Mares HUB and aircraft....

[Azza]

Hey Bruce. You like the HUB and thats what really matters.

Most "cattleboats" boats have more than 4 divers and space is typically a problem, especially w/ those who pack their gear back in the wrong order, if in any order at all.

Trust me...there is less space on my boat than your typical cattle boat. I have worked on cattle boats so i understand what you are saying. However I never had a problem. If you are a tidy organised diver, what others do doesnt affect you to the extent that having a BCD and combined reg is a must.

Have you ever had the "pleasure" of having to utilize an octo outside of training exercises? I have - I can pull the bright yellow velcro rip pull and whip the octo into your mouth as fast if not faster than most can even recover theirs. Many divers have it dragging across the coral or sand or scrunched up into a BC strap. In a moment of duress, it is not as easy to pull it out when threaded through the cummerbund.

Unfortunately I have had that experience. I remember a couple of times, some divers who where not even diving with my buddy and I who didnt have enough air left in there lungs to ask, they simply took the one in my mouth. Thats fine however because I donate the reg in my mouth.
As for divers who tuck theirs in wierd places and drag them all over the reef, the better solution to having the reg stuck in a pocket would be to bungee the backup around their neck and donate the reg from the mouth. A severely panicking diver will take whatever they can see, which is usually the one in the mouth, and you know where your backup is at all times.

NO BC does that for ALL divers of ALL shapes & compositions. It does, however, allow for this diver.

My BPW does

In my opinion, any diver that makes less than a concerted effort to check & properly maintain their gear is a diver with whom I'd rather not dive.

But how often should you check your hoses? I can glance and run my hands over mine before every dive in a matter of seconds. How long does it take you to check yours?

That's great! But that is you. Traveling abroad you never know who is going to end up on the boat. Many divers seems to have the LPI flopping all around & often times completely disconnected! Boy, I'd sure like to be on dive trips w/ folks like you all the time!

So you owning a HUB helps those other floppy LPI folks how?

All manufacturers surely are desiring to stay in business, but I think it is somewhat cynical to believe they are purely profit-driven to simply 'reinvent' stuff.

My company does it all the time

If it wasn't for ever-evolving technology, we'd be diving the way my grandfather did in the Navy - no BC, no gauges and a J-valve at best.

I agree with you. In fact if it wasn't for technology we would probably still be swimming.
But where do you stop? How convoluted do we have to make things before we say enough is enough?
My BCD is a stainless steel backplate, with a continuous webbing harness, and a wing that bolts on the back. Very simple, minimilistic, nothing that can break (except for the wing but I just slide it out of the outer shell and adhere a bicycle repair patch over the hole) and it does the job better than any other BCD I have ever owned. (I have had a few. Being a Dive Professional I used to have to change my BCDs whenever a new one came out as per the company policy).

PS. Thanks for posting in a friendly relaxing tone. It sure is nice to have an internet discussion without it turning to death threats

 

[brucekrymow]

Hi, Azza ~

Thanks for the great discussion! :14:

It can be difficult in forums as there is no body language to read, cross-cultural differences, and people oft get so personal w/ their thoughts/opinions.

It is exactly this type of discussion that may cast light on perspectives or considerations missed & lends thought to those with more, less or just different experience.

You certainly brought up some valid points with which I agree & those where I didn't I have re-thought, especially where keeping it simple counts. Where do you say enough is enough? And things that appear shiny, new and modern may not be so once extensive use allows for similar comparison w/ other or older concepts.

Safety is something it seems many unwittingly disregard. After reading this & playing catch-up w/ other older threads in this forum, I think I would really like to practice more real emergency skills & push the panic cycle.

Thanks for engaging me in a nice conversation & hope to do more in the future.