Which hand for the HID light?

[mempilot]

Ah heck, just move it to the DIR Free forum. LOL I have tried both hands and prefer the left. I use my right hand for my knife in entanglements, writing on my slate, manipulating my computer on my left wrist (oh man!), donating my long hose, scratching my short hose, and manipulating my drysuit valves. All of this would be difficult with the light in the right hand.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

. . .Carry the light, vs. a goodman handle unnecessarily encumbers one hand for no reason.

Looping the cord around your neck creates it's own potential problems,.....just about then you need to deploy the hose..........uhm, the cord, no, the hose......OK BOTH in a jumbled snake that is less than3 ft long now <hang>. . .QUOTE]

Comfort, that's the reason. Encumbered?? Never felt that way. The Goodman is still attached for when its use is convenient.

Oh shucks, I need to deploy the hose but can't tell the difference between the hose and the cord . . . except that the hose is attached to the reg in my mouth! Never keep the light in my mouth--now that would be encumbered.

ROFLMAO

theskull

You'll learn sooner or later skull.

Deploying the long hose which might be encumbered by light cord erronerously wrapped around it by the incorrect diver who has it around their neck, but I guess you couldn't read what I wrote and figure out what I was saying....score one for comprehension on your part.

Like I've said, you'll learn the correct way sooner or later, or maybe you'll continue to do it incorrectly. Either way sunshine, do what you like.

Please read Mempilot latest post, he sum it up quite well, why things are done the way they are.

As to the goodman handle, why would you not use it if it's there. It free's up your fingers and hand to manipulate what you need to. Hanging onto the light encumbers one hand, unless of course you are as slopping as I think by the sounds of it, and drop it in the dirt or chuck it over your shoulder when you need to do something NOW.

Keep thinking and reading, you'll probably give your head a shake and wonder what you were thinking in a day or two, maybe longer.

Of course, maybe you are right and the best in the world are wrong......yeah maybe thats it. You out smarted everybody on this one. Guessin' that's why you're the skull!!

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Thanks for the back-up Brando, I'm sure you get annoyed as I do watching pompus a$$e$ spout their foolish and ill thoughout dribble. You couldn't have come along at a better time. He's laughing at our reasons for doing it this way, and you stop by with a coupe real world scenarios of exactly this happening, I've seen the makings of it too, many times.

Oh well they trip over themselves soon enough.

I'm with Mem, send the issue to a DIRfree thread and watch them eventually come to the same conclusion as you're trying to tell them for free, right now.

 

[jonnythan]

Let me pose a question.

If you're diving a long hose and have your light in your right hand, what do you do if your buddy gives you the OOA?

 

[Scuba_Steve]

That's part of what we've been discussing!

One would assume by now the light is in the LEFT hand??? NO???? It prevents a whole host of questions and concerns!!

Sorry guys, I'm outta here. I don't think I'm getting it.

Have fun.

 

[jonnythan]

Well, there are some people who seem to be saying it's OK to put it in the right hand.

I'd like to see what they'd do during an OOA.

 

[simbrooks]

Well, there are some people who seem to be saying it's OK to put it in the right hand.

I'd like to see what they'd do during an OOA.

Although i have never had to do it more than once in anger, i have passed the long hose off for OOA, and countless times back in a dark hole for practice. Most of those times my light was clipped off to the right shoulder d ring occasionally in my right hand, BUT thinking about how my hand moves when donating, the light would not be pointing towards the OOA diver's face, my palm holding the reg would be (so the back of my hand with the light on it would be facing directly upwards - away from the reg and either their or my face/eyes) - but that is the way i hand off the reg, you might do it daintily (sp?) by the hose or something and hold it like a silver spoon - thus pointing your light at the OOA diver and causing a problem. The motion i have in my head and have seen myself do those times has been similar to breaking someone's nose with the base of my palm as you might do in a martial art, except you aim the reg/palm at their jaw. Seems simple to me.

I like to lay my line with the light on my right hand or right shoulder d ring (as my 2nd man is lighting my line up for me) and reel in with it on my left hand, swapping as needed to control buoyancy - i just prefer it that way. No weird and wonderful light signals, no trouble with hose routing, or passing off stuff. If you choose to do it another way, bully for you.

 

[Quarrior]

....thinking about how my hand moves when donating, the light would not be pointing towards the OOA diver's face, my palm holding the reg would be (so the back of my hand with the light on it would be facing directly upwards - away from the reg and either their or my face/eyes) ......The motion i have in my head and have seen myself do those times has been similar to breaking someone's nose with the base of my palm as you might do in a martial art, except you aim the reg/palm at their jaw. Seems simple to me.

Exactly. This is how it works for me too. If I handed my reg to the OOA person with the light facing them, the mouth piece would be facing down and they would have to adjust it before using it.

 

[Soggy]

Exactly. This is how it works for me too. If I handed my reg to the OOA person with the light facing them, the mouth piece would be facing down and they would have to adjust it before using it.

And I'm sure that the entire time you are reaching for your reg and deploying it that, at no time are you flashing the light directly in your buddy's eyes. Come on, no one has that kind of control. What about if you have a 3rd team member...are you able to guarantee you aren't going to blind him while your beam is going in every which way.

If I want to be a good buddy, I can't think of even one reason to put that light in the right hand other than "I like it there." There are, on the other hand, about half a dozen good reasons *not* to put it there. Doing otherwise is simply being stubborn and sacrificing the safety and comfort of the team because you don't want to spend a couple dives unlearning a bad habit.

For the solo divers out there...I guess it doesn't really matter, but then again, a true solo diver doesn't need a long hose anyhow.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

If I want to be a good buddy, I can't think of even one reason to put that light in the right hand other than "I like it there." There are, on the other hand, about half a dozen good reasons *not* to put it there. Doing otherwise is simply being stubborn and sacrificing the safety and comfort of the team because you don't want to spend a couple dives unlearning a bad habit.

I have difficulty buying into this "safety and comfort" argument ... as I do calling a preference a "bad habit".

I practice using my light in either hand ... but typically I prefer keeping it in my right hand. My reason ... consider it good or bad as you choose ... is that I use my left hand more often ... for buoyancy control ... than my right. And I'd prefer to keep my beam where my buddy can see it, rather than having to make it disappear (or switch hands) every time I want to reach behind my hip to vent a bit of air from my wing.

I regularly practice OOA's in this manner, and I can assure you that if I see a light flashing, or a hand approaching a diver's throat, I can have my light in my left hand fast enough to accommodate an effective OOA exchange. Heck, in most cases I could have it clipped off and out of the way in the one or two seconds it takes for that diver to approach for a hand-off. If they're panicked and grab my reg out of my mouth (something I haven't practiced, but now that I think about it I will), I'd just duck my head and let them have the hose ... hands-free ... and switch hands before freeing the hose from under the light.

Does every variant that is not officially sanctioned by GUE have to be considered a bad habit? I don't think so. Suffice it to say you should think through what you do, and make sure you practice your skills to the point where you could handle an emergency effectively. Beyond that, I see this as just another "angels on the head of a pin" sort of argument.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)