Solo Cave Diving: Equipment Configuration

[PfcAJ]

What about the right valve? Can you reach the valve and shut it down during a free-flow while trapped momentarily in a major restriction because you got caught on the line or your wing self-inflated? Hence, my reason for whether it should be appropriate to shutdown the isolation manifold if you're entering a major restriction.


I was reading an article by Steve Bogaerts, and he said: anyone who hasn't had an incident while diving is either a liar or just hasn't dived enough. This isn't verbatim.

?? I can reach all the valves.

Wing inflating is probably the easiest to deal with if I’m stuck in a restriction. It’s not like I’m goin anywhere. Pop that quick disconnect.

Trapped in a restriction, caught in the line, can’t reach anything. Ok guy.

And Steve is right. But he’s also not the kind of guy to make up wacky hypotheticals to try and make some nonexistent point.

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

...wacky hypotheticals...

Are the reality. One problem, two problems, three problems occurring simultaneously are the main cause of fatalities.

 

[PfcAJ]

Are the reality. One problem, two problems, three problems occurring simultaneously are the main cause of fatalities.

Nah, people aren’t dying from wacky equipment failure scenarios.

 

[RyanT]

...And, let's stop feeding the troll

 

[tbone1004]

What about the right valve? Can you reach the valve and shut it down during a free-flow while trapped momentarily in a major restriction because you got caught on the line or your wing self-inflated? Hence, my reason for whether it should be appropriate to shutdown the isolation manifold if you're entering a major restriction.


I was reading an article by Steve Bogaerts, and he said: anyone who hasn't had an incident while diving is either a liar or just hasn't dived enough. This isn't verbatim.

you should never be in a restriction that tight in backmount, period. If you know you're going there, then you should be in sidemount and if you don't know it's there, just don't go past it and come back with an appropriate gear configuration.
The one caveat is if you have to be in backmount for whatever reason and in that case you would back out and push them in front if you but again there are a handful of places in the world like that and most people shouldn't be anywhere near those places.

 

[rjack321]

Are the reality. One problem, two problems, three problems occurring simultaneously are the main cause of fatalities.

They are? Got any actual cave examples? Cause equipment is almost never the issue, poor decision making is (violating gas volumes or density or visual jumps being the biggest, O2 toxicity is in there too)

 

[mdwalter]

?? I can reach all the valves.

Wing inflating is probably the easiest to deal with if I’m stuck in a restriction. It’s not like I’m goin anywhere. Pop that quick disconnect.

Trapped in a restriction, caught in the line, can’t reach anything. Ok guy.

And Steve is right. But he’s also not the kind of guy to make up wacky hypotheticals to try and make some nonexistent point.

And Steve would not be diving back mounted doubles so he would not be considering any of these far fetched scenarios related to BM.

 

[SlugLife]

(disclaimer: I'm not a cave diver, so no advice from me, but I find this interesting from a general solo-perspective)

I tend to do "rule of halves." It's like "rule of thirds," plus one more layer of redundancy. The general idea is I should be able to handle two similar failures without dying. For example, lets say one air-source gets taken out by a rocky-ceiling, you switch tanks/open-circuit, but experience some panic and are now breathing at twice your standard SAC rate. Do you survive? There are lots of ways to do redundancy; equipment, skills, training, backup plans, and so on. Even a DSMB can act like a BCD with some practice.

Honestly sometimes no buddy is better than a random insta-buddy or dangerous dive buddy.

To put it another way, "insta-buddies are like solo-diving, with a buddy-hazard."

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

Got any actual cave examples?

That question puts you at the top of the IQ list. The answer determines whether you remain there. For instance, shutting down the isolation manifold before entering a major restriction (not a squeeze) and turning it back on once clear of the restriction (in case you’re unable to shutdown the free-flowing valve). Would that technique withstand scrutiny from your perspective? @tbone1004 pointed out that once you realize you cannot go further into an extended restriction (for whatever reason), a decision should be made to push back (non sequitur). In one particular sea cave, you would need to stage deco tanks (260 ft) at the cave entrance (bringing one or two AL80s with the same gas as your bottom gas) before traveling along a major restriction. Should a free-flow occur, you would not be able to turn back to retrieve the stages and abort the dive until you complete the penetration back and forth (entering cave at 260 ft and ascending to 200 ft before turning back. Distance covered 600 ft return trip.) I’m thinking gas logistics would indicate the use of a CCR or sidemount. A free-flow in a major restriction has the potential to pin you to the roof of a cave and prevent you from shutting down the manifold valve. Most training agencies don’t practice real world contingencies.

 

[grantctobin]

That question puts you at the top of the IQ list. The answer determines whether you remain there. For instance, shutting down the isolation manifold before entering a major restriction (not a squeeze) and turning it back on once clear of the restriction (in case you’re unable to shutdown the free-flowing valve). Would that technique withstand scrutiny from your perspective? @TBone pointed out that once you realize you cannot go further into an extended restriction (for whatever reason), a decision should be made to push back (non sequitur). In one particular sea cave, you would need to stage deco tanks (260 ft) at the cave entrance (bringing one or two AL80s with the same gas as your bottom gas) before traveling along a major restriction. Should a free-flow occur, you would not be able to turn back to retrieve the stages and abort the dive until you complete the penetration back and forth (entering cave at 260 ft and ascending o 200 ft before turning back. Distance covered 600 ft return trip.) I’m thinking gas logistics would indicate the use of a CCR or sidemount. A free-flow in a major restriction has the potential to pin you to the roof of a cave and prevent you from shutting down the manifold valve. Most training agencies don’t practice real world contingencies.

Are you cave trained? Are you certified as a diver?