Checking buddies pressure?

[ClayJar]

1. Do you look at your buddies gauge?

If I'm diving with someone, they *should* know how to do one-handed numbers (no need to be fast), but I've had someone forget how to count to ten. "Show me" works even if the buddy's reverted from kindergarten counting all the way to toddler mimicry.

2. Do you ask instabuddies in a nice way if they are air hogs?

If I'm diving with an instabuddy, quite often it's because I have no alternative. I just assume they're an air hog, but by a bit into the dive, how our air consumption compares is usually apparent. I've found that most air hogging instabuddies have no idea what their air consumption is, anyway.

On a somewhat odd note, I've been asked my air consumption by an instabuddy or two, but whenever I reply with my SAC, they haven't known what to make of it. I think they were expecting a "pretty good", not a number. Go figure.

 

[Bob Vincent]

When I dive with a new buddy I always do something different than the norm. I let them lead. I'll be on their side about 2ft away. About 2ft in back of there head and about 2 ft above them. This way I can watch them closely while still remaining in reachable distance to them.

I'll stop often to check their air and so I can have a feel of their usage and know appx. when to head back with a safe reserve.

When we are ready to go I'll repeat what the divemaster minimums are and get a verbal confirmation.

 

[nymbus]

Why didn't you just continue heading towards shore while sharing air?

In this case, since you still had plenty of air you could have continued in while sharing air (at 15' or so) until you approached your rock bottom.

Too many divers seem to treat sharing air as a last gasp emergency measure.

I treat it as a last resort because I don't generally have another resort after that point. I don't dive with a pony bottle often, and I carry that for me during solo dives as a last resort for myself.
If something happens while sharing air on a continued dive, you've just made the decision between having air on the surface and needing to swim a bit, and having two people with no air sitting on the bottom wondering what to do next.
Easy choice for me.
To each thier own.

 

[Charlie99]

When I dive with a new buddy I always do something different than the norm. I let them lead. I'll be on their side about 2ft away. About 2ft in back of there head and about 2 ft above them. This way I can watch them closely while still remaining in reachable distance to them.

This is almost as bad as the 3' back and 3' above position! Think about how difficult it is for your buddy to see you in your preferred position. It may be an ideal position for you to watch them, but definitely not the ideal position for them to watch you.

 

[Charlie99]

I treat it as a last resort because I don't generally have another resort after that point. ...

If something happens while sharing air on a continued dive, you've just made the decision between having air on the surface and needing to swim a bit, and having two people with no air sitting on the bottom wondering what to do next.
......

What about going to the other diver's reg and octo? That's why you should share air BEFORE the other guy runs out, or even better, before your buddy violates rock bottom pressure.

Also note that the recommendation was to continue swimming in towards shore at 15' or so. Hopefully you can do a CESA from that depth in the very unlikely case that 1st your reg has a catostophic failure, then your buddy's reg has a catastrophic failure in the 1 minute it takes to surface from 15'.

And "sitting on the bottom" only would happen if you are going around excessively negative ---- so to end up on the bottom we have to add in a BCD or wing failure too.

 

[Meng_Tze]

1. Do you look at your buddies gauge?

2. Do you ask instabuddies in a nice way if they are air hogs?

Greg

1: No, buddies should be able to manage their own gas according to agreed plan. If they can not, I literally dive with him/her ONCE....

2: This is where the 'insta buddy thing' falls on its face: you just don't know what they do during the dive until you dive.

Not for me.:no

 

[Meng_Tze]

..r if they know their typical SAC. If the answer is a blank look, I assume around 0.75cfm.

My What???