other in case of OOA, and if either he or I had a problem with caused us to stop finning, that we'd notice that before losing buddy contact.