Small Potatoes, but...

[Cacia]

Lately I have noticed a lot of bright yellow bungeed necklaced regs on DIR divers.

Is that "right"? Are ya'll afraid some random paniced diver might grab the wrong reg?

just curious. I am not compliant but thought that was important to switch my cover to black when I went long hose.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

Lately I have noticed a lot of bright yellow bungeed necklaced regs on DIR divers. Is that "right"?

Sounds like one of the Manta necklaces. I am not a huge fan of them for the following reasons - don't like breakaways, cannot be adjusted (either overall length or mouthpiece loop size), too expensive. I have also heard that they don't "grab" as well as shock cord, which would seem to make the mouthpiece more likely to slip out.

As far as whether they are "right", I don't really know the answer to that question. AFAIK, there's not really a "standard" DIR way to configure the necklace (although I think more folks tend to favor the non-breakaway style under the mouthpiece zip-tie).

 

[Mr.X]

Lately I have noticed a lot of bright yellow bungeed necklaced regs on DIR divers.

Hi Catherine,

I think your little reclining Buddha needs a bright yellow necklace! He is lying next to a body of water. Safety first!

Cheers,

X

 

[lamont]

some DIR divers put a bright cover on their long hose and black cover on the bungee.

i've always figured that either i'll be able to see a diver signalling first, or they'll go for the one in my mouth anyway without color coding being useful at all... everyone i dive with has both covers black with black bungee...

the yellow bungee sounds like a hawaii DIR thing...

 

[Ben_ca]

I don't think it matters to "Thinking" divers...

You will have your buddy right there and with constant communication you will know what's around you....

With Catherine's scenario say sharing a dive site with a bunch of traditionally geared divers. Now the vis is good so they can see you... and you can see them. There is the possibility of you getting blind sided but what's the worst that can happen? They grab for your necklace and you shove your primary in their mouth... if they are too fast and grab the necklace they aren't going anywhere so just calm them down then pass on the longhose.

Now if you have limited vis I doubt someone will come out of the gloom racing toward you with an OOA that might be a bit more stressful but then again if they can't see you they probably won't be kicking toward you looking for gas...

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

some DIR divers put a bright cover on their long hose and black cover on the bungee.

My guess is that these are divers who are relatively new to DIR, and haven't thought the whole gas-sharing thing through. Do they also put bright covers on all their stage and deco bottle regs? And when faced with the resulting array of multiple brightly colored regs to choose from, how does the OOG diver know which one to go for? For example, do they take the brightly colored stage reg from the mouth, or the brightly colored primary reg that is clipped off to the right D-ring?

I personally don't see the point of a different color cover, and I believe it actually telegraphs the wrong message about the donor's intentions on how to handle an OOG situation. It's almost as if they are expecting the OOG diver to make the decision of what reg to take ("see, it's the bright one!"). In most cases, an OOG (possibly panicked) diver is in no position mentally to stop and think about that, which is why the donating diver has to take control of the situation. And if the donor is truly in control, then the reg color is going to be irrelevant.

As you stated, in an actual emergency you will either see the diver coming (and donate from your mouth), or if they approach you unseen and can't find the brightly colored reg fast enough, then they will take the reg out of your mouth anyway. Either way, they get the "right" one, so there's no compelling reason to use a different color cover, IMO.

On top of that, color perception changes with depth, so there's no telling what color the OOG diver will "see" when the time comes. For these and a host of other reasons, relying on some type of color-coding scheme to identify a reg is not considered DIR.

 

[Cacia]

yea, I am speaking of the reg cover itself, not the bungee, sorry for the confusion. Of course, clear thinking, tri-mixing DIR divers don't color code, but what about a random diver in those hot pink split fins looking for a breath and tunnel/fixating on that noose around your neck with the neon regulator?

Out of curiosity, what is the DIR thinking regarding the panicked non-DIR diver charging you for air? I had a conversation once with a DIR diver and I was saying that I would not share air with an out of control grabby diver. I would maintain my distance if they did not demonstrate the ability to cooperate physically.

Does DIR have a philosophy on this?

Because I was under the impression this DIR diver was rather appalled, and I felt kinda bad and started second guessing my "don't become a second victim" deeply ingrained approach. (not as a DM..just as a diver)

Remember, I am speaking of being approached by a non-team member, in full panic.

Thoughts?

there's not really a "standard" DIR way to configure the necklace

that surprises me.

 

[lamont]

My guess is that these are divers who are relatively new to DIR, and haven't thought the whole gas-sharing thing through. Do they also put bright covers on all their stage and deco bottle regs?

I've only ever seen that on purely recreational DIR divers.

 

[lamont]

yea, I am speaking of the reg cover itself, not the bungee, sorry for the confusion. Of course, clear thinking Tri-mixing DIR divers don't color code, but what about a random diver in those hot pink split fins looking for a breath and tunnel/fixating on that noose around your neck with the neon regulator?

Out of curiosity, what is the DIR thinking regarding the paniced non-DIR diver charging you for air? I had a conversation once with a DIR diver and I was saying that I would not share air with an out of control grabby diver. I would maintain my distance if they did not demonstrate the ability to cooperate physically.

Does DIR have a philosophy on this?

Because I was under the impression this DIR diver was rather appalled, and I felt kinda bad and started second guessing my "don't become a second victim" deeply ingrained approach. (not as a DM..just as a diver)

Remember, I am speaking of being approached by a non-team member, in full panic.

Thoughts?

Well, in that situation planning is probably out the window, but...

I would tend to assume that if I don't donate gas to the diver and attempt to calm them down that the other diver will have the ability to kill both of us. My default reaction would be to donate gas and then try to establish physical control over the situation. I'd try to get into their face and establish eye contact and calm them down. If its gotten so far out of control that I've lost my mask and I'm worried about them actually ripping my backup reg out then I'd probably ball up and protect my backup reg and start defending myself.

I can think of a lot of other edge conditions, though, where none of this would be appropriate. If they do this to me when I've got 40 minutes of O2 obligation and they're bolting to the surface and my mask has been ripped off -- then they're definitely getting the long hose ripped out of their mouth. If its a choice between _definitely_ explosive decompression for me and a _chance_ of CAGE for them, then they'll be taking their chances. And with a decompression obligation I'll probably start defending myself a lot sooner...

At least those are my thoughts on it on paper... We'll have to see what I do if that ever happens...

 

[PfcAJ]

I think we're all in accord that color coding of regs (for any purpose) is not within the confines of "DIR" diving. Of course, some will, but that is neither here nor there.

What you could be witnessing is just a matter of people switching their tradtional regulator setup (octo w/yellow cover) to a hogarthian style (long hose and bungee), but not switching the faceplates of the regs.

What was their octo is now their bungee necklace, and the yellow cover remains.