Why breathe from a long hose?

[Brewski]

The guns are great if your doing a lot of tie wrapping for sure. I still like my flush cut dykes, you get a clean cut close to the lock and it's not a uni task tool.

 

[TSandM]

I've used a shock cord necklace with fisherman's knots for several years now. The couple of times I've dived off small boats and had to shuck gear in the water, I've been glad of the face that the backup will pull out of the necklace with only moderate force (since I seem to have difficulty remembering to remove the backup before trying to get out of the rig). Nothing is going to choke you with that setup. But the Manta pre-made necklaces were the wrong length, and the openings were too big for the mouthpieces on my regs. It was a great idea, but failed in the execution.

 

[mikemill]

Heh. The zip tie guns work quite well. They are expensive, but invaluable if you have to tighten a tie around a mouthpiece, because they bring the tie to maximum tension and cut it clean.

Look for yardsales were you see lots of techie type stuff for sale, computer cables and such. It's the sort of tool you buy, lose, replace, find, etc.So you sometimes see a few for sale. I bought mine for three bucks.

Hmmm you'd think the a cable tie gun wouldn't tighten it to max tension. If you are zip tieing a bundle of transmission/data cables together you certainly don't want that as it messes them up and can cause interference.

 

[Brewski]

Hmmm you'd think the a cable tie gun wouldn't tighten it to max tension. If you are zip tieing a bundle of transmission/data cables together you certainly don't want that as it messes them up and can cause interference.

The tension is adjustable. Next time your over I can show you one. It's a nice tool but like I said it's one of those single use tools that's not essential. If you have a means to cut flush to the lock, that's really all you need.

 

[pacificgal]

This thread made me decide to do an OOA drill today. Glad that I did, I thought I understood how my buddy's octo was secured, until I actually tried to remove it at depth, lol. Was glad it was just a drill.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

That is not the case for me; I am comfortable pulling the reg out of my mouth. As I stated in my original post, the main tenet I have been taught (and believe) is that your safety is #1. Removing the regulator from your mouth does not make you safer.
So far I have had no problems using my octo on a 40" hose and yes, we have swam around while using it. A longer hose would have made it a little easier but the 40" hose was acceptable. But those times were not emergencies and I can see where a longer hose would have advantages.
I'm still not convinced that donating a primary is they way I want to go but I will probably lengthen my octo's hose to 5'.

Ben

A bit of a follow up on Cave Divers's response, but in most cases you will lose the reg in your mouth when the OOA diver takes it. In my opinion, students are far better off training for that eventuality so that it will be no big deal when it happens.

Also, a longer "octo" hose does get easier to use, but by the time you are at 5', you just as well use it as a primary as the hose routing will be much cleaner with no need for bungeed, coiled hose, etc, and it will be in your mouth and wil consequently be the one the OOA buddy will take anyway.

Many divers have commented on the issue of not having a reg in your mouth and use use it as an argument for dontating the primary. But that argument has some serious flaws in the real world where an OOA diver is more likely to take the pimary out of your mouth as 1) they can find it, 2) they don't have to figure out how to unclip it, and 3) they know it is working right now. Consequently, when a diver takes your short hose (22-26") primary, you then have to get them to switch to the 36-40" octo before you can effectively do anything. This means you end up with the reg out of you mouth twice, not just once. And if they are really panicked, you will not be abel to get them to switch at all, and you are then stuck on an ascent with a short 22-26" hose that is so unsecure in the OOA divers mouth that it will continue to incite panic all the way to the surface. That is a far greater risk to you than a brief period while you switch to your alternate.

When you combine that reality with the reality that a 5' "octo" hose is arguably easier to use, you have just made a rock solid case for a 5' primary hose. Then to sweeten the deal, consider the advantage of having your back up reg on a bungee under your neck where you can always find it, where it does not get drug through the mud and where with the right length bungee and hose and a bit of practice you can access it with no hands.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

This thread made me decide to do an OOA drill today. Glad that I did, I thought I understood how my buddy's octo was secured, until I actually tried to remove it at depth, lol. Was glad it was just a drill.

Try it after exhaling, inhaling maybe a quarter of a breath and then swimming 20 ft to a buddy. It adds a great deal of stress and time pressure to what can already be a very difficult task. The odds are very good that most divers in that situation, even if they have every intention of going for the octo, will eventually grab the primary just out of sheer need or desperation.

 

[pacificgal]

DA, I wouldn't do that on a drill, sounds like real life maybe for some people, but doesn't sound very safe. I was grateful I had mine in my mouth until I could figure out how to unsecure his. I think now when I do my buddy check I will always release the octo I plan on going for if I'm OOA just to see how it is attached and how hard I will have to pull. Then I won't have to worry about going for the one in his mouth, if I already know how to get at the octo.
I am never more than two fin kicks away from my buddy, if I see something neat I want to be able to share it with him/her.

 

[Gombessa]

DA, I wouldn't do that on a drill, sounds like real life maybe for some people, but doesn't sound very safe.

You can do this with your reg in your mouth, no need to take it out while doing the swim. In fact, I think it's generally preferred to keep your reg in your mouth during a real OOA until you get the octo from your buddy.

I think now when I do my buddy check I will always release the octo I plan on going for if I'm OOA just to see how it is attached and how hard I will have to pull.

That's a great thing to check. You want to know where your buddy's octo is, how to release it, and also how likely it is (loose) to accidentally come unclipped/unstuffed during the dive.

I am never more than two fin kicks away from my buddy, if I see something neat I want to be able to share it with him/her.

Some of us appreciate buddies who stay close and don't wander off (or allow us to wander off) alone. It sounds like you're very conscious about trying to be a great buddy and thinking about what you can do to be as safe as possible. Kudos for that, and I'd dive with you any day.

 

[pacificgal]

LOL, I'm terrified to be out there alone. I know everyone makes fun of the split fins, but if it makes me fast enough to catch up to you in a current with you kicking full force, even if it just gives me enough umpppph to grab the end of your fin to get you to stop, I'm all for it.
I would love to dive with you, make yourself available!