Should a non-DIR diver use a long hose?

[DiverBuoy]

I'm not a DIR diver, but I've taken a DIR-F class, read the book a couple of times, read a thousand posts, and made a few on the subject, formed strong friendships with DIR diving buddies ... I can tell you that I will never dive on less than a 7 foot hose again in my life, if I took nothing else away from my experience and association with DIR (and I did in fact take away many things besides this). For the record I'm still planning to buy a doubles rig, halcyon bp/wings, and take the DIR-F again. But whenever that happens doesn't matter, I've been forever changed by my exposure to their system.

 

[BigTuna]

Just updating an old thread I started back in November

Thanks for starting this thread, scubamickey. It's supported my decision to make the long-hose switch.

I'm basically retooling all my equipment, including moving from a jacket BCD to a single-tank BP/wing. In my research I've been impressed by DIR's practical, masterful, and safe approach to diving, including the long hose.

So I ordered my "DIR" hoses today. The arrangement I'll be leaving has a conventional primary hose, no octo to the back gas, but the pony reg on a necklace (so I'm already used to a necklace). When the dust settles, I'll have the DIR arrangement of a 7-foot primary hose to my primary reg and a 24-inch secondary hose to a secondary reg on a necklace, also served from the back gas. I'll be slinging my pony, now, instead of mounting it to the back gas tank. So I'll continue to have total redundancy for my Northeast quirky, murky buddy diving.

I'll be going to "home school," dialing in ballast and trim, and drilling on emergency procedures. It all seems to make such darn good sense. I'm optimistic that the switchover will work out easily.

If only I had known this entire approach when I did my OW, I'd have had a much smaller expenditure, and better diving. I'm trying to figure out why it isn't exposed to students and first-time equipment buyers.

Anyway, thanks again for the thread, and to all the responders, too. I hope your switch goes well.

 

[scubamickey]

I'm glad the thread was helpful BigTuna. I'm not DIR and I don't think I ever will be, but I am adopting the long hose and a few other things that make sense to me.

So if you see a woman out there in a SP Ladyhawk and a long hose---that's me

 

[jonnythan]

I'd advise *strongly* against having no octo on the backgas and your only backup regulator hooked up to a pony bottle.

The pony is simply too unreliable.

 

[Snowbear]

So if you see a woman out there in a SP Ladyhawk and a long hose---that's me

BigTuna's coming to AK?!?!?! When? Wanna dive?

Or.... is Mickey going to NJ? When? I'm *hoping* to go to the other coast (VA/DC area) sometime this winter to meet my nephew.... and of course would be bringing the dive gear along for the ride

 

[cmalinowski]

BigTuna's coming to AK?!?!?! When? Wanna dive?

Or.... is Mickey going to NJ? When? I'm *hoping* to go to the other coast (VA/DC area) sometime this winter to meet my nephew.... and of course would be bringing the dive gear along for the ride

Well, drop me a PM when you're heading over and we can try and get together for some diving. There is one quarry open during the winter (weekends only), and it's in PA, but we can see if there are other options.

Chris

 

[BigTuna]

BigTuna's coming to AK?!?!?! When? Wanna dive?

Or.... is Mickey going to NJ? When? I'm *hoping* to go to the other coast (VA/DC area) sometime this winter to meet my nephew.... and of course would be bringing the dive gear along for the ride

Not likely going to AK any time soon. But if you come east, PM me and Chris. Maybe we can hook up....

 

[BigTuna]

I'd advise *strongly* against having no octo on the backgas and your only backup regulator hooked up to a pony bottle.

Hi, jonnythan. I'm the same guy you gave the same advice to on another thread sometime last year.

You'll be glad to know that I'm signing up to the logic of DIR's 2-hose arrangement, and that I've been studying up on DIR "best practices."

Since I'm diving wrecks in NJ, where buddy dives can quickly turn solo, I'm continuing use of a pony, for emergencies only (like a skydiver's reserve parachute), as required on most boats. But I'll be slinging it, stage-style.

I'd be interested in your opinion, experience, or references you might have, about whether and how to include a pony in a buddy OOA scenario in open water. Once the OOA diver is breathing from the other's back gas and we've calmed down, we have the option of the OOA diver switching to a pony and ascending independently, with the other diver close by. However, my inclination--assuming enough back gas remains--is not to mess with a known good thing and to ascend in sharing mode. Thoughts?

Edit: I thought of another reason for ascending promptly. It is to not waste time at depth, where the volume rate of consumption of gas is highest. Since the divers are already sharing and calm, they should ascend promptly to, say, half depth, or maybe a preset depth like 40 feet, where the burn rate is lower. There revisit the gas supply and the need for a pony switch.

 

[Soggy]

Since I'm diving wrecks in NJ, where buddy dives can quickly turn solo,

Why is that?

 

[BigTuna]

The pony is simply too unreliable.

Regarding my former approach of using the pony as my alternate regulator, my understanding of your statement that the pony is too unreliable is that (as you pointed out in the other thread) it could fail without the diver's knowing it, when it's mounted out of sight on the main tank.

I acknowledge that this could happen. Altho such a failure seems unlikely (a tank is a tank...), I read you as taking the stand that, whatever the probability, it IS a possible failure mode, and that it therefore must be mitigated. Am I getting it, and did you have any other situations or failure modes in mind?

As a matter of interest, I switched to my necklace-mounted "pony-octo" on New Year's day, when my buddy kicked my primary reg out of my mouth. Then I recovered the primary. No problems.