Why the SPG on the left lower hip?

[OneBrightGator]

Wanna learn to guage pressure vs. time and depth... don't look at your SPG, being on your chest D-ring does not force it into your face.

Ok, maybe you like to check your buddy's gas, but I don't buy it as a DIR reason to have your gauge on your hip. If you're a true DIR diver, you should be diving with a competent (DIR) buddy, so you should have enough confidence in him to monitor his own gas. Lord knows GI3 didn't feel the need to sneak a peek at JJ's guage.

I also don't really buy the stage argument either, when you carry a stage you're adding the same thing (one bolt snap) to both the hip and left chest D-ring, why does it matter if you have to nudge the SPG out of the way from your hip or your chest? In fact, the hip D-ring is a great place to carry reels/spools and markers if you're going to use them quickly, also, when using an excessive number of stages you carry them with the stage's neck clip on the hip D-ring, so having one less clip there would be a true advantage.

There is a somewhat decent argument made for entanglement however.

 

[onfloat]

I also don't really buy the stage argument either, when you carry a stage you're adding the same thing (one bolt snap) to both the hip and left chest D-ring, why does it matter if you have to nudge the SPG out of the way from your hip or your chest? In fact, the hip D-ring is a great place to carry reels/spools and markers if you're going to use them quickly, also, when using an excessive number of stages you carry them with the stage's neck clip on the hip D-ring, so having one less clip there would be a true advantage.

There is a somewhat decent argument made for entanglement however.

Who said anything about nudging the SPG out of the way? Pockets make a great place to store spools and markers if your going to use them quickly. At most you would have 3 clips on your left hip; SPG, bottom of 1st stage bottle and the leash for other bottles you may have attached.

 

[Meng_Tze]

...Lord knows GI3 didn't feel the need to sneak a peek at JJ's guage.

.

I am sure he did feel the need, but was scared to actually look....Maybe thats why JJ put his on the hip, facing inwards....so GI3 could not sneak a peek

 

[OneBrightGator]

Who said anything about nudging the SPG out of the way? Pockets make a great place to store spools and markers if your going to use them quickly. At most you would have 3 clips on your left hip; SPG, bottom of 1st stage bottle and the leash for other bottles you may have attached.

How often do you use reels/spools and/or markers and at what point in the dive do you use them?
So you only carry one stage the traditional way and leash anymore?

 

[onfloat]

Alright you got me. I can't count. 2 stages/Deco bottles slung and the rest on a leash, so 4 clips on your hip.

Usually use spools and markers at the end of a dive. I don't see it being any faster to reach into a thigh pocket and retrive them than it would be to get them off the hip. Now a reel won't fit in a pocket and the butt d-ring will hold it. Usually use it at the start of a dive, if it's needed. Now when you say quickly, I "assume" you don't mean in a panic, but early in the dive.

 

[mer]

One of the best ways it was described to me (in Cave 1 I think)... was that your primary pressure gauge is your bottom timer!

You know how much you breathe, you should know your average depth for the dive, and you know how long you've been down... presto: there's your pressure, and since you know roughly what your regular buddies breathe, you know their pressure too. I still have a long way to go to be perfect at this, but the best was to improve is to figure out what your pressure should be in your head before you reconfirm with the SPG.

I find my regular buddies only telling me the actual number of their pressure if they recognize that they are breathing at "significantly different than normal" rate.

 

[TomR]

If you get used to having it there, clipping bringing it up over your shoulder and re-clipping then you don't have to re-learn when you start to carry the bottles. It's all about building blocks for later.

I'm slightly confused by the quote above. I usually just unclip my gauge and pull the hose up between my arm and my chest to view the pressure gauge and then I reclip it. I've never used stages, however. If you use a stage, is this process not possible? Is this why you would unclip and, from what I read above, it appears pull the hose outward so that it's to the left of your arm/over your shoulder for viewing? If this is the case, I'll start doing that so I can be ready for stages.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[onfloat]

That's exactly why. It's difficult to pull the gage up between your arm and your body with a stage on. Also if you need to show your buddy the spg during an air share, (I know GUE isn't as hung up on that step as they used to be. It was what I was taught in fundies.) it gives you a little more hose without having him stick his head under your arm

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

That's exactly why. It's difficult to pull the gage up between your arm and your body with a stage on. Also if you need to show your buddy the spg during an air share, (I know GUE isn't as hung up on that step as they used to be. It was what I was taught in fundies.) it gives you a little more hose without having him stick his head under your arm

Hmm, I know what your saying about it being alittle difficult carrying a stage, or stages weather there clipped to the D-ring, or clipped top the d-ring, and then the rest are clipped to a leash, off the d-ring.

On a 24" SPG hose, bringing it around the stages is alittle of a pain, but if they are hanging right, trimmed out, the valves shouldn't be so far up that your actualley coming around the satges, but rather in front of them.

My thing is, I may slide the D-ring up just a few inchs , rather then all the way back by the BP.

As far as entanglement, I can't see how that would be any more of a concern, when I have a D-ring, on my center crotch, ( scooter ring ) that yes, the 2" webbing goes in front of when not in use, but when it is in use, it's there hanging, just like the butt ring where I mount my reel.


When i first started the thread, I agree you should know your breathing, at depth your at etc, But when your diving a single tank, like a steel 100 at 130' , because my bigger tanks are all ready used, or being filled, my air consumption has to be watched alittle more, as I usalley run out of bottom time before air, but when your maxing out the dive to the limit's, and stepping the profile to get every extra min of bottom time, and getting onto a accent line at 100' to start your acccent with 800 psi, you have to be alot more carefull of gas managment, and clipping it off under my left shoulder
d-ring was, not to watch it all the time, but it's nice to be able to glance down, with unclipping and re-clipping, etc at those last 5 min of bottom time, to be able to glance down, and it's right there, easy to read, etc.

I'm heading back out this weekend, and I'm going to try it clipped off on the lower D-ring, per DIR , but I'm going to move the D-ring up just a inch or two, and try that.

I see this thread has been argued both ways, and this is a DIR forum, intresting to hear the different opiouns , but if you notice, everyone that is diving " DIR "
has stick to what the " DIR " way is, and that is back lower left D-ring

 

[onfloat]

FWIW the left d-ring is not butted up next to the back plate. It's about 3 or 4 inches forward of that, so it is centered on the left hip. About where the seam or belt loop of a pair of levi's would be on your hip.