do you still buddy check

[RJP]

I'm a New Jersey wreck diver, so there's one part of the question I don't understand:

What's a buddy?



NJ Divers Motto: "We Dive Alone Together"

Buddy check = You make sure I've got my 40cf sling bottle clipped properly and I make sure you have your 40cf sling bottle clipped properly.

I prefer to KNOW I am alone, than to THINK I have a buddy.

 

[300bar]

WOW a poll with multiple answer possebility

So i gave you a yes and a no.
When diving with any not so experianced diver or diver i don't know a BIG yes.
When diving with my wife or any of our DM's i just give them a quick look over
when gearing up and they do the same for me.
The worst ever happend is that i forgot my mask in my car and had to walk/climb back to the car and believe me that not funny in the netherlands:no

 

[Tonio Anastasi]

Yes always, With whoever my buddy may be. Seen too many closed cylinders, lose cylinder straps, lose cylinder retainer straps, disconnected inflator hoses traped octopus, forgotten weightbelts.

 

[murrayp4]

On my first OW dive after certification I was buddied with an older(ish) guy. Just as we had finished gearing up on the boat he points to his integrated weights, says something about grey buttons and then rolls back into the water. As a newbie I didn't want to question an 'experienced ' diver and make an ***** of myself. Anyway, long story short, half way through the dive his tank slips off his bcd. I did my best to get it back on but I know it wasn't secure. What does the clown then do? Continues on with the dive as if nothing had happened, not even an OK signal. That was the last time I allowed an 'insta-buddy' to fly through (or utterly ignore) our buddy check

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

On the very first dive of the day I go over absolutely everything. Provided I am with the same buddy for the entire day I'll generally do an abbreviated buddy check after that. By abbreviated I mean we check valve, inflater, deflater, air psi, and then do a quick puff on our primary and octo and we are generally just watching the other buddy do it. That is still a fairly decent check but on the first dive of the day I literally go over everything. I've had more than a few buddies think I'm way too anal, and for a 35' quarry dive maybe it is overkill. I don't care, I'm still doing it.

 

[Blackwood]

Depends on who I'm diving with. Bubble check always.

 

[Jon C]

I do a 35 step, comprehensive buddy check whenever I dive with a female. They usually abort the dive when we get to the "Check for rashes prior to donning wet suit" part...If my buddy is a guy, I make sure his air is on.



(Sorry, couldn't let it go....But I did try.... )

 

[TSandM]

I try very hard to do a full head-to-toe equipment check on every dive. Every dive, even if it's the second or third of the day. (I actually got made fun of for doing this on our Indonesia trip, by an instructor who was on the boat -- go figure.)

I trip up every once in a while, usually when diving with Bob, who I hate to push since I still tend to view him as someone who outranks me . The other day, I managed to get in the water without my weight belt, and we didn't do a buddy check (this was my husband and a friend with me) and I got to the CAR before I realized what the problem was. Everybody makes mistakes, and there are a lot of steps involved in gearing up properly, and it's just a nice thing to go quickly through all the connections and make sure everything's hooked up and working. And deployable, too

 

[RJP]

I do a 35 step, comprehensive buddy check whenever I dive with a female. They usually abort the dive when we get to the "Check for rashes prior to donning wet suit" part...

I can see why it would take 35 steps:

Step 1: BC check
Step 2: Check chest strap
Step 3: Double-check chest strap
Step 4: Make sure that chest strap is good and tight
Step 5: "Um, did I check the chest strap?"
Step 6: "Ok, now I'll check your crotch strap"
Step 7: Find new buddy
Step 8: BC check
Step 9: "You know, these chest straps have a nasty way of loosening up."
Step 10:...

 

[BigWhiteSquare]

Buddy? I've heard of 'em, but...