Spare Air

[ItsBruce]

1. I'm not sure a .44 will stop a bear unless it hits something vital.

2. I can hit a gnat with a good pellet rifle.

3. I don't believe bears get pissed off further. They are either completely pissed off or asleep.

4. If 3 cubic feet of air is sufficient for a particular OOA, then a Spare Air is as good as any pony. Whether 3 cubic feet is sufficient is simply a matter of calculating gas usage. At 33 fsw, assuming an SAC of 1.0 (due to stress), you have 30 seconds to sort out and/or try to grab an errant buddy and 1 minute for a 30 ft/sec. assent. Alternatively, you have 1 minute to sort out and/or try to grab an errant buddy and then do a cesa. And, absent some reallly compelling argument, I'm not going to carry a pony of any size on a 30 fsw dive. I think I'd rather stay home. But, I have no issue with a Spare Air.

 

[Diver Dennis]

You're right Bruce. At that depth a Spare Air is fine.

 

[Thalassamania]

There's also the issues of deployment, testing and overall qualtity that have been raised.

 

[ItsBruce]

Deployment and testing are very important. Deployment and testing are skilsl to be practiced and mastered just like any of a number of other skills that will keep one alive. If someone plans to dive with a Spare Air without having practiced deploying and using it, they should not bother with it. But, the same goes for doubles with an isolation manifold or a pony.

For the record, tomorrow I'll see how long I can stretch the Spare Air in the pool. I'll report after.

 

[Thalassamania]

We wait with bated breath<G>.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Has anyone actually tried to ascend from 130 fsw using only their spare air?? What is the depth below which people feel you should use a pony instead of a Spare Air as an independant alternate air source?

Diving Doc

I think you'd really be pushing it attempting to ascend from 130 on 3 cu ft of air.
This is a terrific alternative to Spare Air and is designed for rescue from that depth.

Here's the SCUBA DIVING MAG Review: http://www.compactscuba.com/airsourcereview.htm

Pricing info:

http://subseasports.com/store/product76.html

Also, the EAS bag is a great design-simple to mount and incredibly easy to deploy.

 

[HowardE]

Deployment and testing are very important. Deployment and testing are skilsl to be practiced and mastered just like any of a number of other skills that will keep one alive. If someone plans to dive with a Spare Air without having practiced deploying and using it, they should not bother with it. But, the same goes for doubles with an isolation manifold or a pony.

For the record, tomorrow I'll see how long I can stretch the Spare Air in the pool. I'll report after.

I stretched a spare air for closer to 4 minutes (while at the Jules Verne Lagoon in Key Largo in 30 FSW - which works out to a SAC of .4) according to my original post after I tried it. If you want a more accurate test... Breathe hard, instead of being relaxed, as I was. Also... As suggested by Lamont... Don't go down with the spare air in your hands. Deploy it as you would in reality.

 

[redacted]

Here is a classic post about gas management in case anyone is interested:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=401869&postcount=65

Good gas management is essential, but it is not a 100% solution to OOA. Drbill's experience would have been less challenging with just about any redundant air source - even a spare air.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=37780

Of course, any (working) pony would have taken care of that problem as well as many other possible scenarios.

 

[redacted]

at least 95% of divers would fail if you actually tested it. it assumes that you can deploy the spare air successfully, breathe off it in a reasonably controlled fashion, and get to a better source of air in minute or two.

your average recreational diver will probably fail to deploy it, or fumble it so badly that they wind up in a worse shape and just run out of gas twice. it is not going to deploy reliably (unless you bungee it under your neck or something) and once you deploy it will be useless.

all it is doing is promoting overconfidence and complicating a response to an emergency. it is not better than nothing, it is definitely worse than nothing, so nothing is better.

Is this refering to a spare air or the regulator strapped to a slung pony? It sounds like it would fit either. Same logic process gets you to believing nothing is better than a buddy? So is the answer DIR or golf? Even DIR is not foolproof and then there is "fore".

What ever you choose to use (including your good buddy), practice is the key to executing the required tasks when the occasion arises. And recognise that if you plan to use a spare air, you are planning to do a CESA aided by a few breaths as you ascend. You are not planning on ascending at 30 ft per minute with normal rest stops enroute.

 

[Thalassamania]

That looks like a move in a better direction.