What's the deal with H-Valves?

[gcarter]

Bell Island wrecks in Newfoundland. Tobermory. Victoria BC. Monterey CA. All great cold water dives. But there is just something about those high vis nearly naked by comparison warm water dives...

 

[grf88]

Bell Island wrecks in Newfoundland. Tobermory. Victoria BC. Monterey CA. All great cold water dives. But there is just something about those high vis nearly naked by comparison warm water dives...

Warm water dives are fine but somehow can't compete with a 3 masted schooner with the masts still up and the deck intact.

 

[gcarter]

Warm water dives are fine but somehow can't compete with a 3 masted schooner with the masts still up and the deck intact.

But they're WARM!!!!!!

 

[cool_hardware52]

By doing that I would have missed some of my favourite dives. Off to Greenland on Saturday, no hurricanes there.

Tongue in cheek my friend. I'm in favor of more diving worldwide. I remain in awe of the dedication of the genuine cold water divers.

Tobin

 

[grf88]

But they're WARM!!!!!!

Maybe when I get old I will appreciate that but right now I'm only 70.

 

[DmitriC]

Hey folks, thanks for all the input.
So from my understanding, people's biggest hangup with using them is less practical or technical and more hinged on their personal beliefs regarding redundancy?

So for a bit of personal history; I have a background in aviation. There, every backup system has a backup, and you never leave the ground if one backup proves faulty. Even while flying and using GPS you still follow your course using the paper chart on your knee. You know your check-in points, time to next action, distance to next point, airspeed, wind speed, etc. This is because you PLAN on your GPS failing at the most inopportune time. The same goes for my diving gear. These notions of redundancy are hard to kick, especially while you are in an environment where the gear you use is literally life support.
It may just be due to my limited experience as a diver, but I don't understand how someone can say that redundancy is required in one situation and not another.

...Of the various options for redundancy, I have chosen the philosophy that my buddy provides my redundancy.

And this I totally disagree with, but that's a whole other can of worms.

 

[tbone1004]

@DmitriC in recreational diving, your backup is your buddy. When in technical diving or diving solo, your buddy doesn't exist so you find alternate solutions. H-valves just are a weird middle ground between truly redundant solutions a normal recreational setup

 

[Lorenzoid]

@DmitriC in recreational diving, your backup is your buddy. When in technical diving or diving solo, your buddy doesn't exist so you find alternate solutions.

tbone, you know that's not quite accurate, either. I mean, granted each diver has his own redundancy in the form of multiple tanks, multiple regs, etc. However, a buddy team using the rule of thirds has each buddy carrying enough reserve gas to get both him and his buddy out in the unlikely event the buddy has a total gas loss (e.g., the buddy loses use of both his first stages).

Anyway, properly trained and drilled, the buddy-for-redundancy method works at least as well as the alternatives.

 

[tbone1004]

tbone, you know that's not quite accurate, either. I mean, granted each diver has his own redundancy in the form of multiple tanks, multiple regs, etc. However, a buddy team using the rule of thirds has each buddy carrying enough reserve gas to get both him and his buddy out in the unlikely event the buddy has a total gas loss (e.g., the buddy loses use of both his first stages).

Anyway, properly trained and drilled, the buddy-for-redundancy method works at least as well as the alternatives.

depends on what you're doing and if you believe in team diving. I don't believe in team diving the way GUE believes in team diving because it breaks down in real deep dives and in true sidemount dives where diving solo or same ocean is a lot safer. I'll do what I can to help my buddy and I try to carry that gas reserve, but it's rarely practical or even possible to carry enough to get both of you out in a true catastrophic gas loss.
There's a reason we use buddy bottles

 

[Lorenzoid]

Yes, "team diving" is what I meant when I said I have chosen the "buddy provides my redundancy" philosophy among the various alternatives. It works for me at present, and it could work for most people in most recreational and technical diving, as proven by the impressive track record of the GUE people. You may be right that "it breaks down in real deep dives and in true sidemount dives." I know nothing about that kind of diving. I'm convinced there is no single system that's optimal for every kind of diving. I'm also convinced that the H-valve isn't optimal for any but perhaps the most narrow slice of diving.