Why extra air when solo?

[pauldw]

You really DO need a good Solo course so you can avoid assuming that you already know everything and have thought everything through.

If I thought I knew everything, I wouldn't have asked what I'm missing. I am beginning to feel uncomfortable now, though, knowing that during OW training I was left alone on the deep end of a pool sometimes without a buddy and without a pony bottle.

Note that if you are diving solo and have a pony bottle, you don't need two second stages on your back gas regulator.

There seems to be disagreement on this thread about that.

So, I'm gathering that if I'm diving alone, what I would call deep (which to me is anything where I can't reach the surface within seconds of beginning to panic), I should at least have the official set of solo gear equipment. Normally, though, I wouldn't go deep without a buddy. So it's a risk management question of how much risk I want to take in around 10 or 20 feet of water. Mainly, I wanted to suss out what the risks are that I might be missing.

 

[MichaelMc]

anything where I can't reach the surface within seconds of beginning to panic

Panic is deadly. If your comfort underwater is at the stage when you are prone to panic when things go odd or bad, Solo is not be the thing for you yet.

Let me say that again.

Panic is deadly. If your comfort underwater is at the stage when you are prone to panic when things go odd or bad, Solo is not be the thing for you yet.

A solo class, and the associated evaluation during it, may help in getting a third party evaluation of your suitability for solo. There are guidelines and skills for solo, and differing views on gear configurations, regs, etc. But NOT PANICKING is likely top on the list.

Panic is deadly. If your comfort underwater is at the stage when you are prone to panic when things go odd or bad, Solo is not be the thing for you yet.
Scuba may not be the thing for you, but solo definitely is not.

 

[doctormike]

There seems to be disagreement on this thread about that

Ok, I’ll bite. What’s the point of solo diving with a fully redundant gas supply and then putting two second stages on your back gas?

 

[AJ]

When I dive solo I normally use my double12. But I have also used my single 12 with one first stage on solo dives. In the end it's my choice how much risk I'am willing to take on a specifice dive versus the burden of having an overload of equipment for the dive.

My advice: be a thinking diver, not a diver that follows the rules blindly. Asses the situation and use what provides the best solution. It's ultimately your decision what to take on a dive.

 

[Mike1967]

@pauldw

Ok what about 5'? Shallow AF right?

Well.... 5' + entanglement + any of many things that can go wrong = VERY DEAD!

You say you're starting to feel uncomfortable, exactly what did you expect?

 

[happy-diver]

Solo diving
bringing disagreeable people of different skill sets together worldwide with hypotheticals

 

[lamarpaulski]

I have had a very similar experience and never brought a pony bottle on many many solo shallow dives. I agree with you 100% on that if your dives are mellow, shallow and generally safe.

However, a couple locations and a wreck had some things I wanted to see much deeper, 100-115 ft. I acquired a 14 cu ft pony/reg rig and practiced with it. Used a a 100 cu ft tank. Never needed pony but ...A slight PIA but insurance.

Never had a regulator or tank or any failure of significance. Nonetheless I play the What If ? game quite a bit.

 

[happy-diver]

put your pony here

“What, what happened? Nah mate, I don't hand off my pony
best next time you pay particular attention to your air supply!”



no pain anywhere

 

[AfterDark]

Ok, I’ll bite. What’s the point of solo diving with a fully redundant gas supply and then putting two second stages on your back gas?

The point for me is I'm lazy. I dive solo on day with a buddy the next. Off goes the octo, back on, off, back on. Forget that it stays on.

 

[doctormike]

The point for me is I'm lazy. I dive solo on day with a buddy the next. Off goes the octo, back on, off, back on. Forget that it stays on.

Yeah, I guess if you are switching back and forth a lot, you might not feel like taking it off. To me, the 30 seconds it takes to remove or replace the octo is worth eliminating a common failure point and streamlining the reg. Given what it takes to assemble, disassemble and clean gear for a diving day, it seems like it would be worth it. But of course, I see your point.

However, my response was really to the OP, who wasn't talking about that, but rather an analysis of what he would do in a failure situation. To my reading, he was implying that having a backup second stage would address the gas loss issue as well as a redundant gas supply, which is not correct. He said:

"So, why do I need a pony bottle when diving at 10-30 feet? Specifically, if my regulator fails, I have a second. If that fails too, then that would be sad. But how likely is that in real life? If both of them weren't getting air, that would probably mean my first stage had to have failed (unless, I suppose, I was stupid enough to run out of air). Are first stages prone to failure?"