OOA question. Who is teaching to give your main unit?

[psychocabbage]

In no place do I recall learning to give someone my main reg when I have an Octo. Every octo I have seen comes with a longer hose. My current octo is actually designed to hand off to someone.

I keep seeing posts where people say in an OOA situation you give them YOUR main reg.

NO Way. I am the one giving assistance. You get my octo. I will keep the definate good source. If the octo fails then we can buddy breathe back up but ya.. There is no way someone gets the main reg when I have a working Octo.


Now in my (out) case, our mains have 26" lines. The Octos have 34"+ lines. Why would they have such long lines if they were not designed for other people to use?

I have a sneaking suspiscion that its a PADI thing (I am NAUI trained..)

 

[drilldaddy_99]

In the classes I teach, I tell them that the octo is for the buddy. That is the one you give in an OOA situation. However I believe the reality of the situation is that they are going for the one in your mouth.

Case in point....the one real OOA I have been involved in my buddy grabbed the reg out of my mouth. I'm sure it was because it was the first one he saw (even though my octo is hanging right on my bc and yellow) and he knew it was working. Talking about it on the surface, he admitted he was panicked and just grabbed the first one he saw.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

It's not a PADI thing. And it is not standardly taught in most of the agencies to give your main. There are groups and configurations that do it. It's is not the usually taught method in basic OW classes.
Now, forget DIR and tech setups and arguing which way is best for a minute.. Let's be realistic. I teach my students to donate their octo. I also let them know that most times that a diver has run out of air, he/she will Not give you the nice OOA sign and ask to share air, then patiently wait for it. Nope. They will be grabbing as they signal for the closest working reg. That is usually the one in your mouth. If so, be able to be the calm one and just go on your own octo. You have the air on your back. It won't get away and they will calm down faster than if you squabble over your main. You must remain calm and collected no matter what, or it will turn into a panic situation.
How your reg and octo are configured, and which one you donate is whatever is most comfortable for you. As long as your buddy knows your setup- all is good. The thing is, watch your gauges. Don't run out of air to begin with.

 

[wreckchick]

It's not an agency thing, it's a gear configuration thing. People who have an integrated inflator/octo they will donate the primary and use the AirII/Airsource/whatever as their back-up. Someone diving a long hose with a bungeed back-up will donate the primary.

The standard configuration that you describe is designed to donate the octo.

You should endeavor to have two working 2nd stages so the 'octo failing, buddy breathing ascent' doesn't happen.

Rachel

 

[Belmont]

You are mixing apples with oranges.
Giving your main in case of OOA is normally performed with the main on the longest hose (60 to 84 inches) and your second on the shortest hose (20-22 inches) hanging around your neck.
Your main and second should be of equal quality and both be in working order as verified before the dive when doing your equipment check/gear matching.

It's not very much a PADI as DIR/Hogarthian thing.

 

[jjhill]

I agree that often the first reg a person will go for is the one in your mouth. He may not have the presence of mind or the patience to grab the octo. Personally I do not think it matters which reg you give as long as go over the scenario with your buddy in advance.

 

[jeckyll]

psychocabbage: There are some who'll teach to donate the primary, typically though the gear is set up differently in this case. It's not a PADI vs NAUI thing.

To get an introduction, this might be an interesting read for you The Hogarthian Gear Configuration

Note that we have some forums that have more discussions about both the hogarthian setup, and DIR in the tech section.

Good luck.

 

[Charlie99]

There are at least two types of gear configurations where donating the regulator in your mouth makes sense.

One is where the diver has the longer hose on the primary regulator that he normally uses, and the backup 2nd stage is on a short hose and is on a necklace just below his chin. This is the DIR or the Horgarthanian sort of setup.

The other case where donating the reg in your mouth makes sense is where the diver has his octo in a comined BCD inflator/regulator setup.
Since the backup regulator is part of the BCD inflate and dump system and is on a very short hose, sharing air only works if the diver donates the reg from his mouth and switches to the one on his BCD.

It's not a matter of PADI or NAUI training. With the two cases above, donating the regulator you are breathing from is the only feasible way to share air.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Oh, note to self. Always make sure you don't scrimp on your octo. Many people go cheap and don't care for their octo, because they think it is not something they have to use. You should have an octo that is as good a quality as the one you use, because it is highly likely that you will be on it in an OOA situation. Leaky octos suck and yet are too common.

 

[Tigerman]

I sure didnt learn to donate my primary when i got PADI certified. We did learn to donate the octo, but the "he might just grab your primary" did of course come up..