Donating the "primary" regulator

[oldschoolto]

Do what ever works for you... And train with it... I think air2 or what ever they call them are the biggest piece of crap on the market... And if you can't secure your gear so that the octo is in the same spot every time ,you got bigger problems to work on.. That 28" primary hose and air2 is really going to work well in a wreck...

You get my point??/

Jim...

 

[Snoweman]

Do what ever works for you... And train with it... I think spare air's are the biggest piece of crap on the market... And if you can't secure your gear so that the octo is in the same spot every time ,you got bigger problems to work on.. That 28" primary hose and spare air is really going to work well in a wreck...

You get my point??/

Jim...

Here's a problem... What works for me, and training with it, may not be what works for you and your training. The idea of sharing air has been around forever. A standard basic training amongst all entities is critical.

I know more than one diver that has had to have their gear put back in place during a dive. Honestly..., if it's not on your face (mask), in your mouth (regulator), not making you sink (lack of weights), or possibly on your wrist (computer), you may not know it has come out of its holder or pocket. I double tie my nautilus lifeline to my BCD, but I haven't found a good way to connect the ties to two different points in order to try to ensure it doesn't float away. But..., I have to check after every dive to make sure it's there.

 

[Dave Bevan]

Everything has advantages and disadvantages. No one set up is right for every situation. The best thing to do is know the strengths and weaknesses of you equipment.

Whatever emergency procedure you select make a habit of practicing it with you buddy or team. Try to practice a skill each dive. If you are not sure how to deal with a failure ask an instructor to repeat and exercise.

I like primary donate. However that doesn't mean that I'm not going to dive with someone who isn't.

 

[Perry D. Vogel]

Which makes having an octo on a necklace the best option. It's always in the same place. It never drags nor comes loose.

I am adding two necklaces to my save-a-dive kit. We might not always be diving with the gear that we own.

 

[TrimixToo]

<snip>

I know more than one diver that has had to have their gear put back in place during a dive. <snip>

Not to sound too harsh, but those people have some work to do if any of that gear is or could become critical. The truth about diving is that sometimes things go pear-shaped, and being unprepared for contingencies can cause injury or death. If your camera comes unglued from where you think it is, fine. If your second second stage is not exactly where you think it is, all the time, that's not fine.

The critical equipment we all use is very, very reliable in practice. That usually gives new divers time to learn, which is a good thing. That does not mean they should not learn to put together a reliable rig.

 

[Bob DBF]

And other inflator-attached alternates are not like the Air2, it's an alternate in line with the inflator so has a separate mouthpiece from the deflator outlet. It does take a bit of thinking ahead and practice.

The Oceanic Air2 clone I had worked with a pull dump and was used the same as an Air2. The old Sherwood Shadow was a standard reg that could be put inline to hook to any standard inflater and if you didn't have a pull dump, you may have to remove the reg to position the hose to deflate the BC.

old Sherwood 2nd stages
Is a link to pictures of a Shadow a board member is selling, for those who haven't seen one.


Bob

 

[Snoweman]

Not to sound too harsh, but those people have some work to do if any of that gear is or could become critical. The truth about diving is that sometimes things go pear-shaped, and being unprepared for contingencies can cause injury or death. If your camera comes unglued from where you think it is, fine. If your second second stage is not exactly where you think it is, all the time, that's not fine.

The critical equipment we all use is very, very reliable in practice. That usually gives new divers time to learn, which is a good thing. That does not mean they should not learn to put together a reliable rig.

My observations have been with myself and other divers having single incidents, not more than one for any single diver. Many traveling divers rent gear. It's gear they are not familiar with and getting familiar won't really happen over three or four days of diving. They are not responsible for the maintenance of it, either. Prior to getting a travel BCD, I almost had a tank come loose on me during a dive. I noticed something was wrong, but couldn't put two and two together in the 30 seconds it was happening. Luckily, a dive master saw it happening, put it back in place and secured it before it became a real issue. I now make sure to place my own gear and check it.

Nothing is a problem until it is. I'm sure almost every diver has had a spare regulator come unsecured, had their weight belt almost come off (you will know that one in a hurry!), or lost a whistle, or... etc... These are not a problem (well..., maybe the weight belt is) until TSHTF. Then it's the training that is critical. The basics of sharing air needs to be almost muscle memory, along with "don't panic - solve the situation".

 

[Bob DBF]

Do what ever works for you... And train with it...

Agreed!

... I think air2 or what ever they call them are the biggest piece of crap on the market..

We all have opinions, although I no longer use an Air2 clone, I never had an issue with it and the change had nothing to do with any issues with its use. I found it did not work as well as a bungeed backup for the environment I was diving and my age.

And if you can't secure your gear so that the octo is in the same spot every time ,you got bigger problems to work on..

I agree again, when I was using an octo in the triangle, it stayed where I put it and the fastening was both cheap and reliable.

That 28" primary hose and air2 is really going to work well in a wreck...

I do dangerous work alone so it is irrevelent whether I have a second second stage or not. In addition, the Air2 does not determine what hose one uses on their primary.

A buddy and I use 40" primary's, he on his Air2 and me with a bungeed backup. That length hose is used because we are in open water and have snorkels for long surface swims.

It takes all kinds. I've dove all kinds of gear, good and crap, over the last 50 something years and found that a good diver can make anything work. What's best is getting underwater, not what one uses to do it.



Cheers

Bob

 

[Dave Bevan]

Absolutely agree woth Bob. There's no right answer. Just do what you are going to do and make sure you know and practice your drills. If you want to use an octo in the traditional sense it's not really problem for me and as long as you know how to use it.

 

[TrimixToo]

Absolutely agree woth Bob. There's no right answer. Just do what you are going to do and make sure you know and practice your drills. If you want to use an octo in the traditional sense it's not really problem for me and as long as you know how to use it.

I would say it slightly differently. There is more than one right answer. But *all* of the right answers are centered on the durn thing staying put where you expect it to be, all the time.