Why extra air when solo?

[Divectionist]

If you can dive without pony and keep your virtue,
Or dive with buddies - nor lose them out of sight,
If neither insta-buddies nor virtual overheads can hurt you,
If all boat crew count you back on board, but none forgets;
If you can fill the unforgiving minutes
With one hundred and eighty seconds' worth of CESA,
Yours is the ocean and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you can dive without pony, my son!

 

[jeffsky29]

It is good to see we all maintain a sense of humor and understand there are different ways to look at things. I of course know my way is the best way, but let’s not start this again. .

Seriously, if only folks in my country could discuss politics in the same manner.

 

[pauldw]

We're gonna have to move this discussion in the direction of Greek or Latin soon, as the classicists turn to old wisdom for guidance in the present. I'm going to set me mind to what that great modern, Robert Heinlein, might have said about diving. It'll come to me...

 

[jeffsky29]

Does this mean the horse is officially dead?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

“My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened.”
Michel de Montaigne

 

[dberry]

I'm going to set me mind to what that great modern, Robert Heinlein, might have said about diving. It'll come to me...

My favorite Heinlein quote (from "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress") is:
TANSTAAFL
("There ain't no such thing as a free lunch").
I think this applies to diving and gas usage.
-----------
FYI, Heinlein didn't coin the phrase, but he used it many years before the economist Milton Friedman's book with that title.

 

[Stoo]

You are much more likely to get hurt by the weight of the pony than helped by the redundant air.

Respectfully, that's dumb. Slinging a 30 or 40 is easily managed at the waters edge. Carry it down separately if the entry is tricky, and hang it once you're in the water.

I've logged hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of solo dives. Most are in really cold water, 37° - 41° is very typical here below 70', all year round. Most of those dives are in excess of 100'. When you dive like this, you don't mess with gear. Same gear, all the time, so there's so surprises. Because stuff does happen. A freeze-up at 170' is a sporty event with good redundancy. It's not survivable without it, or at least not without getting bent.

So ya, wear doubles with an isolator, or as a minimum, sling a pony... and not one of those little 13 cf jobs. Something big enough to do you some good.

 

[johndiver999]

Respectfully, that's dumb. Slinging a 30 or 40 is easily managed at the waters edge. Carry it down separately if the entry is tricky, and hang it once you're in the water.

I've logged hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of solo dives. Most are in really cold water, 37° - 41° is very typical here below 70', all year round. Most of those dives are in excess of 100'. When you dive like this, you don't mess with gear. Same gear, all the time, so there's so surprises. Because stuff does happen. A freeze-up at 170' is a sporty event with good redundancy. It's not survivable without it, or at least not without getting bent.

So ya, wear doubles with an isolator, or as a minimum, sling a pony... and not one of those little 13 cf jobs. Something big enough to do you some good.

If I were diving over 70 feet solo, I would have redundancy, but the OP was asking about diving 10 or 20 feet!!!! I stand by my comments that carrying an extra tank when the max depth is slightly deeper than the local pool is unnecessary.

 

[Stoo]

If I were diving over 70 feet solo, I would have redundancy, but the OP was asking about diving 10 or 20 feet!!!! I stand by my comments that carrying an extra tank when the max depth is slightly deeper than the local pool is unnecessary.

And I stand by my comment that there's a lot to be said for always diving with essentially the same gear configuration. But I won't argue with you. In 10 - 20 feet, most people, including me, would likely just swim up, rather than deploy a second reg.

Mostly I was disagreeing with your comment that slinging a 40 was somehow, "risky". That's just not true.

I suppose I should add, and this is a variation of what you are saying... On the odd shore dive I do, which is generally in the winter, climbing into the water with a rocky shore and bottom IS tricky at the best of times. If I'm doing that I'm wearing my small doubles (LP steel 80s) but they're still a load. Lots to be said for SM in that kind of situation. SM is a terrific configuration for solo, possibly the best configuration.

 

[MichaelMc]

I only dive 5-10 feet in my warm crystal clear stone lined fish pond with no plants, and rocky entry steps.
(not really...)
But the solo redundant air rules, or recommendations..., seem extreme. Do I really need more gear?
What am I missing? Should we reexamine the solo rules in light of my 10' fish pond diving.

At some point, the question becomes a a little silly.

ETA: My preference is tiny sidemount or doubles. Though my tiny doubles weigh about the same as just one of Stoo's small tanks. Making the entry difficulty no more than a single tank.