HUD

I consider a HUD/NERD a mandatory item on a CCR

  • Yes

    Votes: 34 70.8%
  • No

    Votes: 2 4.2%
  • I consider it optional

    Votes: 12 25.0%

  • Total voters
    48

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I am still new to the CCR world and have a nerd

I don’t think I’d get in the water without Atleast some form of a HUD.
 
I have a hud on my inspiration, not on my sidekick. Yes, I know a hud is seen most times first, before you see problems at a handset. But if you go down, it is easy to have a look at the handset and if you go up, same.
But it asks a little bit more attention if you dive without hud. You need to know how your po2 is stable, or drops or rises.
At the moment I won't put a hud on my Sidekick. Even if I want to buy a new sidemount ccr, for me it is an optional tool that I don't need definetely. But yes, the hud has some advantages.

I also have a flowstop on the O2 side of my Sidekick. This has a reason: during transport even when the valve opens (I had this 1 time) I will not loose my oxygen. And the other reason is that sometimes I turn off the oxygenflow with the flowstop when going down fast. It is easier to close the flowstop then to close the valve. It is part of my checklist to check if all is open.
 
I put it as optional, though I personally would never dive without one. So my real answer is it should be, but I don't think it realistically ever will be. I think on a e-ccr it's a litlte less critical since you have the parachute to save you from some issues, but on an mccr I think it's mandatory. EIther way I wish it was mandatory. Even on an e-ccr I would have one.
I believe the recent death at Ginnie is a clear example as to why a hud should be mandatory. It's probably going to be very controversial, but I think KISS should start making them a stock item on their rebreathers or a couple more deaths on the sidewinder will lead to a big lawsuit.

The problem with "the parachute will save me" mindset is eventually people get complacent and let the parachute drive the bus. That's when they get into trouble.

Any rate, my fist two rebreathers didn't have a HUD. My second two rebreathers did. I don't see that I'll ever go without a HUD again.
 
first one had a blinky HUD
second one does not have a HUD

I do not find the HUD necessary, even in crappy viz squeezy sh!t. The caveat is that I have a Freedom as the handset which has haptic alarms and I think those are more useful than visual alarms. I will replace it with a NERD once the NERD has haptic alarms, and will see if/when that happens either from Shearwater or from someone else. I think the HUDs are beneficial but I don't think they're the end-all-be-all must-have absolutely-required piece of equipment.
 
Humans are just the worst at consistently doing something without ever failing. We get distracted, we get tunnel vision, and the impacts of a too low or too high po2 don't exactly improve our focus and memory.

Know your po2 means a way to see or be alerted to a po2 out of expected range without making arm movements.
I do think that means that a DIVA, HUD, NERD, or haptics, satisfy the golden rule, as the idea is just not relying on something you have to remember to look at.

I was flabbergasted that the sidewinder doesn't come with a hud or haptics, and that divers would dive without one. I have been thinking a lot since then and I haven't changed my opinion. It's not about being a super smart tech diver who can just "know" your po2, because it can be impacted rapidly by many factors which are not typical, and it will kill you. I promised my family I would never die underwater due to my own mistakes or negligence, and a HUD is an important part of that promise.

The only other thing that I would love to resolve is a better alarm or method of making sure oxygen is flowing, but a HUD is a good help if humans make that error.
 
I have a Smithers code HUD on my KC, but don't rely on it or drive the unit with it, I like the 2nd decimal place on the handset and the additional reference information on there so it seems intuitive to manage all the key metrics via 1 source, especially as they may be impacting the po2 or require adjustment of the po2 in relation to the metric.

I have yet to be in a situation where I couldn't see the Shearwater either due to entrapment, murk or other. On an occasion when the primary died I was at 6m on the last stops so the HUD was irrelevant in reality. I am not sure whether I would choose to finish a dive on the HUD alone (in respect of po2 data), it would have to be situationally dependent I think.

The HUD is also hard to read in bright light, say on the deck of a boat or floating on the surface awaiting recovery.

If you have to know your depth, time, TTS, ascent rate, stop duration, po2 etc. why would you not group that on a computer and reference everything together.
 
If you have to know your depth, time, TTS, ascent rate, stop duration, po2 etc. why would you not group that on a computer and reference everything together.

Because as @JahJahwarrior says, the weak link is the human remembering to actually look at it often enough. If your day to day check ppO2 on handset frequency is every 3 to 5 mins.. Are you going to continue that on bad day? Is even that going to be enough if your ADV is leaking hypoxic dil near the surface, or your orifice is clogged, your O2 runs out or rolls off, or your solenoid battery dies, or you are distracted by a line entanglement, or a buddy is having problems and you're helping. Having an "alarm" that doesnt require you to consciously look away from what you are fixated on is the idea.
 
@rjack321 and that's where I'm not sure a HUD does anything other than make it more convenient to see. My Meg HUD is useless in bright sunlight at shallow depths so how much good is it in the hypoxic dil situation? Haptic feedback that gives an active alarm and shakes your whole arm or your mouth if it's a vibrating HUD is much more useful in terms of safety.
 
I have walked away from a dive that I am convinced I wouldn't have survived without a HUD. I won't dive without one.
I got wedged in a door on the Oriskanny and whilst doing the "slam and wiggle technique," I pinned my oxygen MAV open. I stopped to look once all the blinky lights got out of hand. Download showed I was over a 4.0 and still climbing when I caught it. I don't think I would have had much more time before I was done.
 

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