Primary or alternate donate poll

[KenGordon]

Oops. My point, although I had what is trained wrong, is that training is the key to success in sharing air, regardless of the method.

Bob

Fair enough, although I looked in the manual and at Ocean Diver (equivalent to OW +/- Nitrox and CBL) it is only in one pool lesson and one open water lesson. You have to do it again a few times at Sports Diver, again at Dive Leader and again for Advanced. In a club situation people are likely to be used as bodies or encouraged to become assistant instructors so are likely to be doing it just in passing.

Having said that, the majority of AS attempts in the incident reports are failures. Prevention is much better than cure.

 

[Saboteur]

This is obviously a Scubaboard poll. Probably less than 5% of divers donate their primary in places I have been. It is probably closer to 1%.

According to Scubaboard, 3/4 of divers have backplate / wings, Jetfins and 7’ primary hose on doubles and have some sort of tech diving as their ultimate goal after completing their OW cert also.

93% of divers that use an inflator/octo or split fins are walking dead.

And use a Shearwater computer...

 

[rsingler]

For the Air2 divers following this thread (I started this way too, back when): map out in your mind how you will handle a TRUE OOA, where your sole source of both air (after donating primary) and venting your bcd will be your Air2.

1) you and buddy will probably be with your right arms in an Indian handshake, horizontal or vertical. That means only one free hand.
2) your buddy can't add air to their bcd if they were negative at the time of failure, so you'll be establishing neutral buoyancy with the same toy that's in your mouth.
3) you will be venting from your bcd on the way up (as will they), but you are venting using the toy in your mouth (butt and shoulder dumps are usually too coarse for maintaining neutral on ascent).

Will you have to remove it from your mouth to get it higher than the bubble in the top of your bcd/wing? If so, you'll be doing that a lot in the last 30 feet. Will you be venting for your buddy too, because they're panicked or task saturated? Do you really want your reg in and out of your mouth during that time?

That's why I've gotten rid of my Air2/SS1/Airsource3. It also really wasn't more streamlined than a second reg under my chin, since the hose had to be longer than my bcd corrugated hose to give adequate head movement when in use. I want my octo on a necklace right under my chin. I donate either 40" or 7' via my primary. There's something reassuring about having a panicked OOA Instabuddy as far away as possible. (EDIT: just kidding)

(...while checking ascent rate on my Perdix AI) (not kidding)

My 2¢.

 

[formernuke]

^^^ exactly why you will never see me with a air2 type device.

 

[tursiops]

BOTH regs are working are done before every dive I make.

Yeah, many people do this. Then drag their octo in the sand and silt.

 

[potato cod]

This is obviously a Scubaboard poll. Probably less than 5% of divers donate their primary in places I have been. It is probably closer to 1%.

According to Scubaboard, 3/4 of divers have backplate / wings, Jetfins and 7’ primary hose on doubles and have some sort of tech diving as their ultimate goal after completing their OW cert also.

93% of divers that use an inflator/octo or split fins are walking dead.

Ahaha!

I'm just a rec diver with no tech ambition. My husband and I have been diving a 7-ft hose for over a decade because our dive shop is a big proponent of it, trains with it (though not required), and it just made sense. I like the backup on a necklace--keeps it handy and a girl likes a little "jewelry." That said, I pair my long hose with a back inflate BC (not BP/W) and split fins. Seriously, yes, split fins.

Also, I wonder if responses would have been different if you had posted this in the "basic" section. This one tends to get tech-heavy, so I don't visit it as often as a strictly rec diver.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Yeah, many people do this. Then drag their octo in the sand and silt.

In Japan I saw at least one diver with their octo wrapped up nice and neat. But it would take me at least 10 seconds to unwrap it to actually use it.

 

[Esprise Me]

Having said that, the majority of AS attempts in the incident reports are failures. Prevention is much better than cure.

Is AS "air sharing"? What does it mean for it to be a failure? Do all air sharing incidents get reported? I'm not in the UK, but it never occurred to me to report my buddy's OOA incident anywhere but here. Despite our initial struggles to free the octo, I'd call our air sharing a success. Are you saying most people who try to share air in a real emergency don't make it?

 

[Fastmarc]

Also, I wonder if responses would have been different if you had posted this in the "basic" section. This one tends to get tech-heavy, so I don't visit it as often as a strictly rec diver.

I agree. This would have been better if posted in the basic forum. Doing primary donate is not an advanced diver only.

I wonder if it should be moved?

 

[drjtprice]

I originally learned by buddy breathing (70s), then octopus came along and since then have gone through both primary and alternate donate depending on the certification school. If I am paired with someone I don't know I ask which way they were trained. Probably doesn't matter as they'll probably grab the primary.....