Pre-dive buddy check; How many of you actually do it?

[mts0628]

... and if it were a DM, it wouldn't be me that was embarrassed.

That was funny!

 

[Pitchblack]

Always. There's no saying 'I'm sorry' if something goes wrong.

God forbid that it happends though...

 

[Thalassamania]

Every dive, always, no exceptions.

 

[TSandM]

I think what Peter was trying to get at was, why not do the buddy check openly between the two of you? What's the need to "sneak a peek" at your buddy's gear? We always go through the equipment check openly and audibly. Sometimes somebody finds something wrong -- gas not turned on, or a hose not connected -- and it's no big deal, you just fix it. After all, the whole reason for doing the check is because people make mistakes!

The idea that finding something is not as it should be is embarrassing worries me a lot. There should be no ego in your preparations for diving.

 

[Thalassamania]

We do it out front and out loud. If I missed something setting up my gear I want to know it BEFORE I enter the water. Hell ... I once got distracted and put on a tank that did not have a regulator attached to it. That got a good laugh.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Every dive, always, no exceptions.

Ditto.

This is just something that has to be done. It takes just a moment, but can prevent so many problems.

Best wishes.

 

[300bar]

Depends,

1 Depends whom I'm diving with.
2 Depends on what you call a buddycheck.

1 when diving wth my wife or a VERY good DM,we just look over when we set up and gear up.

2 When 1 is not inorder.With new/instabuddy's or I allways do a full buddy check.
and even then it's diver depending.When I did my 1st dive with EL Orans,we had a nice talk about our different types of gear,set up and looked over and did a quick check after.

With students ALLWAY'S a full check.top to bottom.

 

[Six Feet Under]

If I'm about to do a dive with the same buddy I've had for the last year now, no. The only thing we do is a bubble check at about 5-10 feet and go on with it unless one of us has some new piece of equipment (rare). We both basically solo dive, together, and keep fairly close tabs on one another. Each of us is set up to handle our own emergencies with redundant systems and similar gear.

 

[nimoh]

We do a team check before every dive, and also re-brief the dive plan including the goal, the team, equipment check, depth and time exposure, decompression strategy, gas requirements, and any environmental factors.

All this takes less than 5 minutes.

 

[Edward3c]

For every dive.

I've known missing weight belts, snagged hoses, gas off, kit missing, hoses not connected, etc. And these from experienced divers and instructors.

When I get someone who doesn't want to do a pre-dive check, I don't dive with them.