Things Scuba Instructors teach that are either bad or just wrong.

[Boarderguy]

Ok, well great! I’m actually glad I was corrected because primary share is superior IMO.
I’m glad to hear that instructors can teach primary donate. For some reason I thought they were stuck doing the regular octo method. But then yes, I was reminded of the Air2 and in fact a DM that was assisting with our OW class in 1998 had one. I bought one too when I purchased my first gear and a few years later sold it.
A quick story about an Air2 air share gone bad.
So, my buddy and I were doing an air share and emergency ascent during a rescue class. It was my turn to be the OOA diver so I signaled him the throat slice and he hands me his primary, which BTW was on a 32” hose and way to short, but whatever. So I thought we were heading up and all of a sudden he bolts to the surface from 30’ ripping his shared second stage out of my mouth.
I switch back to my own reg and go up to see WTH happened? Turns out he grabbed his snorkel instead of his Air2 and got a mouth and wind pipe full of water!
He was coughing and sputtering for a while. When he calmed down we went back down and did it again. That was kind of an eye opener for me. What if it was for real at 100’?

How does him grabbing a snorkel instead of his air2 give any credence to not using air2? They are 2 very different things and the air2 requires practice just like going to a necklaced octo or one clipped off... that's like saying you won't ever use a scooter because someone ran up from 100 fsw 30 seconds because they didn't pay attention to their computer or ascent rate

 

[MarkA]

Ok, well great! I’m actually glad I was corrected because primary share is superior IMO.
I’m glad to hear that instructors can teach primary donate. For some reason I thought they were stuck doing the regular octo method. But then yes, I was reminded of the Air2 and in fact a DM that was assisting with our OW class in 1998 had one. I bought one too when I purchased my first gear and a few years later sold it.
A quick story about an Air2 air share gone bad.
So, my buddy and I were doing an air share and emergency ascent during a rescue class. It was my turn to be the OOA diver so I signaled him the throat slice and he hands me his primary, which BTW was on a 32” hose and way to short, but whatever. So I thought we were heading up and all of a sudden he bolts to the surface from 30’ ripping his shared second stage out of my mouth.
I switch back to my own reg and go up to see WTH happened? Turns out he grabbed his snorkel instead of his Air2 and got a mouth and wind pipe full of water!
He was coughing and sputtering for a while. When he calmed down we went back down and did it again. That was kind of an eye opener for me. What if it was for real at 100’?

Interesting about the air sharing air2 incident. In internet land I have read about this, but it’s the first time I have heard about it for real. I used an air2 for about 4 years with a snorkel clipped to the left side of the mask. During this time it never crossed my mind that the snorkel could be mistaken for the air2. Obviously wrong. Not having a snorkel attached to the mask would have helped? I had a 28” on the primary but gained a little extra space during practise it being a side exhaust with no right way up.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

How does him grabbing a snorkel instead of his air2 give any credence to not using air2? They are 2 very different things and the air2 requires practice just like going to a necklaced octo or one clipped off... that's like saying you won't ever use a scooter because someone ran up from 100 fsw 30 seconds because they didn't pay attention to their computer or ascent rate

I don’t think I said him grabbing his snorkel instead of his air2 diminished the value of the air2, did I?
I got rid of mine because I didn’t like that big heavy thing dangling around plus the inflator hose was too long for me, I saw issues with using it and trying to vent plus trying to manage an OOA buddy.
So I went to a Hog style bungeed second/long hose in 1999 as soon as I heard about it.

 

[Boarderguy]

Interesting about the air sharing air2 incident. In internet land I have read about this, but it’s the first time I have heard about it for real. I used an air2 for about 4 years with a snorkel clipped to the left side of the mask. During this time it never crossed my mind that the snorkel could be mistaken for the air2. Obviously wrong. Not having a snorkel attached to the mask would have helped? I had a 28” on the primary but gained a little extra space during practise it being a side exhaust with no right way up.

Go to a 40" primary routed under your arm if you're going to dive an air 2. A short primary can be donated but gives you and your buddy no room to maneuver or adjust as you ascend.

 

[Boarderguy]

I don’t think I said him grabbing his snorkel instead of his air2 diminished the value of the air2, did I?
I got rid of mine because I didn’t like that big heavy thing dangling around plus the inflator hose was too long for me, I saw issues with using it and trying to vent plus trying to manage an OOA buddy.
So I went to a Hog style bungeed second/long hose in 1999 as soon as I heard about it.

Sorry for misunderstanding. I've read you stating that before and it slipped my mind as I replied.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Interesting about the air sharing air2 incident. In internet land I have read about this, but it’s the first time I have heard about it for real. I used an air2 for about 4 years with a snorkel clipped to the left side of the mask. During this time it never crossed my mind that the snorkel could be mistaken for the air2. Obviously wrong. Not having a snorkel attached to the mask would have helped? I had a 28” on the primary but gained a little extra space during practise it being a side exhaust with no right way up.

