Is a buddy in a cave considered to be liability ?

[elan]

Just spoke to a person at my LDS. He recently switched to side-mount configuration and was giving me some information on his configuration. While going through the hoses he mentioned that they do not use long hoses anymore as they do not donate and generally a buddy is considered a liability in the cave.

That kind of surprised me, and I wanted to know the view on the subject from those who have experience in cave diving, I might have misunderstood him.

I eventually plan to take up some cave training and this would be very disappointing if that point of view existed in he community.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Just spoke to a person at my LDS. He recently switched to side-mount configuration and was giving me some information on his configuration. While going through the hoses he mentioned that they do not use long hoses anymore as they do not donate and generally a buddy is considered a liability in the cave.

That kind of surprised me, and I wanted to know the view on the subject from those who have experience in cave diving, I might have misunderstood him.

I eventually plan to take up some cave training and this would be very disappointing if that point of view existed in he community.

I don't do side-mount, but the notion of a buddy being a liability doesn't square at all with how my cave training was conducted.

And the one time I dived with someone using side-mount, one of his tanks did, in fact, have a long hose ... I'll have to leave it to the side-mount folks to discuss whether or not that's normal.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[LiteHedded]

no, a buddy is not a liability. unless you buddy up with some slobbering idiot or are doing some squirrely original exploration in some restrictive cave.

but I couldn't speak to either of those two situations...

 

[cerich]

well if you have a buddy and he has a problem, then yes he/she becomes a "liability", if you have a problem and you have a buddy then they become a essential safety backup....

IMHO there is MANY more benefits and safety advantages that come with team diving in a cave environment than not.

 

[ucfdiver]

Sharing gas is real low on the reasons to dive with a buddy. A redundant brain is far more important than a redundant gas supply in my book, not that I would enter a cave without either...

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

If you're diving mixed teams, you'll want to use a long hose for your BM buddies. If you're diving in a team of SM divers, a long hose really isn't all that necessary as you'll both have full redundant gas to get out as is... Obviously, if you're diving in a solo mindset, a long hose wouldn't be necessary.

There are far more benefits to having a buddy, than not, in damned near any cave system(even most of the tight stuff). Solo diving is a personal choice and some of those benefits might not be important enough to outweigh the serenity one gets diving solo - in others opinion?

There are some very nasty, tight caves that are best done in solo the second person won't see anything going in or out, which keeps them 'in the dark' on line placement and conditions. A second person who can't see the line traps, the shape of restrictive cave, etc is most definately a liability and won't really be of any help to the first person if needed anyway. I choose not to do these types of dives...

 

[Cave Diver]

Just spoke to a person at my LDS. He recently switched to side-mount configuration and was giving me some information on his configuration. While going through the hoses he mentioned that they do not use long hoses anymore as they do not donate and generally a buddy is considered a liability in the cave.

That kind of surprised me, and I wanted to know the view on the subject from those who have experience in cave diving, I might have misunderstood him.

I eventually plan to take up some cave training and this would be very disappointing if that point of view existed in he community.

Someone with the mindset that a buddy is a liability is likely someone I wouldn't want to dive in a cave with.

 

[TSandM]

I am really surprised at the idea that anyone would configure their equipment in such a fashion as to preclude sharing gas. Admittedly, a total gas loss is a pretty unlikely event, but if you are unable to share, even in a brief problem (eg. messing up a gas switch) you have condemned your companion to drowning.

There are arguments that some very small, very silty caves are safer done solo, as the person behind will essentially be operating in zero viz for the entire dive. I can swallow that. And if you are adamantly solo, I suppose configuring your gear for gas sharing might not make sense.

But, although I can and have dived with sidemount people, I would not dive with someone whose gear wasn't set up to share gas, and share it through a restriction. That's one where I'd draw a line.

For me, buddies in a cave are people who will spot the contrary arrow I just swam over . . . and they're also people with whom I am sharing the dive, and with whom I can enjoy it again once we have surfaced.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

he mentioned that they do not use long hoses anymore as they do not donate and generally a buddy is considered a liability in the cave.

What do you mean, 'they'? What do you mean, 'you people'?

 

[tflaris]

Just spoke to a person at my LDS. He recently switched to side-mount configuration and was giving me some information on his configuration. While going through the hoses he mentioned that they do not use long hoses anymore as they do not donate and generally a buddy is considered a liability in the cave.

That kind of surprised me, and I wanted to know the view on the subject from those who have experience in cave diving, I might have misunderstood him.

I eventually plan to take up some cave training and this would be very disappointing if that point of view existed in he community.

I use a long hose on one of my bottles when I SM.

Any buddy in any dive could be a liability but hopefully that decision was made long before you got in th water.

Dive planning, what if's scenario, visualizing the different parts of the dive and talking through each component. Emergency planning for the what if's.

Skill compatibility as well as adds to lists of things to discuss ahead time.


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