How do YOU hold your 2nd stage?

[Thalassamania]

Well if the idea is a process that works under duress, then your analysis is flawed.
The hand naturally finds the mouth. When replacing your regulator, if you grasp it by the case, the mouthpiece will be oriented correctly so that your hand will naturally push it in your mouth. And if you need to use the purge button, then the button is right under your palm. All you have to do is squeeze or push.
On the other hand, if you are grasping the 2nd stage by the hose, the mouthpiece might be turned up, or turned down. You'll have to pause to look at it, and possible use your other hand to rotate the 2nd stage to orient the mouthpiece. Otherwise it could take 2 or 3 attempts to get the mouthpiece in your mouth.
On the other hand, when donating a 2nd stage, you do want to hold it by the hose so the recipient can grasp the case and do the above.
If you are the recipient of an air sharing procedure and you have been trained to always grasp a 2nd stage by the hose, and the donor is already holding it by the hose, then you have to stop and think before you grasp the 2nd stage, elsewhere.
On the surface, it sounds logical to just say: Always grasp the 2nd stage by the hose, whether you're putting it in your mouth or someone else's. But when you really analyze the actions required, it doesn't hold up to scrutiny.

The way we used to teach BB (and still do, but with auxiliaries being the prime focus the details are now less important) was that the donor grasped the hose with his or her right hand, palm toward the face, at the edge of the regulator housing and then rotated it outward. The acceptor would grasp the donor’s wrist and use that to direct the regulator. This left the purge open and gave the donor tactile feedback as to the acceptor’s state of mind. Now keep in mind that this was for members of the team. Everyone knew that divers who were not part of the team could not be counted on to behave this way. I must admit that we rarely dove with non-team members for this and other reasons (everybody’s got the kool-aid, just different flavors).<G>

 

[webjr]

....it was her mouthpiece (again), with her octo floating up by her head.....John

Both mouthpieces came off on the same dive ?
I would be more worried about who's been working on them than how to hold a reg. That just doesn't happen unless some bonehead forgets the zipties or doesn't tighten them good.

 

[Jon C]

Back to the original question....

I have mastered the "hands free second transfer method" or "HFSTM" and I believe this is the best method to handle one's reg. You must set your second stage to a precise free flow rate and when someone is out of air, you spit your reg in their general direction and it putters its way to them...a full-force free flow (FFFF) is not recommended and has led to torpedo-like blunt force trauma and the associated complications.

Thank God for solo diving.

Time for this thread to fade away....

Jon