Does my rig default me as a "Bad Buddy"?

[Nemrod]

Hoping not to get into the long hose war, you could:

1. Your spg hose is too long, go to a 26 inch so it will tuck in tight.
2. Get either a 40 inch (with right angle adapter-DiveRite, Atomic, Zeagle) and route under your right arm or a 60 inch LP hose and route it around your body and behind your neck to your mouth. Either way you do it, this will be your primary and this will be the regulator you donate to the OOA diver, in this case your very important gf. Following this method, you will switch to your Air II.
3. Lose the ancient, giant flashlight and get something like a Tovateck or Ikelite PC light etc.

Good luck.

N

 

[psiborg1812]

OP, whichever way you go, just be sure to practice it consistently with your GF, especially since she is going to be your buddy. No matter what setup you have, if you practice enough with it then you will be fine.

If your SPG is dangling too much for you and you don't want to change hoses, you could clip your gauges across your chest or to a chest strap. just make sure you let your buddy know you are doing it so there is no confusion if you are being rescued.

 

[g1138]

This should answer most if not all your questions.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...ng-your-line-altair-inflator-note-divers.html

My vote is to get a 40-44in primary on an angle adapter and to also shorten your inflator hose so it's not so long. You might notice that if you put the Air 2 in your mouth it feels like something is trying to shove it to the right and out of your mouth. A long inflator hose will try to force the Air 2 out of your mouth because it can't bend at an aggressive angle (which occurs when you use it). Shortening it will also keep it from dragging.
If your inflator hose is 16in then keep it, the next length is 12in which is way to short. You wouldn't have a full range of head movement when using your Air2 on a 12in.

Shortening the inflator hose will aid in using your Air 2 with a little less mouth stress while lengthening the primary will solve your buddy issue.
You should go for a donate/alternate air share rather than relying on a buddy breath (1 reg-2 divers) as your primary choice for OOA emergencies.

Now if you don't have any issues w/ the inflator hose though then forget I said anything about it.

_______________________
As for your other choices. Getting an octo means another thing to service, might as well ditch your Air 2 and keep a standard inflator hose connection for your BC. Air 2 aren't ideal IMO, I don't like them or the disadvantages they place when air sharing. So if you have an octo why bother having an Air 2 (is my opinion).

Getting your GF a pony means another thing to maintain in your scuba equipment. But more importantly your GF now has to train for the use of a pony. Seems like a burden to put on her.
Spare air......there's plenty of threads on that already. Don't bother with that.
site:scubaboard.com spare air - Google Search

 

[flots am]

Pooh happens. You train/equip for the exceptional not the average. He is asking what is a safe effective system so that he and his GF walk away from a wreck.

There is nothing on an OW dive that can't be handled using the procedures taught in a good OW class. I'm not talking about a "walk on water" class, but any class that actually teaches all the skills required by PADI, SSI, SDI or any of the other popular agencies.

People get stuck in odd situations, a o-ring bursts at depth, a gauge is faulty a HP hose ruptures. Saying it shouldn't happen is a sad excuse to say don't bother to cofigure your rig in proper configuration.

It's open water. If you're "stuck" anywhere, it's not an OW dive, which brings us back to "dumb" again. All the other failures you mentioned can be handled by ascending with your buddy, sharing air if necessary.

If your buddy isn't around, it required inattention from both of you to accomplish this. You can't blame a "lost buddy" entirely on the buddy.

Uncontrollable events happen, but running out of air isn't one of them. If you're out of air and the cause wasn't a phenomenally rare equipment failure, you were dumb. There's just no way around it.

If you are sure you aren't going to end up the idiot in an OOA, feel free to get rid of your octo, and the quick release on your weights, your SMB, safety whistle and any other cluttery junk on your rig. Just don't dive with me.

The alternate second stage is for the out-of-air diver. Having or not having one does nothing for the diver who still has air.

Also, I never said anything about the other items. Unlike a spare-air, they actually work. I have no problem with equipment and own a garage full of it. I just have a problem with "magic talisman" items and trying to replace skills with hardware.

flots.

 

[TSandM]

Goodness gracious, what a hooferaw over a simple question!

I think you are a GOOD buddy, because you have realized your setup is not optimal for sharing gas, which generally occurs in the setting of significant diver stress on the person receiving gas from you.

A 40" octo hose should be fine, but you will need an angle adapter (not necessarily a swivel) to make the reg rest comfortably in your mouth, if you route it neatly under your arm. We have some of our student rigs set up this way (although with bungied backups).

 

[idive2]

So, how should I fix this.

1. longer lp hose to my secondary with swivel? How long?

