Which regulator should you donate?

[android]

I'm sure some of you will chastise me but I have a few observations.
It seems that a lot of you dislike BCD inflator/secondary regulators, but in fact it has many similarities to a spare regulator on a necklace.

1) YOU know exactly where it is on the left side of your BDC strap. Your OOA buddy doesn't have to hunt for it and neither do you.

2) Since you use it and touch it on a regular basis it seems like it would be very easy to switch from primary to backup and test the darn thing on a regular basis (like every descent or ascent) rather than some octo in a sling or whatever.

3) It's shorter than the thing you're giving the OOA buddy, so tangling problems are reduced.

The only disadvantage I see it the theoretical inflator hose leak, but then the dive would be aborted immediately anyway so the chances of your buddy running out of air become much less since the probability of multiple failures are multiplied.

Just my .02.

Andy

 

[asckar]

For me it's pretty simple since I use an inline octo (genesis sidekick). As a recreational diver I use my inline almost exclusively and test it out on every dive. If an OOA situation arises the only reg I can offer is my primary and I switch to the inline. I've tried this a few times with a buddy in about 50-60 feet and although a bit awkward, I can still maintain control of my bouyancy by using my BC's dump valves. Any thoughts?

Dive safe and dive happy
asckar

 

[Boogie711]

Any thoughts?

Dive safe and dive happy
asckar

For me it's even simpler - I don't take shortcuts with my gear, especially my life support system.

 

[String]

Id donate my octopus as its set up to be the correct way for a donor to use without twisting the hose etc.

Someone did a survey from real OOA incidents a while back here and found that a victim would always go for the reg theyd been trained and practiced with NOT immediately grabbing for the reg in someones mouth.

Regarding Air II - we train with them however most Air-II users i dive with also have a real octopus or the few that dont say take the primary and they breathe off their air-ii.


With an unfamiliar buddy on a charter boat even before the buddy check the very first thing i make sure i know with their kit is where their AAS is located. As far as im concerned thats the most important thing i need to know

 

[Rick Inman]

This thread AGAIN?
Well, I did enjoy re-reading it, but it just ain't the same without Karl...
The real answere is to just hand off your Spare Air and make a run for it.

 

[Kestrell]

I Don't have time to read all of the responses, and based on the question I guessed what they would be even before I ready any.

I'd have to say that Wendy's question is borderline trolling. From previous posts from her, I am pretty sure she is a staunchly DIR diver, which is fine. However she should know the type of response a question like this is going to bring, which is more or less a division along party lines; DIR and non-DIR.

Any way I don't donate my primary, but would willingly do so if the situation called for it.

Just an observation, but it seems that the biggest difference between DIR and non-DIR is that most non-DIR divers think DIR divers dive differently from them, and leave it at that. However it sems that many DIR divers feel non-DIR divers dive incorrectly and are inferior to them.

Can't we all just get along?

 

[MASS-Diver]

I'm sure some of you will chastise me but I have a few observations.
It seems that a lot of you dislike BCD inflator/secondary regulators, but in fact it has many similarities to a spare regulator on a necklace.

1) YOU know exactly where it is on the left side of your BDC strap. Your OOA buddy doesn't have to hunt for it and neither do you.

2) Since you use it and touch it on a regular basis it seems like it would be very easy to switch from primary to backup and test the darn thing on a regular basis (like every descent or ascent) rather than some octo in a sling or whatever.

3) It's shorter than the thing you're giving the OOA buddy, so tangling problems are reduced.

The only disadvantage I see it the theoretical inflator hose leak, but then the dive would be aborted immediately anyway so the chances of your buddy running out of air become much less since the probability of multiple failures are multiplied.

Just my .02.

Andy

Andy, the problem with these systems (BCD/secondary rig),, among other things, is that after the emergency ends you and you are sharing air you then need to make a controlled ascent using the inflator hose that is in your mouth - it's not that easy and rather uncomfortable - in a real OOA the other diver has no air to inflate their BC and is probably too scared to orally inflate - so controlling buoyancy is very important and with the inflator running to your mouth - that's a pretty weak set-up. This rig is a setup from a true octo rig - but still inferior to the DIR setup by far. Not to mention those regs breath terrible (there's a reason why cost so little) and in an emergency you want to be going to a nice reg, not some cheap piece of junk.

 

[String]

Cant say ive experienced any of these problems with an Air-2 at all.

Buoyancy isnt difficult to manage at all, you dont have to use the corrugated hose to dump even (and lets face it, you're ascending, dumping should be all you're doing). The regs themselves breathe just fine as well - if it doesnt it needs tuning.

Its not my favourite system by any means but it can work, does work and will get you out of trouble.

 

[CAPX28]

Alot fo good info here ...and if i wwas in trouble i would go for the octo but i sure as heck wouldn't be waiting for he/she to hand it over..SSSSWIPE

 

[Jason B]

This boils down to a DIR vs. non DIR argument. The DIR camp says treat all OOA emergencies the same. I would think that all OOA emergincies are not the same.
The DIR camp seems to insinuale that the non DIR diver doesn't have sense to test his octopus before a dive or once in the water. They seem to say that they pass off thier primary because they know thier back-up works. Well, I know my back up works also so I'll pass it off thank you. They also seem to think that we don't know where we clipped our octopus off at so we won't be able to find it. Again, that's just a pop shot at the non DIR diver.
It was my understanding that the whole 7 foot hose was so the cave divers could pass through small passages that only allow divers to pass single file, during an OOA emergency. Why push it on warm water reef divers? It really serves them no purpose. Not eveyone desire to be a cave or "tech" diver.
It would seem that this 7 foot hosed wrapped around the body of someone not trained in the proper techniques is more of a hazard to himself during an OOA emergency.