Octo vs AirII

[Land Locked]

So how did you ever talk the fish into snapping the picture of you? I would have been worried about the fish taking off with my camera

Nope, I've never dove an FFM...And I've only had one opportunity to dive with an AirII, closed water aquarium shark dive where I HAD to use their gear. It surely decreased my sac rate .000058 due to the removal of one hose.

This guy stated he was a PSD diver. Later that day he was advised for further diving he would have to add an octo to his configuration.....Needless to say this was the one and only dive, or non-dive, I was buddied with him.

 

[leapfrog]

I enjoyed reading the thread. When I started recreational diving, I was trained on the octo and the Air II. There are some interesting comments about why buddy breathing has been taken out of the syllabus or remains "optional". I would say that here PADI has got it right. Everybody has an Octo or Air II. The Octo is distinctly favored over the Air II for the same reasons that "mouth to mouth" is now with a pocket mask whenever possible. (yeah, I know, somebody's going to mention "rental gear"....). The key to the octo is if I am in a OOG situation I grab it first then I tell you I'm out of air. With the Air II, I'm not going to pull the reg out of your mouth first and then tell you why. :shocked2:

On the subject of buddy breathing, I teach it when I have a buddy team that have a close relationship (husband/wife, BF/GF, father/son, etc). So it's a skill they can practice together with a reasonable amount of confidence in the other diver. Unlikely they are ever going to need it but..... someone mentioned the DM course! Most of what has been written about the change equipment while sharing air skill is that "it's just a skill you'll never have to use it". As a DM I was taking up the rear on a trip when the lead guide asked me to escort two divers (who I knew) back to the boat. Both very low on air. I still had half a tank. The dive had been going for about 40 minutes. The buddy team were a father and son. When we got to the anchor line at 70ft, I gave the son my octo and started buddy breathing with the father. We inched up the line at less than 30fpm and did a safety stop at 5m. I could have and probably should have suggested a CESA but at the time I was still cocky and showing off. However, if we had been at a greater depth.........anything is better than the Emergency Buoyant Ascent!

 

[Brewski]

I learned Buddy Breathing back in the old days of backpacks and may wests.

I teach octo's primarily, and mention how to use air2's during the discussion. when there is an air2 user in the class they get training on both methods.

 

[sibermike7]

I learned Buddy Breathing back in the old days of backpacks and may wests.

Stop with the "old days" stuff already!

 

[sibermike7]

Hey Brewski!
Can't access the MOF/NMOF link. It won't let me! :depressed:

 

[Rhone Man]

I actually just bought a new regulator and whilst I am testing it out, I haven't bothered to transfer my octopus across to it from my old regulator. Everyone on the dive boat looks at me like I am a cave man for not having an octopus (although in nearly thirty years of diving, I can't recall ever having used one). I don't give them the "when I learned to dive" speech, but it is funny how dependent people start to feel on backup kit.

 

[Brewski]

Stop with the "old days" stuff already!

Sorry, would back in the day suffice?

Hey Brewski!
Can't access the MOF/NMOF link. It won't let me! :depressed:

Its in the surface interval, which is an opt in area of the board. If you choose to opt in. then your good to go.

 

[Land Locked]

I learned BB, Octo, CESA and long hose. My first intro to an AirII was in Florida when I buddied up with a diver at Devils Den who was using one. I said, ***; not due to the AirII, I can deal with that. BUT, he was diving FFM without an Octo........And was supposedly a PSD!

Pardon my ignorance on this subject since I've never been trained on an AirII.

Seems to me that this device is not something to be passed off in an emergency. Partly due to the shortness of the inflator hose and also incorporating the divers dump valve. In my mind the diver using an AirII would be passing off their operating reg from their mouth and switching over to their own AirII??? Am I wrong in this assumption? If my thinking is correct, this diver should be passing off his FFM to me in an emergency? Being blind and fumbling for the AirII and a spare mask? Otherwise, I'm plastered to this person operating their dump valve?

Again, pardon my ignorance, I think I will stick with a second tied off on my person or bungeed to my neck.

 

[Brewski]

Pardon my ignorance on this subject since I've never been trained on an AirII.

Seems to me that this device is not something to be passed off in an emergency. Partly due to the shortness of the inflator hose and also incorporating the divers dump valve. In my mind the diver using an AirII would be passing off their operating reg from their mouth and switching over to their own AirII??? Am I wrong in this assumption? If my thinking is correct, this diver should be passing off his FFM to me in an emergency? Being blind and fumbling for the AirII and a spare mask? Otherwise, I'm plastered to this person operating their dump valve?

Again, pardon my ignorance, I think I will stick with a second tied off on my person or bungeed to my neck.

Yep you got it. its designed to be used by the wearer, while he donates his working primary. much like the bungee'd reg is to be used by the wearer and his primary is donated.

the diver wearing the FFM probably didn't think that part through.

 

[Brewski]

I actually just bought a new regulator and whilst I am testing it out, I haven't bothered to transfer my octopus across to it from my old regulator. Everyone on the dive boat looks at me like I am a cave man for not having an octopus (although in nearly thirty years of diving, I can't recall ever having used one). I don't give them the "when I learned to dive" speech, but it is funny how dependent people start to feel on backup kit.

So what would you have done if a newly minted diver signaled OOA to you on that dive? Try to teach buddy breathing while he's in a panic underwater?