Solo Without an Octo

[Schwob]

I'll just throw this out there. You can breath off a DiveAlert whistle. I'm in no way suggesting it would be great, but if you need gas and all you have is a bad reg and a DiveAlert, that whistle will provide.

LOL, nothing wrong with what you wrote I presume but you literally just got me to lol. There is a (somewhat dismissive) saying in German for someone who is bareley going to make it, if at all (in a race, situation, game, life, whatever).
Something along the lines of "He / she whistles out of the last hole". (as in that's it, then there is no more)
Your words just put the perfect pictorial to that in my mind: A guy making his way to the surface honking away, sipping air from the air-whistle (ok, horn)... could not help it but to lol.

 

[caruso]

I use an AIR II specifically so I have a reg to share on buddy dives (donate the Primary) and a pony when I need a redundant source. It keeps down the clutter.

I do the same, for the same reasons. I carry the pony on all but the shallower easy reef dives so the odds of ever needing to breathe off the BCD reg are next to none.

 

[Schwob]

I do both, with an Octo on the back mounted first stage if I flip flop that day (e.g. dive with the wife and a solo dive) or w/o if solo is the main mode that day... I also started to explain where my "octo is" (on the pony and I use a yellow reg to make it less confusing for the buddy) when I thought I'd dive solo, but didn't. Once my wife is a bit more solid of a diver, that will be my main mode then.

Edit: I normally have my pony reg charged but valve off, but, when diving with a buddy in that config, I have the valve on.

 

[Johnoly]

... Additionally the extra 2nd is just one more thing to get tangled that has to be secured close to your body.....

Each of us dives differently and I'm a strong believer in there's "No Wrong" setup if you are comfortable with it and it works for you.
But as @tbone1004 knows,,,in cave diving many divers only 'finger' tighten their 2nd stages. This allow them to unscrew two of them underwater hundreds of feet back from surfacing so in order to swap them out when one get's fouled with sand or silt. I don't dive an air2 and I don't dive with loose regs,,,but there is no wrong setup if it works for you.

 

[JamesBon92007]

The Air2 fitting unscrews off any LP hose. If it was a big concern you can do a few things. Carry a spare hose if you were worried you might have a hose failure. Carry a $10 fitting to convert any LP hose in to an inflator hose. DGX Adapter: Turns LP Reg Hose into BC Inflator Hose This assumes you're using someone else's BC that has a standard inflator or you're carrying a back up inflator.

Any LP hose? I thought it was unwise to use an inflator hose to breathe from.

I thought the octopus was supposed to be for someone else, not me, so I never had one--I already have a second stage to breathe from. Now I have one because my girlfriend started diving. I figure the chances of her running out of air while diving with me are pretty close to zero but it makes her feel better. I also think the chances of her regulator failing are very remote since I inspect it regularly. Until I started doing "vacation diving" it was extremely rare that I would ever encounter another diver so what did I need an octopus for?

 

[CuzzA]

Any LP hose? I thought it was unwise to use an inflator hose to breathe from.

Yes, any LP hose will work fine. ScubaPro just rips off their customers making them believe their hose is different. It's not the hose that's different, it's the quick connect fitting. A standard inflator qc will not work with the larger Air2 qc. The Air2 qc fitting is threaded on to a LP hose.

 

[doctormike]

Each of us dives differently and I'm a strong believer in there's "No Wrong" setup if you are comfortable with it and it works for you.

So then what’s the point of this forum?

I believe that I might very well be wrong about anything, and I’m always happy to listen to another option, because it might be better.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Yes, any LP hose will work fine. ScubaPro just rips off their customers making them believe their hose is different. It's not the hose that's different, it's the quick connect fitting. A standard inflator qc will not work with the larger Air2 qc. The Air2 qc fitting is threaded on to a LP hose.

Well, that throws a wrench into the gears of my plans--I was planning on using a regulator hose along with a threaded BC adaptor on an octopus second stage. My understanding was that it was the hose that had the restriction, but not necessarily the quick-connector that goes to the BC. I suppose I could measure the flow rate somehow....

 

[johndiver999]

The air 2 adapter mates with a normal
Regulator second stage hose not
A bc inflator hose

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I dived solo without an octo for many years. When I began diving with Merry I added an octo but only used it twice, once to extend a dive with Merry and once when another buddy was out of air. These days our dives are essentially solo but I leave it on in case one of my buddies happens to find me.