question regarding GUE suggestions on lights

[David P]

I was doing a skills practice dive yesterda and watched a couple of divers doing an airshare. The donating diver had a canister light and ended up twisting the light cable and long hose... I have seen the drill done before and it looks like a PITA switching the light head from one hand to another. So I asked why the light cable isnt under the long hose, the responce was that GUE said to have the cable ontop of the long hose but no one was sure why. If GUE recomends the long hose under the light Im sure they have reasoning but we couldn't come up with it. So does anyone here know why you would not want the long hose ready to deploy in an emergency without switching hands and doing a bunch of extra steps?

 

[jonnythan]

The cable is not run under the long hose because doing so forces the light head to be passed under the long hose when clipping off to the right D-ring.

It's very easy for a diver to get a little lazy or forgetful and clip off the light head without passing it under the long hose, and this can trap it.

With the cable over the long hose, it does add one step to air sharing.. but that step comes *after* the OOA diver has a regulator in his mouth. You donate the reg, switch to your backup, then calm down, verify that you both have air and are OK, *then* you do a quick pass back and forth to fully deploy the long hose.

There is *one* extra step in the very rare air sharing scenario, which comes after the emergency has been dealt with. Compare this to one extra step every single time you clip off your light.. a step that, if not performed, will greatly exacerbate a subsequent OOA scenario.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

I asked why the light cable isnt under the long hose, the responce was that GUE said to have the cable ontop of the long hose but no one was sure why. If GUE recomends the long hose under the light Im sure they have reasoning but we couldn't come up with it. So does anyone here know why you would not want the long hose ready to deploy in an emergency without switching hands and doing a bunch of extra steps?

Just a point of clarification - the long hose is ready to deploy when it is under the light cord. It is not encumbered in any way, and be quickly and easily donated to a diver who is OOG.

Regarding the "why" on over vs under - I posted an explanation of that a couple of months ago, which can be found here.

 

[TSandM]

Just to add that GUE has gone back and forth on this one. It's one of those situations where either approach has a drawback, and you just have to make a choice one way or the other.

 

[Ben_ca]

You have to be cognizant of your config and be a "thinking diver"

The light cord over/under debate still sparks longs discussions....

 

[Dan Gibson]

This issue was cleared up back in 2003. The light chord under method was taught by some (not all) of the instructors when AG was training director. There is no drawback to the light chord over method. Cleanup after donation should not be viewed as a drawback.

Just to add that GUE has gone back and forth on this one. It's one of those situations where either approach has a drawback, and you just have to make a choice one way or the other.

 

[rjack321]

Just know which way you'll be expected to route the cord in any classes. There is likely a reason they want it that way.

But really this is an issue where you should be considering your own diving and routing the cord accordingly. Also you should be capable of doing it either way, and paying attention to what you might trap in the process.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

Just know which way you'll be expected to route the cord in any classes. There is likely a reason they want it that way.

FYI, GUE only teaches one method now, which is light cord over the long hose when the light is in use, under the long hose when not. Since the OP was asking about "GUE suggestions", then that's the answer he is looking for.

 

[jonnythan]

FYI, GUE only teaches one method now, which is light cord over the long hose when the light is in use, under the long hose when not. Since the OP was asking about "GUE suggestions", then that's the answer he is looking for.

Just to clarify, "under the long hose when not [in use]" means that when the light is clipped off, you should tuck hanging loop of cable under the hose/waistband to keep it out of the way. Since it's a closed, tucked loop under the hose, it does not come into play at all when donating air.

 

[rjack321]

FYI, GUE only teaches one method now, which is light cord over the long hose when the light is in use, under the long hose when not. Since the OP was asking about "GUE suggestions", then that's the answer he is looking for.

True, I was thinking too much I suppose.