Should octos be yellow?

[Nemrod]

I could never understand someone spending BIG money on a life support piece of gear and then go CHEAP on their last chance/it's got to work gear..
I want my go to save my life as good as it gets.... In any sport... I saw it a lot in packing parachutes.. $1800 main and a old worn out $200 reserve to save their life....

He did not say the octo second was a piece of junk, simply that it might not be a balanced adjustable unit. There is no evidence to prove that less costly second stages such as a AL Titan are any less reliable than any other top of the line unit, if so, show it to me. It makes a lot of sense to use a detuned octo second to prevent nuisance free flows. It can still provide all the air needed. What is being detuned is the cracking effort, not the open flow capacity. I detune all of my second stages used as an octo, sometimes, if it is an adjustable unit or has pre dive/dive switch, that is all there is to it.

the OOA clip shows a clueless scared diver not working to problem, and not following good training... She was NOT OOA She had a simple loss reg from a failed mouth piece... All she needed to do was spit-out the mouth piece and go to her own octo... OR simply retrieve the regulator and put it in her mouth without the mouth piece... And I have yellow wrapped hoses on both the wife's gear and mine... In fact there are both the same conshelf 14 supreme main and octo set-ups.... The yellow hose makes the octo very easy to find if the OOA diver is coming from the rear of the unknowing donor diver... I train this with my wife as a OOA option... And the yellow looks good..

Jim....

Yes, exactly, the dingbat woman doing the fruity hand swimming loop de loop did not have a regulator failure, she simply yanked the mouthpiece off of what was still a functional regulator, so now with two functioning second stages and the mouthpiece still in her lips she charges the nearest diver and then ostensibly yanks his/her primary second from their mouth---this is a training issue. Either approach, conventional octo-second or the long hose/donate primary rig, work equally well. Unfortunately many of divers who typically use the octo rarely train beyond their entirely inadequate Padi open water cert and the tech oriented diver who chooses the long hose/donate primary does train. Training is the critical component, not the system.

I generally use a slip knot necklaced octo, my wife uses a simple octo holder, either release quickly and smoothly and hold securely. Necklaced seconds are not new, I have used necklaced/bungeed regulators for some equipment configurations since I began diving in the late 60s. In that era the necklace usually had snap releases. The necklace went out of favor because it hindered buddy breathing.

N

 

[drbill]

As a solo diver, I stopped diving with an octo and rely instead on a totally redundant pony. Must admit if a panicked diver grabbed my second stage, I'd be in a bit of a fix since I'd have to turn my air on and grab the pony's second stage. That's why I try to stay away from other divers so they won't be tempted.

Seriously, I used to use a yellow octo but gave up when that octo gave up and all I had were black second stages. I think the last time I had an OOA buddy was back about 1969 or 1970 when we didn't even dive with octos. We did a buddy share up from 90 ft.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

You can also get a bright yellow octo keeper. I think DM's and instructors should have a very visible octo. Others, not so much, but have it as visible as possible, and do include recognition and location as part of your pre-dive conversation and buddy check.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Akimbo]

This thread is the best justification for solo diving I have read yet.

…80% of new divers are trained using the Yellow Octo alternate on holder method.
Q: Do you want your rig different than what those 80% basically understand, or use something they never seen before, especially when they are in a panic situation....

Heck yes, if they are that incompetent I don’t want them anywhere near me. Hopefully seeing my all-black rig will make them stay far away. I rarely have an octo installed unless it is required by the boat operator, which also works and rarely goes unnoticed by the brain-washed.

I wonder if anyone makes Red skull & cross-bones regulator covers?

 

[boulderjohn]

Quote Originally Posted by boulderjohn
The idea that the OOA diver will just grab the one in your mouth is repeated regularly on threads like this, but I have never seen any evidence that this is in fact the most common occurrence.

Now you have!

Please help me to understand how this constitutes evidence that this "is in fact the most common occurrence." I did not say it never happened; I just said I have never seen evidence that it was the most likely thing to happen. I have now seen evidence that it has happened once. I am sure it has happened more than once as well.

Of course, I do have a question. Since the person with the camera saw her lose her regulator, saw her approach in some distress, and saw her look for help, why was no help offered, and why did that person decide it made more sense to continue photographing her in distress?

 

[Akimbo]

…Of course, I do have a question. Since the person with the camera saw her lose her regulator, saw her approach in some distress, and saw her look for help, why was no help offered, and why did that person decide it made more sense to continue photographing her in distress?

Uhh, because s/he was equally incompetent.

Why didn't she use her own octo?

Why didn't she just shove the mouthpiece back onto the primary?

Why did she go in the water without a zip-tie on her mouthpiece?

Why didn't she breath off her primary without the mouthpiece until she could find a better solution?

 

[oldschoolto]

I'm a big fan of solo diver using a good size pony for back-up...

And i guess it sound like I was saying the $80 octo was junk... I did not intend to say that... I'm really big on not trying to figure out something new in a emergency.... I like that other then the crack pressure of the octo, it's the same regulator we use all the time... Being familiar with gear is half the battle of keeping your self alive...

Jim...

And a Happy Thanksgiving to all......

 

[avengerki]

I was just thinking about my SSI training and all of the rigs we used didn't have a yellow octo or yellow hose for those that didn't have a power inflator octo. And in the training the instructor mentioned that some people use a yellow hose or yellow octo for their alternate and if we wanted when we got our own gear we could do use yellow to identify it more easily for ourselves over for others. But like I said earlier we were taught the donate primary.

 

[oldschoolto]

I like to add..... with my wife as my dive partner.... My diving has changed from my old ways... She is a new diver and I'm very protective of her... We always spend sometime on training on EVERY dive.... Training can and should be fun... It will come in handy when you need it most...

Jim..

 

[Golo]

I actually have the same question for my setup, but I come from the opposite side, somehow.

I got the DR OW Package, and the Octo, short hose with bungee around my neck, has a yellow face cover. Now, I was wondering for what reason the octopus in this setup got the yellow face plate. If it is an indication for the other diver which one he will receive (or would grab instinctively), shouldn't the primary be yellow?

I mean, if a panicked diver will remember what I told him, that I donate the primary, it doesn't matter. If a panicked diver will go for what I have in my mouth, it doesn't matter. Only for the type of diver who instinctively grabs the yellow stuff, then it matters, right?

I could simply exchange the face covers I have now, but would that again confuse other divers, when they see me diving around with what looks like the octopus in my mouth?

Other option I am thinking about is getting a second black face cover, they are not that expensive, after all.

Or should I stop wondering and just keep on diving?