Newbie Question safe second

[Dyno Bill]

I'v got an older SP air 2 on one of my reg/BC setups that I dove for years. It still works well. I have done complete dives as in 100 feet deep in current and it worked well. I have to admit that I did this several times after hearing other divers make statements about poor performance and difficulty is deployment due to location and hose length. Anyway for what its worth I have one and it has always worked better than adequately and I'v never been at all uneasy with it. I now use a differant BC setup with differant regs, the current one is the standard primary reg with a second reg attached to my BC using a bit longer hose at the middle of my chest. Everyone who dives with me gets the drill prior to the gate, and we all know what that is. I have shared air with divers low on air returning to the boat with both setups and no problem was experianced using either setup. I think that in general non technical open water diving situations both of the above described rigs are completely safe and offer a minimum of complication to a donor or a recipient of air from my setup.
Bill

 

[PhotoTJ]

The one constant in these debates is the need to share air. What the heck are these people doing, who are they diving with, that thay are always having to share air?

I've been diving since 78, I have a Spare air, and sometimes use a bc with an Air Source, sometines a conventional octo. I've never had to share air with anyone, nor have I required the use of someone else's air.

Not saying I'm a better diver than anyone else on this board, or that any of my buddies are, so no need for the flamethrowers.

Hey, maybe I'm just lucky.

It just seems to be a bit of an obsession. Some of you guys are making diving sound far too much like work.

 

[Dyno Bill]

PhotoT, I agree.
Bill

 

[diverbrian]

For my recreational rig: I use a Seaquest AirSource. It is what I initially trained with and I have used it in air sharing drills quite a bit since I started my DiveCon.

We teach the following if using a "traditional" recreational rig with an Airsource:

No matter what system you are using, hand off the primary. It works and why panic the OOA diver by handing them a reg that was only breathed at the surface prior to the dive before something could have gotten into it? Also, this minimizes confusion of how to share air with different equipment layouts. Just remember to hand off the primary (if the OOA diver doesn't take it first). The donor then always breathes off whatever his secondary is.

Grab each other's BC's to pull the divers together so that the reg doesn't get pulled from the needer's mouth. Also the physical contact is designed to help settle both parties down. Control ascent with the airsource in the donor's mouth and with the needer venting air to keep from popping like a cork.

The advantages:

The integrated unit is near the diver's left hand. With practice, I can have it to my mouth in nearly less time that it takes to hand off the primary. The bungee is admittedly better for this but not all divers have a secondary configured that way.

The integrated unit doesn't drag in the mud/ sand/ silt like an unattached (or more the point an attached one that came unattached) octo will tend to. This means (in my opinion at least) that the unit has a higher probability of working when it is needed than a traditional octo.

Also, we are trying to brace our students for the type of gear that they are likely to see, not a specialized set-up that may not be available for rent to them if they travel in the Caribbean, etc. (Especially if they rent gear) They aren't likely to find a long hose and bungee necklace set-up in rental gear. Not many divers are going to buy two premium regulars just to have one as a secondary on a recreational rig.

I also have my AirSource serviced at the same schedule as my other regulators.

Doubles:

I use the "traditional" set-up of a primary on a long hose and a secondary on a bungee necklace. The advantages/disadvantages of this rig have been debated ad nausem and I won't beat that dead horse.

 

[diverbrian]

PhotoTJ once bubbled...
The one constant in these debates is the need to share air. What the heck are these people doing, who are they diving with, that thay are always having to share air?

I've been diving since 78, I have a Spare air, and sometimes use a bc with an Air Source, sometines a conventional octo. I've never had to share air with anyone, nor have I required the use of someone else's air.

Not saying I'm a better diver than anyone else on this board, or that any of my buddies are, so no need for the flamethrowers.

Hey, maybe I'm just lucky.

It just seems to be a bit of an obsession. Some of you guys are making diving sound far too much like work.

I had a dive buddy run out of air on me once. We never shared as he didn't give me a clear signal, stayed calm, and simply went to the surface with an ESA. He knew that he was running low and planned to do that in the middle of the dive when he noticed how far his air consumption was off mine.

TJ, you are right! Sometimes, we do make it like work. That is a problem with many of us. But, we also have to face the sad fact that OOA's happen. Just like a fire, we need to have it down what to do if air sharing is needed.

 

[chris3536]

Love my new Atomic Air 2! If you are going to get one of these things, I highly recommend the Atomic.