new regulaters

[Aardal]

NetDoc...

It seems to be a divided house. I think it does come down to personal choice but I and some of the others on the boards want to point out some of the cons of having a integrated Octo. You have to admit that we do have a valid point.

gjenks,

To figure out what you like just go down to the dive shop and ask some questions and see if you can jump in their dive tank with a integrated octo and go down to the deep end and breathe of off the octo and try to do an alternate air source ascend with a buddy and see if this is something your capable of doing in a OW enviroment.

Dive Safe and let us know.....

Aaron

 

[The Chairman]

Hey Aardal, Gjenks, & All,

I hear your points, but I have not had them hinder me in the least. I think that practice with the unit makes that sort of problem moot. Whenever I do an OOA drill, (and once when it was NOT a drill), I give my primary to the victim, and grab his BC. My left hand is ALREADY on my integrated octo, so it just slips straight into my mouth... there is NO HUNT or any disconnection issues (from the BC, that is) at all. Ploop it's in my mouth and I am breathing. The buttons are big and easy to control and my hand is making sure it doesn't get ripped out of my mouth. I love it, and will always dive with it if at all possible. I guess the "real point" is dive with what is comfortable for you and practice, practice, practice!!! Training never ends, and you should always practice with new equipment in a pool with a buddy. Pratice produces habit, and habit is what will save you in ANY emergency.

Pete from Orlando...
PS... did I mention that you should practice, practice, practice???

 

[Aardal]

eace: Divided we are!

Dive safe....I like how these threads end up responding to the responded, rather than responding to the orginal user.

Aaron

 

[Rick Murchison]

Depends on the dive...
Open water, shallow - I use the Air-2 or Air-Source integrated.
Open water, deep - Redundant regs, short & 4 ft hoses.
Open water, deep & deco - Redundant regs & pony/deco bottle; backup hang tank & plenty of travel gas so I can hand off the deco bottle if need be.
Overhead environment - Redundant regs, breathe the 7 ft. hose - other bottles depending on the dive.
Rick

 

[tomcat]

Hey Rick,

That sure sounds like a whole house full of equipment that you have there. Different situations demand different equipment and that there is no one size that fits all.

That being said, I'm sure there is some decent setup that will be good enough for say, all no-decom water dives that are within rec limits. Personally, I hardly hear of OOA divers going for the octopus, since everybody puts it in a different place. In fact, I often see people clipping it to their c-clips, making it difficult to remove, even in a calm and controlled environment. Seems like breathing the long hose and donating the reg out of your mouth would be a good idea. As for how the secondary air source is delivered, perhaps that is where people can have more freedom in doing what they are comfortable with.

tomcat

 

[The Chairman]

I totally agree with Tomcat!

Too much can confuse the diver to sucking on the wrong air source. Yes, tech diving is great for those that just can't get enough tanks super-glued to their body, but the original poster (is he still around???) was concerned about the best way to go for one piece of equipment. To some this was anathema at best. To others, more congenial, handsome, cool, and far more insightful (like myself)(grin) divers, the duo-air, or integrated octo/inflators work great. And again for me, it comes down to too many danglies from the back. I do dive with a pony bottle, and that does complicate things somewhat. However, before the pony, I dove almost exclusively with the TUSA Duo-Air (still do), and had none of the problems others conjectured about. However, we all must make our individual choices as to what we take down there, 'cause its our butt on the line.

Pete from Orlando...

 

[large_diver]

gjenks,

Many good opinions above. Now I'll offer another.

One option to consider would be a "DIR" set-up with a 5 foot primary regulator hose and the back-up necklaced via a bungy cord around your neck. If this is done right, the back-up hanging around your neck can be accessed without using your hands. In an OOA emergency, you donate the primary reg in your mouth to your buddy. I presonally like to have my buoyancy control and air supplies separate.

MAJOR DISCLAMER -- I have yet to try a DIR set-up myself, but will be buying one soon. I've heard alot of good feedback on the "eas of use" of this type of set-up, and I know there are plenty DIR advocates on this board to provide their opinions.

Good luck.

 

[Rick Murchison]

It *is* a whole houseful of equipment - acquired over thirty years or so. And it is one of the points I keep trying to make to those considering "technical" diving - it is expensive. It doesn't matter how good a shape you're in, or how gung-ho you are, if you don't have the cash to properly outfit a technical rig (I'd say minimum $5K just for equipment - plus $1K to $5K more for the right instruction - and I mean cash in the bank, not credit available on VISA) don't start until you do. Fiscal shortcuts in technical diving can be just as deadly as bad equipment, inadequate training or improper procedures or protocols.
As for the "recreational" range, I personally make a huge distinction between dives where I can make a comfortable CESA and those where I cannot. For me, that cutoff is 100' and at least 10 minutes shy of any decompression obligation. Within that range, I use the integrated air arrangement and breathe a short hose. My buddy is briefed that I expect him (her) to simply take my primary if they ever need it - in a "recreational" scenario, I'm usually with a much less experienced buddy, and should they need my air, I want to be "nose-to-nose" with them and in absolute control of the ascent. Keeping them on a short hose and held firmly assures both control and has an amazing calming effect on panic, as well as assuring I'm in a position to ditch their weights or dump their BC if necessary. Using the reg integrated with the inflator reduces clutter in this "up close and personal" approach.
Outside the purely "recreational" range, I generally dive with much more experienced divers, divers I know and with whom I have practiced emergency procedures for the kind of dive we're making. Redundancy can be a buddy in the 100 - 130' range, but only if you are a practiced team... otherwise fully redundant equipment is necessary.
Rick
Rick

 

[gjenks]

I am still here. I sure stirred up a hornets nest! I am strictly recreational. And it seems to me that the intagrated air source is best for me. I believe there are going to be more posts to read though. TY

 

[Aardal]

gjenks.... :idea:

Even though the house is divided.... be sure to try it out before you buy it. I have both integrated and octo setup. Its more of a back up of the back up...but I just took it off of my BC. Its been fun arguing both sides of the case but it really comes down to what your gonna buy. Dive Safe and let us know how you like the integrated octo.

Dive Safe

Aaron