Integrated Air Source vs. Octo

[dherbman]

You said the "P" word!

 

[Diver Dennis]

When I:11doh: posted my, NO OCTO thread a month ago, there was more wailing and gnashing of teeth!!!

As I pointed out, the Octo is gradually losing favor as the ONLY safe way to dive...My Safe 2nd and Pony bottle are more than enough in almost every situation...But I also own a setup with Octo for those recreational dives where I don't know anyone....

but I am missing the "I won't ever dive with you". posts that flowed from the keyboards the last time

It's different from thread to thread. I remember a long time ago in a thread about deep diving, I was repeatedly targeted by a number of blast furnace flames. After the burns had healed there was another thread, virtually the same, with no sign of even a candle...

 

[JeffG]

After the burns had healed there was another thread, virtually the same, with no sign of even a candle...

but did you post in it

 

[Diver Dennis]

but did you post in it

He he, no I didn't. I was still new to the board and had flame anxiety which prevented me from posting there. I have aquired a flame proof suit since then...

 

[JeffG]

He he, no I didn't. I was still new to the board and had flame anxiety which prevented me from posting there. I have aquired a flame proof suit since then...

Never leave home without the asbestos underwear and post away is my motto

 

[tjmills]

When I:11doh: posted my, NO OCTO thread a month ago, there was more wailing and gnashing of teeth!!!

As I pointed out, the Octo is gradually losing favor as the ONLY safe way to dive...My Safe 2nd and Pony bottle are more than enough in almost every situation...But I also own a setup with Octo for those recreational dives where I don't know anyone....

but I am missing the "I won't ever dive with you". posts that flowed from the keyboards the last time

Thats because it took 400 posts before someone realized you were actually using an Air2 type device instead of just your primary all by itself. Most people (like me) aren't very quick to read the whole thread when there are so many fanning the fire.

 

[Scubakevdm]

Dumping air has been mentioned as being awkard with an AIRII in your mouth, but adding air to your BC is quite often required to get yourself and the OOA diver off the bottom.

It is? Just a little Scubakev dive nugget coming to you... I've never seen an OOA head for the bottom. Anyway, I don't think inflating, or for that matter deflating the bcd has ever been an issue for me. Maybe I'm just one of the truly gifted ones you speak of below.

With all the advantages I can see of a long hose config, I don't think that the majority of rec divers are ready for the commitment it takes to safely and efficiently deploy one. It's more about the diver than the gear.

Quite. If you can do 'S' drills, you're really super-duper. I think that may even be what the S stands for.

 

[tjmills]

Appropriate Scubaboard Classification name:lol:

 

[dherbman]

It is? Just a little Scubakev dive nugget coming to you... I've never seen an OOA head for the bottom. Anyway, I don't think inflating, or for that matter deflating the bcd has ever been an issue for me. Maybe I'm just one of the truly gifted ones you speak of below.



Quite. If you can do 'S' drills, you're really super-duper. I think that may even be what the S stands for.

Damn Kev, your "nugget" seemed to choke the life out of this thread.

Three questions keep coming to my mind when I read your post.

1) How many OOA incidents have you participated in or witnessed as a DM?

2) Do you consider yourself even close to average in terms of number of dives made, difficulty of dives made, your overall comfort in the water, your overall skill as a diver or your proficiency with your gear?

3) Are you running for the title again?

 

[Scubakevdm]

Damn Kev, your "nugget" seemed to choke the life out of this thread.

Three questions keep coming to my mind when I read your post.

1) How many OOA incidents have you participated in or witnessed as a DM?

2) Do you consider yourself even close to average in terms of number of dives made, difficulty of dives made, your overall comfort in the water, your overall skill as a diver or your proficiency with your gear?

3) Are you running for the title again?

It did didn't it.
Every once in a while one of the neighbor kids sneaks in here and writes some crotchety old BS under my username. Obviously ScubakevDM, kind, humble, and uncrotchety, could never have authored such a remark. Damn neighbor kids.

1) How many OOA incidents have you participated in or witnessed as a DM?

I have been involved with four actual OOA's, and shared air in three additional very very low on airs.

The first OOA caught me totally off guard. The group had only been down about five minutes when a young feller swam up to me and very calmly gave me the OOA sign. I didn't handle it very well at all actually. Instead of instantly swimming over to him and jamming my reg into his mouth, I signalled that we would ascend together. I chased him all the way up and thankfully, he was alright. This incident prompted some serious reflection, and changed the way I look at my job.
The second OOA got air from the closest diver to him, but I saw it happen and hauled butt over to them. I took the OOA off the other diver's hands and brought him up on my rig. There was certainly a sense of urgency initially, but he calmed down right away once he could breathe again. The trip to the top was pretty relaxed and the guy was more embarrassed than anything.
The third grabbed me from above, when I spun around to see what was going on, I could see he was panicked, and that he was looking for my octo. I offered him my primary, scooped up the old air2 passed off the flag and we went up. Again once the guy could breath, everything was groovy.
The fourth was a replay of the first. Guy swims up, taps me on the shoulder and very calmly signals OOA. This time I got it right. I gave up my reg, grabbed the air2 and made a nice easy ascent. That guy was mad that he ran out of air, and he yelled at his buddy for being too far away. That was kinda BS though. It was completely his fault he went OOA, and as much fault lay with himself as with his wife for the distance between them. I think he was mostly just scared.
One of the very very low on airs happened on a deepish wreck at 155'. I checked a girl's gauge, and it read like 250 psi. I shared air and we went up and did a good safety stop. She was kinda freaked out and had a death grip on me. The rest of them were uneventful.

2) Do you consider yourself even close to average in terms of number of dives made, difficulty of dives made, your overall comfort in the water, your overall skill as a diver or your proficiency with your gear?

I think I dive much much more than the average person. I usually end up with a little more than 600 dives a year, though last year I only had 582, probably due to the hurricanes.

I am very comfortable underwater, in some ways more comfortable than I am on land.

The vast majority of the dives that I make are not very difficult. Occasionally I'll do some deep stuff that requires some more planning, but I'm not sure that I consider deco diving more difficult than regular old hobby lobber stuff. What makes a dive difficult, to me, is weird stuff that pops up out of nowhere and compound weird stuff. I've helped with some research diving that was physically demanding. I guess that was kinda difficult. Super heavy duty current can be kinda tricky too, but like I said, the vast majority of my diving is nice, easy, relaxed drift diving.

I think my overall skill as a diver is kinda commensurate with the number of dives I do. I'm not some naturally gifted diver or anything, but I do a fair bit of diving and whether or not I am a good diver matters to me, so I continue to strive to be one.

I would say that I'm very proficient with my gear. I am a pretty active instructor, so I do alot of skills. On top of that, students are good for weird stuff and compound weird stuff. Every once in awhile they'll hit me with something that leaves me stunned, staring at them with the expression Buckwheat made famous, but usually I'm able to respond with some kind of assistance. On top of that, I use my gear almost every day.

3) Are you running for the title again?

I try very hard not to, but every once in awhile my self overpowers me and tries to drag me back towards the center. It's an ugly ride. Luckily there are good folk like yourself who, in spite of my buttheadedness help me by giving me a gentle tap on the shoulder, and point out the direction I'm headed. Luckily, today I can hear them. So, thanks D, for straightening me out. I hope that you'll find something helpful in this post, or that someone will.