- Messages
- 22,171
- Reaction score
- 2,789
- # of dives
- 5000 - ∞
Working from the extremes to the middle shows this to be ridiculous. If you are in chest deep water you clearly do not need a redundant air source, but if you're at 450 feet on mix ... it's likely a rather good idea. Somewhere between those two extremes is a point where an individual must decide what their approach will be: self, buddy or redundant ... and that choice will change with depth and conditions and tasks.Id suggest all divers should have an a redundant air source adequate to get them to the surface on EVERY dive.
For me, on a clear, warm, lightly loaded dive, I'm happy to make a free ascent down to about 120 feet, I'm happy to depend on my buddy down to 190, and after that I insist on carrying a redundant supply ... your results will differ, that's to be expected. Cut that in half for the North Atlantic or a task loaded dive.