Whats with left?

I asked a few months ago about why people sling bottles on the left for DIR or otherwise and got several answers but just the other day while taking a surface interval I got into a discussion about a similar subject that no one had a good answer to.

I set myself up so I am rather balanced and do things kinda DIR but I dive in minnesota so going all DIR doesn't appeal to me for multipul reasons. Anyway after your counsel I decided to try different configs and settled on slinging my pony/deco bottle on the right cause not much else is on my right except my backup analog pressure gauge.

Look at whats on the left side of your body. Inflator, computer/console/gauge, sling bottles, knife/shears (at least I know many people have there knife on the left), octo (depending on who you are and what you do), it just seems like the left side of most divers is the "busy" side.

I much prefer my system with gauge and pony on the right with reg and the computer and inflator (air 2) on the left. I just feel more balanced that way and never find myself feeling over task loading 1 side. Does anyone else do this or am I not seeing something really important here.

Keep in mind this is not meant for the super loaded tech diver gear but for your standard singles diver. but tech divers please give me your opinions.

NorthWoodsDiver:

I asked a few months ago about why people sling bottles on the left for DIR or otherwise and got several answers but just the other day while taking a surface interval I got into a discussion about a similar subject that no one had a good answer to.

I set myself up so I am rather balanced and do things kinda DIR but I dive in minnesota so going all DIR doesn't appeal to me for multipul reasons. Anyway after your counsel I decided to try different configs and settled on slinging my pony/deco bottle on the right cause not much else is on my right except my backup analog pressure gauge.

Look at whats on the left side of your body. Inflator, computer/console/gauge, sling bottles, knife/shears (at least I know many people have there knife on the left), octo (depending on who you are and what you do), it just seems like the left side of most divers is the "busy" side.

I much prefer my system with gauge and pony on the right with reg and the computer and inflator (air 2) on the left. I just feel more balanced that way and never find myself feeling over task loading 1 side. Does anyone else do this or am I not seeing something really important here.

Keep in mind this is not meant for the super loaded tech diver gear but for your standard singles diver. but tech divers please give me your opinions.

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1. No one else routinely runs their high pressure hose (SPG) down their right side that I am aware of. On the other hand, there are a few million divers in the world I'm not aware of. Most agencies/dive shop rental regs are illustrated such that the regulators (both of them) are run to the right side, and the LP inflator hose and HP SPG hose are on the left side. (you really likely do not need both an air integrated computer on your left, and a SPG on your right, if I am reading your post correctly, which I may not be.)

2. Consider DIR like being pregnant. You cannot be kinda pregnant. You either are, or you are not. You cannot be kinda DIR. You either are, or you are not. (Well, ...YOU probably couldn't be pregnant regardless, but lets not go there... )

3. DIR divers do not hang bottles from their right side. first there is no need to. it is easy to be balanced with both bottles on your left. second it makes it easier to move your right arm (trust me). if you have a scooter you use this arm to drive it. third the long hose is on the right and you don't want it to foul on anything should you suddenly need to deploy it. fourth, your flashlight that you paid over a grand for is on the right and if you break it with some damn sling tank you're going to be really really pissed off. (fifth, it isn't done - Refer to comment #2)

4. Don't get too hung up on things. Hundreds of divers the world over dive with the most horrific convoluted designs imaginable, and somehow most of them manage to survive despite their best efforts to kill themselves. 99% of the divers in the world don't much care how you rig your gear, and those that do won't dive with you so it doesn't matter. Rig your gear however you want to, at this stage.

5. you won't feel as if either 'side' is 'over task-loaded' after more dives. More experience is a remedy for nearly any discomfort. On the other hand, if you dive with another person quasi-regularly consider stifling your creativity and ensuring that your rig is configured similar to your buddies (or vice versa). There is merit in standardization because when things go badly south they rarely ever do so with the same calm 'oh crap' that you experience in your pool drills. Knowing where your buddies' SPG, octopus, and releases are can come in handy in an emergency, and if his are the same place as yours are this process is accellerated.

Best,

Doc

I forgot about DPV's and can lights, that would add more to the right side but I dont have either one yet so I will have to worry about them when the time comes. thanks

NorthWoodsDiver:

I forgot about DPV's and can lights, that would add more to the right side but I dont have either one yet so I will have to worry about them when the time comes. thanks

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By the time "the time comes" you will possibly have built up technique and muscle memory that will then need to be "unlearned" at the time.

Begin with the end in mind - and "do it right" from the get go.

PS - the routing of the long hose is probably the most relevant and least philosophical/theoretical reason to sling on the left.

RJP:

PS - the routing of the long hose is probably the most relevant and least philosophical reason to sling on the left.

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you can also throw in the canister light!

spartandir:

you can also throw in the canister light!

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Well I was figuring that not everyone dives a can light, and even if they do possibly not on every dive.

But most divers will use a regulator on every dive!

Cannister lights were mentioned above.

You normally wear your cannister on the right because your argon bottle is on the left. Argon bottles are worn on the left based on the shape of the normal tank valve, and this small bottle is therefore awkward to wear on the right. And both on the same side, where they can bump into each other, is awkward as well. And since the bulb in the light costs about $100 alone, you DO NOT want this bumping into anything.

Therefore the cannister light normally goes on the right, while the argon bottle normally goes on the left. For deco or non-deco diving, these two now balance each other nicely.

Modern cannister lights such as SARTEK have lithium-ion batteries and are very compact and light weight, so they normally weigh about the same as an argon bottle these days.

When I am wearing a single stage bottle, I like to wear it to the left, because then I can clip my DPV to the right, and they will not bump into each other. I do not like scratching up my DPV. It cost me close to $4000 and I like it to look new and beautiful.

When I am wearing 2 deco bottles, I like to wear the EAN 50 to the left and the 100% O2 to the right, and then I clip my DPV to my crotch strap D-right, and then they do not bump into each other.

You can wear both of your deco bottles to the left as well, and then there would be room to clip your DPV to the right as well.

If I bring a fish stringer for spearfishing on scuba with me, I normally like to clip the stringer to the right. In this case, if I bring a stage bottle, to extend my bottom time, then on the left the stage is nicely out of the way, since I am right handed.

If I bring a lift bag and a utility bag, for collecting, I like to clip those to the right as well.

This is all because I am right handed, and I like to reach for things with my right hand. And that is why it is nice to clip the stage and deco bottles to the left, so that they will be out of the way.

I suspect that your right-handed reflex is simply bias-ing you to put your first stage to the right as well, since currently it is the only thing that you are toting. However you will see that as you start to carry other stuff (2nd bottle, DPV, fish stringer, lift bag & utility bag, metal detector, etc.) that it is nice to have your right side free to clip those items to the right.

The thing to remember about GUE-DIR is that it is like having a lobotomy. You are not permitted to think with your brain or do anything differently than the current DIR orthodoxy of the assimilated team. That kind of thinking is done at higher levels than your own, and you are not worthy. So if you want to do things the DIR way, you have to find out what they are currently doing, and do that thing precisely. You cannot be a little bit DIR, just as you cannot have a little bit of a lobotomy. You are either completely assimilated or you are not DIR. This is true of any fanatical group. Doing it right has got nothing to do with it; it is all about doing it like everybody else.

Being pregnant has nothing to do with it either.

Note that AG-DIR is a little bit more flexible and modern (NiMH & LIon batteries permitted) than GUE-DIR has become.

You are so going to die...

Doc Intrepid:

You are so going to die...

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Doc, I love reading your posts! And I agree with you 99.99% of the time. Just not about GUE-DIR.

Heh... just teasing.

Sometimes I slay me....