The "other" end of the DIR question

[Boogie711]

I see this scenario rather like the question "OK, so I'm in a car with 3 wheels and no brakes, and I start going down a giant mountain slope. Should I hit the guardrail and try to bleed off speed, or should I try to hold unto the handbrake and try to control the vehicle through the corners?"

The answer is - don't get in the car in the first place.

 

[jonnythan]

No, no.. it's more like "well, my car has no brakes but I really want to run this giant mountain slope. I'm just a newbie at this, but wouldn't it be OK to just ram the car into the cliff to slowdown if I had to for some reason? I don't plan on it, but yanno, just in case."

The answer there is - take brakes with you, and learn how to downshift. The car without brakes may be appropriate for some things (I'm stretching the analogy to its limit here), but careening down a mountain slope is not one of them, just like taking a 13 cf pony to 150 feet as a backup tank is not appropriate.

 

[H2Andy]

boogie711 and jonnythan:

i love this analogy. consider it stolen.

 

[Boogie711]

What else can we possibly do to hijack this thread... how about we discuss whether puppies should be butt mounted or slung like a stage?

 

[H2Andy]

first let me ask, what's the official DIR position on that?

(gasoline... check.. matches... matches... matches... here we go... matches, check...)

 

[Boogie711]

I think as long as it's slung on the left hand side, to facilitate deployment of the long hose, you should be OK. Butt mounting is clearly for strokes.

 

[rjens]

OK, I give. I agree that this is a planned failure. And I agree that diving to 150 without adequate backup is a bad idea (which is why I said this in my original post)

In reality, I wouldn't dive to 150 without a good buddy and isolated doubles (and a heck of a lot more training). But I am curious if all I had was a small pony, would it make any sense to use it in this manner.

I am still a bit curious if it wouldn't make sense to do the ESA from max depth to 1/2 of max depth, then go back to the reg for a more controlled ascent. Take the "spare air" out of the equation. If you lack imagination try this one.

You are diving with a buddy in TRUK lagoon at 140FSW on AL80s. you have agreed before hand to thumb the dive at 1200psi. You start to ascend and realize that your buddy has inadvertently gotten entangled, so you descend to see if he needs assistance and you swim right into a transparent gill net. Now you are both entangled. you start cutting yourself loose but by the time you and your buddy are untangled your SPG says you are at 500 psi.

What do you do? do you breath normally up to 60fsw then ESA the balance? or do you take a last breath then ESA up to 60fsw before taking the next breath? knowing that as an expert diver you can flair at 65 fsw, dump some air from your BC and be under control for a 30fpm ascent by 50fsw...

no fair saying you won't dive TRUK because you can't dive doubles...

I don't plan for failure, but I do think about what I would do in a worst case scenario...

 

[Snowbear]

What else can we possibly do to hijack this thread... how about we discuss whether puppies should be butt mounted or slung like a stage?

That's already been covered
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=184518&highlight=poodle#post184518

 

[rjens]

That's already been covered
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=184518&highlight=poodle#post184518

Dang, now I have to clean my keyboard again...

 

[Zippsy]

Spare air? Out of air scenarios?? Consumption rates??? You just couldn't leave a decent thread alone, could you? Some people are born to argue. Thanks.