From talking to my really deep diver buddy, he points out that he doesn't put a BO reg around his neck for several reasons. One, once you are carrying multiple cylinders, you need to switch to the correct one. Your bottom BO gas could possibly be hypoxic at a point you need to bail out shallower, for example, so just having one BO reg/gas for all situations is not an option. And, two, the training includes switching BO cylinders with your buddy once the person on BO breathes theirs down to half. Swapping doesn't work so well if the reg is around somebody's neck. The skill done in training is the same for all BO cylinders and does not include dealing with a BO reg hose that is around anyone's neck. And, as he says, "if you don't/can't drill on it, then you don't do it during a dive."
Dunno. I don't do any of that deep stuff. I have deep bailout on the left, which is what I would use in an immediate emergency (CO2 hit, torn hose, etc..), and that is on a bungee necklace so that it's that much quicker to deploy should I need to. Yeah, we are all incredibly skilled and practiced with superb training, but from what I understand, all that can quickly go out of the window with a significant CO2 hit. I carry O2 on the right, so in the event that I have to complete deco without going back on the loop, I can deploy that at 20 feet and not be limited by my deep bailout alone. That reg is bungeed, since it would never be an immediate emergency to switch to it, just a regular OC deco gas switch. So no way to bail out to the wrong gas.
His training - and mine - included drilling to be able to deploy the OC reg from where it is stashed on the BO bottle very quickly. I will say that his training does also include having a BOV (on his X - his JJ training did not include having a BOV).
In the words of Mike Tyson, "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth".
I do realize everyone's training is not the same and I'm not trying to say any one way is better than any other way. I'm just trying to discuss the different approaches, to help ME understand them better.
Sure! I always enjoy reading your threads - you really think things through, and are willing to consider other viewpoints.
One thing that seems like it might be relevant is, if you're having a CO2 hit, you CAN stay on the loop for another second (or two or three) if you need to (I think), in order to switch to BO. And if your reason for switching to BO is something else, you probably aren't having the same mental or physical issues, such that pausing your breathing for a moment, if necessary, while you deploy and switch to a BO reg is a major problem. Which means, what I'm trying to say is that I'm not sure the time it takes to deploy a BO from a slung cylinder, versus switching to one on a bungee necklace is a "real" issue. Is it? I don't know. Maybe if you got really unlucky and just sucked a big mouthful of caustic, it could be a problem?
This is a hard thing to have an internet discussion about, since most people haven't really experienced the problem. I'm just going by the few first hand reports that I have read. And, as we say in medicine, "there is a bell curve for everything". So maybe sometimes you can detect a CO2 hit or hyperoxic VENTID symptoms early, and sometimes you can't.
This is sort of OT from gag straps, but all of this is really making me lean more and more towards wanting to have a BOV. I know some people say that they are not needed and you should always detect an oncoming CO2 hit well enough in advance to be able to switch to BO without needing a BOV. But, is there really a downside? I mean, if you ARE able to detect the CO2 building up, you don't have to use the BO, right? You could have it and still dive as if it's not there.
The DSV is simpler, lighter, less bulky and requires less maintenance.