Some really good discussion points coming out of this thread.
I do not teach students that 'standards' either require or prohibit going to an alternate air source as the first step in a regulator recovery procedure. I do teach them that it is the most logical, and safest, approach to follow. And, I admit that this is a newer development on my part - I certainly wasn't taught that in my IDC years ago, nor did I teach that way at the beginning of my instructional career. But, I have begun, and will continue, to advocate with PADI that such a regulator recovery procedure (not just a skill) become part of teaching.
Yes. In fact, going to an alternate air source immediately is both logical, and entirely consistent with scuba diver's mantra, 'Stop. Breathe. Think. Act.' The 'Breathe' thingy comes BEFORE the 'Act' thingy. Before I Act, to recover my primary second stage, I need to Breathe (from my alternate second stage).RainPilot:RAID teaches that in any undemanded "Reg out of mouth" scenario, step 1 is to get breathing gas. This will almost always be by taking the alternate and placing it in your mouth.
I also realized early on that I was going to need to teach a procedure that would work with what are common, if not standard, hose configurations (specifically hose lengths). Since a number of my OW students are already planning for a trip after certification, usually to warm Caribbean waters, where they will end up using rental gear (including regulators) it it sensible to do so. With a 'common' 32-36" primary second stage hose, and 40" alternate hose, the best configuration is to turn the alternate hose into the primary, and put the (formerly primary) second stage on a bungeed necklace. Because a 40" hose running around the side of the head will bow out a bit, I recommend students run it under the right arm. And, that puts the student in a position to adopt a much more sensible configuration - using commonly encountered hose lengths - with only the addition of a piece of bungee cord. (Yes, another helpful addition is a 70 degree angle adapter on the longer hose, but even without that the re-configuration works.) Spoiler Alert: very slight shift to parallel railroad track to follow. It also offers a really good chance to teach 'primary donate' as the fundamental OOA / air share technique. A number of agencies, PADI included, have moved to 'active donation' of an alternate second stage in the event of an OOA situation. I would love to see those agencies also take the next step, to recommending 'primary donate', in the future. But, that is a change that will not come overnight.JackD343:With the vast majority if my students headed for tropical resorts, and at least initially if not permanently relying on rental gear at those resorts, I teach with the "standard" primary/alternate configuration.
YES! I am always 'impressed' when I encounter instructors who adamantly proclaim what 'the standards' will NOT allow an instructor to do. I see this in PADI-land, which is necessarily my (only) focus, but suspect it is true in other agencies as well. Back when boulderjohn and others were writing about, and advocating, teaching students in a neutrally buoyant position, there were instructors who said (incorrectly) that 'PADI standards' did not permit teaching that way. There are no PADI standards that govern regulator hose lengths, rather force of habit, and dive shop convenience preferences. PADI 'standards' do not preclude going to an alternate air source before recovering a lost second stage. PADI 'standards' do not preclude 'primary donate' in an OOA situation. Yet, there are instructors who tell their students that 'such and such' is not permitted under 'standards', or that 'such and such' is the only way that a diver can do something. Perhaps / probably, they learned one way of doing things in their IDC and never explored or progressed beyond that.Diver0001:Some configurations require donating the primary. The standards allow for this. The choice of which protocol to teach falls to the instructor.
I do not teach students that 'standards' either require or prohibit going to an alternate air source as the first step in a regulator recovery procedure. I do teach them that it is the most logical, and safest, approach to follow. And, I admit that this is a newer development on my part - I certainly wasn't taught that in my IDC years ago, nor did I teach that way at the beginning of my instructional career. But, I have begun, and will continue, to advocate with PADI that such a regulator recovery procedure (not just a skill) become part of teaching.