What colors for purge buttons when donating from your mouth?

[dlwalke]

If I am planning on putting my safe second on a short hose and donating my primary, what color purge buttons should I use for which reg? I don't want to have someone try and yank the short hose reg off of my neck (its now on a necklace) so I'm thinking that I should replace the current "see-me" yellow purge button with the gray one from my primary. Should I just switch covers such that the one in my mouth is the yellow one?

Dave

 

[jonnythan]

dlwalke once bubbled...
If I am planning on putting my safe second on a short hose and donating my primary, what color purge buttons should I use for which reg? I don't want to have someone try and yank the short hose reg off of my neck (its now on a necklace) so I'm thinking that I should replace the current "see-me" yellow purge button with the gray one from my primary. Should I just switch covers such that the one in my mouth is the yellow one?

Dave

I have a blue TX40 and a yellow TX40. The yellow one is my primary, the darker blue one is my backup. If I could make the backup invisible, I would. That one's *mine*

 

[SeaJay]

dlwalke once bubbled...
If I am planning on putting my safe second on a short hose and donating my primary, what color purge buttons should I use for which reg? I don't want to have someone try and yank the short hose reg off of my neck (its now on a necklace) so I'm thinking that I should replace the current "see-me" yellow purge button with the gray one from my primary. Should I just switch covers such that the one in my mouth is the yellow one?

Dave

There are people who will yell about calling it a "safe second." They say with fervor that it's a "backup," not a "safe second."

But whatever... We all know what you meant.

I just went through this myself... And decided on keeping a gray cover on my primary and a black cover on my backup. Like everyone else, I don't want someone unfamiliar with my rig trying to grab the wrong one.

But the reality of the situation is that an OOA diver will take whatever I give them. It's got air, and they'll take it. Period. Believe me! They signal OOA, and I grab my primary and it's right in their face. They won't have to do any grabbing at all.

And if the OOA diver ignores their training and just starts grabbing without ever signalling (panic does that sort of thing to people), guess which one they go for? You guessed it... The one that's bubbling. My primary. They don't care which color it is, to tell you the truth. It's the bubbles that attracts them. That's all they can think about. That said, the gray is also cosiderably more visible than the black.

...So I kept the gray cover on my primary and put a black cover on my backup, which is on a necklace. When I purchased it, it came with a yellow cover. I changed it so that it would look good and everyone would stop asking me how I was going to donate the one on the necklace. I got tired of explaining it.

Funny... Nobody asks any more, now that it's black.

FYI, I have an extra cover in yellow and an extra cover in black that will fit a Scubapro S550 or R380. PM me if you need them.

 

[Tavi]

I have a Tx-50, with a Tx-40 back up. The Tx-40 had the yellow cover. I just switched the covers so that the reg in my mouth has the yellow faceplate.

It really doesn't matter, but that yellow kinda gets your attention when the rest of the gear is all black.

 

[Mverick]

SeaJay once bubbled...




And if the OOA diver ignores their training and just starts grabbing without ever signalling (panic does that sort of thing to people), guess which one they go for? You guessed it... The one that's bubbling. My primary. They don't care which color it is, to tell you the truth. It's the bubbles that attracts them. That's all they can think about. That said, the gray is also cosiderably more visible than the black.

That's how I've seen it.

If they are OOA, They grab the one in your mouth. Cause it's the easiest to find.

One thing, you should go over this with your Buddy before hitting the water. So they know that grabbing the reg in your mouth is OK. You should go over Emergency drills with your buddy everytime before you hit the water. Especially if you don't know them. So you know there gear and they know yours....

But they'll do it anyway....LOL No matter what color it is... Mine are both black... But one is bubbling alot....

 

[ElectricZombie]

Both of my regs are black. I don't beleive in relying on a color scheme for out of air situations. It really isn't a good idea to wear a brightly colored backup reg in a necklace because some random diver who isn't familiar with how everything works will might grab that one. Most of the time they will go for the primary in your mouth.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I just use whatever color is laying around. I donate the one in my mouth no matter what color it is. Every one who dives with me knows that.

 

[Waterlover]

At depth it will not appear to be the color you want it to be, Remember ROYGBIV. It's about the OOA procedure you institute to do the skill. If you can't do the skilll properly color doesn't mean anything. So find a mentor to go over the skill with and make it muscle memory. Practice the skill on every dive and review it with new buddies so they know what to expect. If you really want to know a color try pink

 

[wreckchick]

When I had someone trying to donate to me when I had a freeflow, the donated reg had a little bit of yellow on it, but it wasn't one of the obnoxious, giant yellow monsters (think R190 octo, holy moley is that thing huge and bright) and the only reason I saw it at all through the bubbles was it was 2" from my mask and I caught a glimpse of yellow. Had it been black or gray or dark blue, I wouldn't have seen it at all. I had an airsource so it wasn't crucial that I got that reg, but the one in my mouth was a bright yellow Mares Axis octo and the donating person couldn't see that either.

My opinion, the yellow is very visible in reduced visibility and might be worth having on a reg that you plan to donate.

Rachel

 

[MikeFerrara]

You know where your buddies head is. Their mouth is right in the middle of their face. That's the best place to look for air, IMO. BTW, does any one remember which colors are lost first with depth?