Donating the "primary" regulator

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

There are several different ways to execute this drill if an OOA happens...this shows just how important good communication is between dive members before a dive commences. If I dive with someone new I point out just how my long hose configuration works.
 
I have my second around my neck and donate my primary. Not a big fan of long hoses or excess anything else for that matter. Once we are on the same tank I grab ahold of them to prevent a panicked assent very much like we used to do when we used to shared one reg. Just go up slow face to face so I can gauge his condition and state of mind.
 
What about a primary on a bungee necklace?

The only time I see a bungeed primary is for classified divers (quadriplegic.) All else is bungeed alternate.

jwllorens:
Why does SSI advocate donating the primary regulator and then switching regulators rather than advocate donating the octopus immediately during air sharing with a standard 3' primary, 4' octo reg configuration?

As others have said, the basis for SSI's choice of primary donation is that it works for all standard configurations/situations.

I've never seen SSI instruction swapping regulators after primary donation. Not sure where that's coming from. I don't teach swapping regulators. I teach donate the primary then safe buddy ascent from there. The only "swap" is that the person donating reaches for the OOA diver via the left hand to the OOA diver's right should BCD strap. After donation, and getting the alternate air for him/herself, swap the hands to get to the safe buddy ascent position.

Carl
 
There seem to be so many Air2 type devices out there in use (in the purely recreational sector) that this was the primer for going to a primary air share. It seems like it's become the new standard due to the popularity of alternate seconds on the inflator hose. I doubt the DIR or GUE protocol had much influence on this decision since the four letter agencies marginalize them anyway.
I can see why SSI decided to go this route. They have to stick to one program to insure standardization, someone had to make the move because the writing was on the wall.
It will be interesting to see how far off the rest of the crowd will be in following suit.
It's about time since the primary long hose is about the best all around system for buddy diving.
As far as confusing OOA divers that only marginally know about the dangling octopus somewhere behind their insta buddy, well there have always been sloppy buddy teams with bad skills, so even with primary donate some will always have trouble, that's just a fact of life these days.
I always thought the old standard dangling octo was a sub optimal configuration. I never really found a holder that worked well. The triangle is good in theory but it's open to too much interpretation.
The other thing to think about besides the comfort of the OOA diver, is the comfort and mental stability of the donor. Many of these older systems leave the donor in harms way and increase task loading possibly making them a secondary statistic.
The long hose/bungee'd second insures that both divers have a good working system.
 
Unrelated, but Christ, it's 2016, can't people stop kneeling in the damn sand? One more reason to stay away from SSI... Not many agencies left now...
Supposedly PADI is off the bottom now, according to experts here on SB, but I haven't been involved in helping with any classes for years now so I don't know.

---------- Post added January 1st, 2016 at 02:57 PM ----------

No second exchange on this video demo either...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rkam7cnktI
This is the first vid I've seen so far on this.
Why are they passing a short hose?
It would seem better to me to pass at least a 40" primary (run under the arm) and have a short bungee'd second under the chin.
The way they have it, it puts the divers up in each other face and if they have to navigate around kelp or rocks or something to go up the primary could be pulled out of the recipients mouth, and it puts a lot of strain on such a short hose. Then the donor still needs to fish around and find his own octo that could be swinging around behind him somewhere.

I almost have to take back my earlier post.
I'm not seeing where they got the memo at all, it's half way.
 
Supposedly PADI is off the bottom now, according to experts here on SB, but I haven't been involved in helping with any classes for years now so I don't know.
Let's just say, that, based on my observing pools sessions while working on other skills, the change seems more theoretical than actual. I have no idea what is really going on, but they seem to spend more time kneeling than you would expect.
 
I did not read all the post or the others. but i think you answer you own question. Why don't they teach the other configurations??? Well the last padi i sat through they taught the octo for sharing. sdi is teaching the primary long hose and others teach variations. The only thing that is constant is the location of the primary reg. and that is in the donors mouth. It is not wrapped around an arm, or bcd inflator with reg on it. you know how long the hose is cause you saw it when on the boat before splash. I don't know where more concern lies. the OOA diver finding a charged hose or the donor finding his backup hose when the one in his mouth is snatched. The DIR configuration pretty well addresses both these concerns. for those that have short hoses and still use them they IMO clearly do not know what it is to have to share air and transit to the surface. A long hose makes it easy and manageable to give the primary to a needy diver, allow him room to recover and still be able for the donor to assess the problem and provide a correction if possible. you cant do that very well with a short hose. Picture this and this has happened to me. a diver looses his tank from loose tank straps. the tank strap is snagged on the tank valve the reg has been pulled form the OOA divers mouth. A long hose allows the OOA to breath and has the length to allow the donor to get behind and put the tank back in place. For me the majority of OOA's i have donored for, have been from loose tanks. I have seen many that have lost their octo and found it dragging in the water or dangled till it was caught in their gear. I have seen some use clips or thumb snaps to prevent that from happening with out thinking about how to get it out for an OOA event. The only known good air supply in in my buddies mouth.


Before I say anything, .........
 

Back
Top Bottom