I really dislike secondary take, since that removes the responsibility every diver has towards their buddy. Secondary donate is AFAIK the method taught by most agencies. Secondary take is always a backup option to secondary donate if the person donating gas isn't as alert as they should be, secondary donate isn't as well suited as a backup since the person donating gas then has to realize that their buddy isn't taking the reg.
I use the long hose primary to donate and the bungeed alternate, but I have tons of experience with the conventional set up system here because I have been required to isntruct with it for about a dozen years.
First of all, one of the largest recreational agencies, SSI, now requires its instructors to teach primary donate.
Next, PADI, which teaches about half the new divers in the world each year, does not favor ANY method. Its wording is very neutral, so it is up to the instructor. I have no idea how it breaks down in the rest of the world, but most of the instructors I have seen or worked with teach secondary take. There is a reason for it, as I will explain.
As for me, I tell students that it does not matter what they are trained to do or what they believe in--when someone goes OOA, that person is going to initiate the action and thereby dictate the method to be used. As the donor, it is better to adapt to whatever that person is doing than to try to force a panicked OOA diver to do it your way. You do not want to get into a fight with such a person. If that person grabs at your primary, open your mouth and take your alternate for yourself. If that person gives the OOA signal and stares at you, donate whichever one you want. If that person reaches for your alternate, get your arm out of the way to clear the path.
So what will happen in real life? A lot of people say the most likely is the person will grab at your primary. That may indeed happen a lot, but that is not my experience. I was only near one OOA emergency, and in that case, the OOA diver did not signal but instead reached for and took her buddy's alternate. I surveyed all 12 of the instructors working in the shop with me, and everyone who had any knowledge of a specific OOA emergency--
every single one--said that in the cases they knew of, the OOA diver reached for and took the alternate, with or without signalling first.
Because of the way classes in my area are structured, when you do the OW certification dives, most or all of the students are people with whom you have not worked in the pool. I ask them what they were taught to do, and in about 90% of the cases, they were taught secondary take. When I have students who were taught secondary donate, and they get matched with someone who was taught secondary take, I tell them to decide between themselves which method they will use. In a number of those cases, one of them forgets what they decided, and they both end up reaching for the alternate at the same time. Each time that has happened,
without exception, they end up knocking the alternate out of their hands, and there is a great fumbling after it that requires me to step in.
Consequently, while I much prefer to do primary donate with a long hose and bungeed alternates myself, if people are going to use the traditional method, I prefer secondary take. I think there is a good chance that the OOA diver is going for that regulator no matter what, and if the donor tries to go for it at the same time, the results can be bad.