Yeah it would have helped to either not have a snorkel at all or stow it somewhere else, then it wouldn’t have been there to grab. I honestly don’t know why he grabbed it, brain fart I guess?

 

[SlugLife]

Ok, well great! I’m actually glad I was corrected because primary share is superior IMO.
I’m glad to hear that instructors can teach primary donate. For some reason I thought they were stuck doing the regular octo method. But then yes, I was reminded of the Air2 and in fact a DM that was assisting with our OW class in 1998 had one. I bought one too when I purchased my first gear and a few years later sold it.
A quick story about an Air2 air share gone bad.
So, my buddy and I were doing an air share and emergency ascent during a rescue class. It was my turn to be the OOA diver so I signaled him the throat slice and he hands me his primary, which BTW was on a 32” hose and way to short, but whatever. So I thought we were heading up and all of a sudden he bolts to the surface from 30’ ripping his shared second stage out of my mouth.
I switch back to my own reg and go up to see WTH happened? Turns out he grabbed his snorkel instead of his Air2 and got a mouth and wind pipe full of water!
He was coughing and sputtering for a while. When he calmed down we went back down and did it again. That was kind of an eye opener for me. What if it was for real at 100’?

There is a debate about primary-donate vs secondary-donate, but the primary-donators seem to be the general consensus. I can't speak for the industry in general, but SSI taught primary-donate in Open Water as of 2019. The reasons most often cited are "your desperate OOA buddy needs air now, and you know your primary works, and it's easier for the buddy to locate because it's in your mouth."

That said, I'm a rebel and secondary-donate, because it works better for my setup, my secondary is highly visible, I do regulator-switching every dive and know it works, and my primary is on a necklace. I also tell dive-buddies, "don't signal, just grab the regulator on a bright-neon-hose." Part of the reason my primary is on a necklace, and secondary is on a breakaway clip relates to your story:

A quick story about an Air2 air share gone bad.
So, my buddy and I were doing an air share and emergency ascent during a rescue class. It was my turn to be the OOA diver so I signaled him the throat slice and he hands me his primary, which BTW was on a 32” hose and way to short, but whatever. So I thought we were heading up and all of a sudden he bolts to the surface from 30’ ripping his shared second stage out of my mouth.
I switch back to my own reg and go up to see WTH happened? Turns out he grabbed his snorkel instead of his Air2 and got a mouth and wind pipe full of water!
He was coughing and sputtering for a while. When he calmed down we went back down and did it again. That was kind of an eye opener for me. What if it was for real at 100’?

For me, I had a minor incident. I was solo-diving at 30 feet, and suddenly there were LOTS of bubbles coming from my 2nd-stage. So I go to grab my octo, and can't find the octo in about 10-second in all the bubbles, and proceed to simply surface and worry about the octo later. I later discovered the problem was the hose-to-2nd-stage wasn't tight enough, after I got back to the boat and the 2nd stage was gone (somewhere on the bottom of the lake).

There were a few personal lessons I learned here. However, the major ones were:

• I now ALWAYS dive with redundant air, and other redundant equipment (solo or not). I treat redundant equipment costs like an inexpensive health-insurance. It may be costly, but not more costly than an injury or death.
• Being able to find BOTH regulators at ALL times, even when completely blind is vital. For me, this means using retainers, having regulators always in the same place, and PRACTICE regulator-switching without looking.
• ^ Practice and drilling is vital, even of the BASIC skills you think are easy and obvious. You may have to perform these skills under stress and other difficulties (ex: lots of bubbles).

I've harped on some pieces of equipment before, although what I really tell people is they need to actually practice and drill using this equipment (like the Air2, or a pony-bottle). Even when I practiced air-switching, I did breathe in a tiny bit of water a couple times because I forgot to purge or blow-out first. A snorkel confusion incident is unusual, but my mind goes towards "he probably hadn't practiced air-share in a long time"

 

[SlugLife]

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Yeah it would have helped to either not have a snorkel at all or stow it somewhere else, then it wouldn’t have been there to grab. I honestly don’t know why he grabbed it, brain fart I guess?

I read this as a snorkel-incident, and not an Air2-incident. It never crossed my mind that someone would or could mistakenly grab their snorkel, but it makes sense how that could happen. I also read that as practicing and revisiting skills with the equipment you have, especially when making changes.

It does also bring up an interesting point about whether snorkels could be a (minor) hazard in some circumstances. I'm not inclined to quite say that, unless I read more stories about snorkel & 2nd stage confusion.

Personally, I find a snorkel on my mask is bulky and annoying. During my AOW class I was required to have one by the dive-agency. I clipped it to a random d-ring, and my instructor didn't complain.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Snorkels belong in a pocket as they normally are not needed.

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

Trying to incorrectly add lead weights while in a swimming pool.