New divers and buying equipment

[Flycaster]

I bought most of my stuff before I finished OW years ago.
It all served me well.
Now many years later I bought a new suit, backplate, wing,etc.
Never brought back or replaced anything I bought.

 

[gfspencer]

I started studying gear when I started my course. I got information from the internet, my son (who is a certified Rescue Diver) and the dive shop where I got my certification. I still have and use 90% of my gear . . . . although it might be time for a new dive computer.

 

[Bob DBF]

The one purchase I am second guessing is a so called "safe second" or Air II type reg in lieu of the standard octo...Seemed like a good idea at the time I first came to know of it's existence. Having one less hose had to be a good thing, but now I am not so sure...for the life of me I cannot find any real advantage to it.

A safe second is a term applied to any "extra" second stage started back when a reg set was normally one first and one second. Back then an octopus refered to a reg set, safe second, SPG, and inflators hose because it looked like one, and somehow now has changed to meaning only the safe second.

All that aside, I had an Oceanic version of an air2 and had no issues. I only used the pull dump on the unit so there would be no difference in procedure if I had the reg in my mouth.
A buddy liked his so much that he retrofitted his BP/W with the Air2 from his Nighthawk when he switched.

Aside from personal preference, the only advantages over a standard safe second is that you won't be dragging it along the bottom when it gets loose, and it's always easy to find.

I moved to another configuration, but it was not because the air2 system was lacking.



Bob

 

[msinc]

.........and it's always easy to find..........
Bob

Always "easy" to find???? I am not so sure that applies. Easy to find for who??? That is the issue, as I see it. Of course it's easy to find for you, but you are not the one in trouble. What should be easy to find is not there. New diver that was trained to look for the yellow hose on your right swims up to you and don't find an octo...because it's not there. You very well may have the one thing almost as bad as a great white within two feet of you, a panicked diver looking for air he cannot find. You can imagine the rest. There is a 50/50 {or worse} chance that this is not going to have a happy ending.
Same new diver swims up looking for the yellow hose and finds one....he easily grabs it and gets what he needs, maybe even barely disturbing you if you are occupied with something else like your camera. Some other diver running low or out of air is bad enough, is it worth complicating for the personal reduction of one hose???
I am a relatively new diver and I always take the time before a dive to familiarize with other divers and what gear they have. I am surprised to learn the number of divers that have never seen or heard of a safe second.

 

[Marie13]

Always "easy" to find???? I am not so sure that applies. Easy to find for who??? That is the issue, as I see it. Of course it's easy to find for you, but you are not the one in trouble. What should be easy to find is not there. New diver that was trained to look for the yellow hose on your right swims up to you and don't find an octo...because it's not there. You very well may have the one thing almost as bad as a great white within two feet of you, a panicked diver looking for air he cannot find. You can imagine the rest. There is a 50/50 {or worse} chance that this is not going to have a happy ending.
Same new diver swims up looking for the yellow hose and finds one....he easily grabs it and gets what he needs, maybe even barely disturbing you if you are occupied with something else like your camera. Some other diver running low or out of air is bad enough, is it worth complicating for the personal reduction of one hose???
I am a relatively new diver and I always take the time before a dive to familiarize with other divers and what gear they have. I am surprised to learn the number of divers that have never seen or heard of a safe second.

And don't forget there are divers who don't have the yellow hose. I've been running a long hose primary donate setup for a couple of months. I'd be donating the reg in my mouth and switching to the one necklaced around my neck. Both second stages are identical and on black hoses. I simply got sick of the danged octo coming out of the holder no matter what I did or which holder I used.

 

[msinc]

And don't forget there are divers who don't have the yellow hose. I've been running a long hose primary donate setup for a couple of months. I'd be donating the reg in my mouth and switching to the one necklaced around my neck. Both second stages are identical and on black hoses. I simply got sick of the danged octo coming out of the holder no matter what I did or which holder I used.

I totally understand exactly what you are saying. But the point, and you are making it perfectly...is that of course we as users of the device know exactly what to do with it. However, a diver {could be older and not around the new gear much, could be newer and trained on a yellow hose octo} that is unfamiliar with a safe second doesn't have a clue. My luck is bad...that's the guy that will swim up to me and completely flip out every time. Biggest thing for me is that this is supposed to be a system that helps others, but there is a real possibility that it may not and just may cause me some grief too.

 

[Marie13]

I'm going to say this nicely...Divers configure their gear the way they want for personal preference/diving style. Why should they have to take newbie divers or those only familiar with one gear configuration into consideration? If their buddies are told what to do in an OOA situation, that's all you can count on.

 

[Neilwood]

I'm going to say this nicely...Divers configure their gear the way they want for personal preference/diving style. Why should they have to take newbie divers or those only familiar with one gear configuration into consideration? If their buddies are told what to do in an OOA situation, that's all you can count on.

I see no issues with people diving with different configurations but what is required in that situation is a clear concise briefing about what each diver should do in the event of an OOA situation (possibly with a demonstration/drill before you splash).

 

[mcohen1021]

I haven't seen it mentioned (does not mean it hasn't been). Remember what you were taught in scuba class? Buddy breathing was not just giving your octopus to your buddy in trouble. It was also sharing a single primary 2nd stage.

Thanks for this thread. It got me to thinking about my own setup and briefing my better half about what to do "if..."

 

[Marie13]

I see no issues with people diving with different configurations but what is required in that situation is a clear concise briefing about what each diver should do in the event of an OOA situation (possibly with a demonstration/drill before you splash).

I got the impression he was referring to a random OOA diver coming up to you, not a buddy.