2. Add an octo to my setup in additon to my air2?

3. Leave it alone and get her a pony or spare air?

You left one out.

4. Get rid of the AIR II and add a standard octo hose which is longer than the primary hose.

Some will bungie this octo on a necklace others will store it in something that releases easy enough for another diver
to grab it. The reason more people don't use the AIR II and choose the octo is that they do not want to go with a longer
or longer yet primary. I would not keep three second stages. If you add an octo I would remove the AIR II. Your current
set up is used by many but when you start talking about wanting something more ideal to provide air you have a few
options.

 

[CT-Rich]

There is nothing on an OW dive that can't be handled using the procedures taught in a good OW class. I'm not talking about a "walk on water" class, but any class that actually teaches all the skills required by PADI, SSI, SDI or any of the other popular agencies.



It's open water. If you're "stuck" anywhere, it's not an OW dive, which brings us back to "dumb" again. All the other failures you mentioned can be handled by ascending with your buddy, sharing air if necessary.

If your buddy isn't around, it required inattention from both of you to accomplish this. You can't blame a "lost buddy" entirely on the buddy.

Uncontrollable events happen, but running out of air isn't one of them. If you're out of air and the cause wasn't a phenomenally rare equipment failure, you were dumb. There's just no way around it.



The alternate second stage is for the out-of-air diver. Having or not having one does nothing for the diver who still has air.

Also, I never said anything about the other items. Unlike a spare-air, they actually work. I have no problem with equipment and own a garage full of it. I just have a problem with "magic talisman" items and trying to replace skills with hardware.

flots.

Would an entanglement be included in your definition reasons a diver shouldn't run out of air?

Ultmately, I think the way you tossed around judgemental comments and using "dumb" because they found themselves OOA. The topic is not whether divers should ever find themselves without air. Obviously, they shouldn't. I have never found myself in an air sharing situation. I like to think that I will continue to avoid that problem. Preparation doesn't mean a diver will never find themselves OOA, it just mean that in the event of a failure of equipment, judgement or unforseen trouble they are going to have viable solution. I will let the diver kick themselves for getting themselves in trouble.

I am not going to label them as being "dumb" discussing the possible gear configurations. Saying a person is dumb just stifles the dialog that Newbie divers come here to have. I taught for 13 years, and if you want to shut a conversation down just say that something is dumb. It will be the last time that person ever asks a question.

If you read some of the threads about basic diving. It takes a lot of guts to ask if the gear he spent $250 on was a good/safe investment. Or about the people who enter the water with there air off, they are willing to discuss it to either teach or learn. I think the word dumb should be left on the side line.

That is the source of my snarky comments. I didn't think I would have to explain it.

I guess I was just being dumb

 

[flots am]

Would an entanglement be included in your definition reasons a diver shouldn't run out of air?

Yes. That's why you avoid entanglements, carry cutting tools and stay close to your buddy who can assist in an emergency.

In any case, a spare air will not prevent an entanglement. and will only supply an extra minute or two at depth. If you want to plan on enough gas to handle an entanglement, you would need to plan according to your stressed SAC rate and how long you expect it to take to free yourself.

It would be more than 3CF.

flots.

 

[Tigerman]

There is nothing on an OW dive that can't be handled using the procedures taught in a good OW class. I'm not talking about a "walk on water" class, but any class that actually teaches all the skills required by PADI, SSI, SDI or any of the other popular agencies.
...

Generally true, however your first comment looked like "if youre out of air, youre an idiot" and thats just plain wrong and insultive.
You dont need a clogged dip tube or an exploded first stage to not have a useable air supply. If your LP hose burst, your SECOND stage explide or your tank o-ring burst you may be in a world of **** faster than you may realize..
You might argue that things like a bad pressure gauge should be recognized and I think for most truely experienced divers it would be fairly easilly, but for new divers - not so much..

"Exceptionally rare"? Maybe in the grand scale of the hundreds of thousands or even millions of 5-dives-a-year vacation divers out there, but I know there is more than me on this board thats seen blown o-rings under water for one.

 

[CT-Rich]

Yes. That's why you avoid entanglements, carry cutting tools and stay close to your buddy who can assist in an emergency.

In any case, a spare air will not prevent an entanglement. and will only supply an extra minute or two at depth. If you want to plan on enough gas to handle an entanglement, you would need to plan according to your stressed SAC rate and how long you expect it to take to free yourself.

It would be more than 3CF.

flots.

When did I say anything good about spare air? I talked about the use of a pony bottle several posts ago as an alternative to spare air.

My main comment was about your derisive way of addressing posters as "dumb" and you should never run out of air... an unrealistic bit of wishful thinking.