To Octo or not to Octo, that is the question. Need advice!

[merxlin]

For what it's worth, I had a buddy have his 2nd stage (recently serviced) stick closed (which is not supposed to happen, but parts do break) at 90 ft. No air. Nada. I was close, but all he did was grab his octo and it was all good. Without an octo, he's breathing off mine (or my primary). Had it not been his 2nd stage and an OOA, and I was farther away (bad buddy!) this could have turned out very different. I'd like to have that first option and be as self reliant as possible.

 

[Paladin]

I can't realistically imagine ever having to buddy breathe. When would that happen? If you had two buddies who both ran out of air simultaneously?

I have an octo. It works. I check it works before each dive. I maintain ample reserve to share, appropriate to the depth I am at and assuming the receiver will have an elevated SAC. I also make sure I know what the situation is with the gas levels/consumption of the divers I supervise in the water. That situational awareness tends to significantly decrease the odds of ever having to share air in the first place (other than very rare equipment failures, or people who lie about their gas levels on dives).

I can. Your buddy has an OOA or catastrophic regulator failure and you discover that your own secondary is malfunctioning. You both will now have to share one second stage. If you have practiced the simple, tried and true buddy breathing technique, you will both make it to the surface.

Both of my sons learned the technique during training and we practice it regularly. For us, having an octo is a convenience, not an absolute necessity. That said, we do carry them but, as I said, primarily for convenience and the possibility of diving with someone who has never been taught how to buddy breathe.

While I admittedly started this in a mischievous effort to liven things up a bit, the fact is, I really don't understand why buddy breathing isn't taught in OW classes. It isn't hard to do and just might come in handy. No skill learned is ever wasted time or effort.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I also teach my students that they are in control of their air supply and to be ready to deploy an octo. They should also not be diving in a herd where someone who is an OOA and panicking because they were never taught that if you have a buddy OOA is an inconvenience not an emergency.
If they lose their buddy or did not have one in the first place, "I'm with a DM in a group I don't need a buddy doo de doop:dork:,(unless they were solo diving to begin with) they probably should not be in the water to begin with. If that is the case Darwin may sort things out quite effectively.

I dive a long hose and if I see a panicked diver coming at me I want to hand off my primary and put a few feet between us. If he takes off he is going to lose that reg because he is not dragging me to the surface. And I sure as hell am not going to let him get a hold of me from the front. I will defend my air supply and teach students to do the same. Know where their octo is and hand it off or get on it. I don't believe in the OOA diver take. I've seen people given the OOA signal and open their arms wide. Kind of like "here I am attack me". Bull.

Practice donating your octo wherever that happens to be and/or go to your back up. Learn to manage your air, plan for gas loss (stay close to your buddy or have a redundant supply), realize it is not an emergency if you are prepared for it and stay calm. Or panic and seriously reduce your chances of survival.

 

[merxlin]

BTW- having been given a faulty octo during an OOA event (diaphragm was completely gone), please make sure you check and service it as well as you do your primary. Usually when it is needed- it is NEEDED.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Another good reason to have an octo that performs just as well as your primary. It's why I dive HOG's.

 

[Shftrdog]

It is almost a standard to dive with an octo. A lot of places wont let you dive with out one. I know in Cozumel you have to have one. It is a great safty thing, I would recomend getting one and you don't need to spend the big bucks either. Just get a regulor octo for around $100 to $130 and you will be fine. We have some Oceanic one's for $89.99

 

[gcarter]

I can. Your buddy has an OOA or catastrophic regulator failure and you discover that your own secondary is malfunctioning. You both will now have to share one second stage. If you have practiced the simple, tried and true buddy breathing technique, you will both make it to the surface.

Both of my sons learned the technique during training and we practice it regularly. For us, having an octo is a convenience, not an absolute necessity. That said, we do carry them but, as I said, primarily for convenience and the possibility of diving with someone who has never been taught how to buddy breathe.

While I admittedly started this in a mischievous effort to liven things up a bit, the fact is, I really don't understand why buddy breathing isn't taught in OW classes. It isn't hard to do and just might come in handy. No skill learned is ever wasted time or effort.

I was taught buddy breathing in my PADI OW 1-1/2 years ago in Boracay...

???

 

[DevonDiver]

I can. Your buddy has an OOA or catastrophic regulator failure and you discover that your own secondary is malfunctioning.

Ok.. let's be honest. How difficult is that to avoid?

Proper diligence on preventative maintenance, kit inspection, effective buddy checks and awareness/responsibility in the water. That's all.

Maybe it's another good argument for a bungeed backup/primary donation - but when I get into the water, knowing that I'd have to use that AAS if I needed to donate air (via the primary), then I make very sure of it's functionality. Even to the point of taking practice breaths from it at an early point in the dive (think modified s-drill here).

If a diver jumps into the water, habitually ignoring the 'yellow plastic thing' that they've got dangling by their knees, or stuffed in a pocket, paying it no regard whatsoever - is the lack of buddy-breathing skills that's the problem? Or is it the sloppy attitude and failure to apply any proactive measures to ensure dive safety?

While I admittedly started this in a mischievous effort to liven things up a bit, the fact is, I really don't understand why buddy breathing isn't taught in OW classes. It isn't hard to do and just might come in handy. No skill learned is ever wasted time or effort.

I get what you're saying... and I'm mostly playing devil's advocate for the opposite camp. I don't teach buddy breathing. I have a finite time with my students in the water. I'd rather spend that extra 10-15 minutes of practice time hammering better AAS drills into them. The principle, as elucidated by Bruce Lee; "I fear not the man who has practices 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."

BTW- having been given a faulty octo during an OOA event (diaphragm was completely gone), please make sure you check and service it as well as you do your primary. Usually when it is needed- it is NEEDED.

Buddy checks?

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[merxlin]

Buddy checks?

It breathed great on the boat . The problem was a shot diaphragm so underwater it also let a lot of water in.

 

[DevonDiver]

It breathed great on the boat . The problem was a shot diaphragm so underwater it also let a lot of water in.

It's part of my set-up check. A quick breathe from the reg before you turn the air on - will alert you to such problems.

It might let water in (not ideal), but that doesn't render it inoperable.

If you can breathe from a free-flowing reg, you can breathe from a reg with a busted diaphragm or exhaust valve.