Hello Insta Buddy ...

[matt_w]

Well, mine are no art form.

I just made a decision at some point as to what I needed to feel comfortable in the water. And I just get mulish and insist that it get done. I want a plan, I want a buddy, and I want a gear check before we dive. If someone is uncomfortable with doing that, they can dive with somebody else for the next dive . . . but if they are diving with ME for this dive, this is what I need to feel comfortable. It doesn't take very much time, and although some of my buddies (yes, Bob, and Kathydee) roll their eyes at me, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

One of the best ways to have things like this go well is to go find some folks to dive with who like to dive the way you do. I'm sure if I were on a Hawaiian dive boat by myself, I'd have a hard time finding someone who would put up with me.

I'll put up with anybody for a dive or 2

 

[matt_w]

I do a lot of the stuff mentioned so far. But most important to me are two things: We each know how to release weight and we agree on general course, bottom time and when to turn the dive.

What if your buddy has no ditchable weight? Even in an AL backplate and a shorty with an aluminum tank, I will not need weight...

I really only ask because someone actually suggested I add weight so it could be removed in an emergency. The more you think about that, the funnier it gets.

 

[elan]

I really only ask because someone actually suggested I add weight so it could be removed in an emergency.

Was his name Wernher von Braun ?

 

[DevonDiver]

Here is my take on it: How to Dive with 'Insta-Buddies'

I know the PADI buddy check BWRAF thing that is the template, but is it okay to just check the SPG for PSI and then hit the LPI (or purge the reg's briefly) on the BC to ensure the tank is on? That way you don't mess with a stranger's tank valve and if the hoses are pressurized then the valve should be on, or is there something that can be missed?

Is that what you were taught in training? If so, why would you choose to deviate from it?

Why bother with the training in the first place? Print your own cert card and just make it up as you go along??

 

[TMHeimer]

What if your buddy has no ditchable weight? Even in an AL backplate and a shorty with an aluminum tank, I will not need weight...

I really only ask because someone actually suggested I add weight so it could be removed in an emergency. The more you think about that, the funnier it gets.

I've never dived with someone who had no ditchable weight. I guess if the diver's tank was negatively buoyant (steel or full AL), he wasn't getting air and my octo broke at the same time, we could ditch the tank and buddy breathe to the surface. What other choices might there be?

 

[matt_w]

I've never dived with someone who had no ditchable weight. I guess if the diver's tank was negatively buoyant (steel or full AL), he wasn't getting air and my octo broke at the same time, we could ditch the tank and buddy breathe to the surface. What other choices might there be?

I could easily swim that rig up with a full tank and an empty wing at 130ft, so it is only an issue if I am not conscious. Since most OW divers have 2-3x the lift they need in their BCD, it is probably not an issue

Really just trying to mix things up a bit. People should be on the lookout for those unusual situations when they get an instant buddy.

 

[DevonDiver]

I've never dived with someone who had no ditchable weight. I guess if the diver's tank was negatively buoyant (steel or full AL), he wasn't getting air and my octo broke at the same time, we could ditch the tank and buddy breathe to the surface. What other choices might there be?

Controlled buoyanct lift (i.e. youbring the other diver up, using your buoyancy) whilst buddy breathing. Oral inflate the other divers' BCD at the surface.

 

[Kiwi303]

Well I'm going to be an Instabuddy this saturday, New dive club, I haven't dived since moving down here from the plains to the mountains and have joined a dive club based down out of these mountain, downs on the sea shore. So I'm off to dive with them for the first time...

Going to be good to be in the water once more

 

[freewillie]

Here is my take on it: How to Dive with 'Insta-Buddies'



Is that what you were taught in training? If so, why would you choose to deviate from it?

Why bother with the training in the first place? Print your own cert card and just make it up as you go along??

Mostly asking because several divers have indicated that they don't want anyone touching their valves. I was thinking it could avoid an awkward situation. :shocked2:

OP was because I try and adhere to my training even though I've found other more 'experienced' divers don't

 

[Belce]

As fisheater pointed out, your check would miss a partially open tank valve or a situation in which the tank valve is off yet the reg hoses remain pressurized.

I'd recommend going a step beyond just purging a buddy's regs. I'd ask to breathe off of whatever reg he'll be donating to me in a LOA/OOA situation. I want to know whether the subjective breathing performance of the second stage is "good enough" for me or not. I don't want to find out that the octo mouthpiece is torn, there's a crack in the plastic housing, or the cracking pressure is unreasonably high when I need air from that reg underwater. I also verify that I can release the octo from whatever contraption my buddy has rigged for BCD attachment.

One of the reasons I insist on breathing from my buddy's donated reg is that I've seen many, many divers not even bother to check the function of their octos during pre-dive checks. Octos tend to see very little use, and they get dragged through the sand a lot. If a functional breathing test is done with the primary reg, there's no reason why a functional test shouldn't be done on the octo/alternative air source.

I suppose one could extend such functional checks to all aspects of a buddy's dive gear. However, I won't do such tests on my buddy's gear unless he asks me to. During a buddy check, I'll look at my buddy from head to toe. I look for trapped reg hoses or BCD pull-dump cords twisted/trapped under shoulder straps. If he hasn't attached his LP inflater hose to the power inflater then I'll remind him to do that (even though this isn't a "critical" issue since oral inflation should be perfectly adequate).

FWIW, I don't have to physically look at my buddy's SPG to verify his starting pressure. I just ask him.

Incorrect, a PADI check requires someone to breathe several times off a reg while watching a pressure guage to insure it is not partially on.