Shooting a SMB: Left hand or right hand?

[Rainer]

I doubt it really matters. I use my left hand, but only because that means it's easier to remove the reg from my mouth to inflate the bag and then replace it after it's launched (trying to do all this with the bag/spool in your right hand seems more complicated). The second it saves in long hose deployment is really rather minimal (certainly no worse than having to come off the scooter trigger and deploy).

 

[lobstah]

Guys, it's all common sense. If you blow up bag orally or purge reg into it, cleanest way is to keep bag/spool in left while operating reg with right. If you inflate big marker with LP hose, they all come from the left side, so cleanest way is to keep bag in right hand while operating hose with left.

If anyone's capability to efficiently and safely shoot the bag depends on hand they use, it's probably a good idea to practice it some more before committing to dives where SMB shoot is crucial. In big picture of things it matters little, just like light cord over or under. Good diver needs to be capable of handling both.

 

[Van Isle]

Thanks for the replies. I was wondering if there was a consensus, and if so what the consensus was.

VI

 

[AndyNZ]

Left for me.

I use a semi-closed SMB, so keep the reg in and exhale into the bottom of the bag - even without having to remove the reg, left hand just seems more natural.

 

[lamont]

i think it depends where the gas is coming from. usually i use the oral inflator, so i hold the bag in the left while controlling the reg with the right. if i used an LP inflator, i'm pretty sure the bag would wind up in my right hand without even thinking about it...

its fairly unlikely that you'd see an OOG from your buddy right when you were shooting a bag...

 

[TSandM]

I don't know exactly how it happened, but I end up doing it with my right. I somehow don't have any problems managing the reg with my left hand.

 

[alwaingold]

I go both ways, because when I originally learned it, I held it in my left hand, and then at some point Beto told me to hold it in my right, and then in T1, he said either was fine. Now I invariably feel a quick moment of indecision when I am about to put the bag up (I've been permanently scarred), and randomly do one or the other. There are videos of me doing all kinds of strange things with my reg to make room for the bag (which Kevin keeps as blackmail material). I recommend picking one and sticking with it

The message I got when I learned it was that left hand is fine, but when you pull the line out from the spool, it should be far enough away from you to not get entangled with bottles.

 

[Scott L]

Lefty here...

 

[QatarDiver]

I use all three hands, the SMB in my left hand, the reg in my right and the reel in either of my third hands

 

[deepstops]

I'm surprised nobody has pointed out how many S FL DIR teams deploy a bag: one diver sets up the bag and reel/spool while the buddy approaches face-to-face to supply the gas to send it up. If you and your buddy haven't tried this method, you should. While the skill must be mastered individually, shooting a bag as a team has a lot of merit.