redundancy or failure point?????

[Stealth Mode]

I have a 19 pony with a quality reg set up,my question is for my primary rig should I eliminate my octo and just go with my primary reg (second stage) and my pony reg (second stage) or should I keep all 3 regs.I am speaking for solo.I feel like on one hand 3 regs can be considered redundancy and yes extra task loading to deal with,while also presenting another failure point as in freeflow.I am interested in hearing some more opinions about this setup.

 

[Searcaigh]

I don't use an Octo, I don't see the need for it if I am carrying a pony.

 

[redacted]

Although I may dive solo, there are often other divers in the area so I keep the octo on my rig. I have one rig that is used at selected sites where I am truly alone. The added failure point is of little consequence as I have never experienced a regulator failure in well over 1000 dives.

 

[herman]

I would tend to keep it, not so much for myself but for the " where the hell did he come from" OOA diver. He is going to be looking for an octo or at your primary, not your pony. Also, in that event, having as much gas as possible is not a bad thing. With no octo, you main gas supply is going to be dedicated to the OOA diver with no way for you to access it....unless you run into a uninvited buddy that actually knows how and is willing to buddy breath. The simple unbalanced octos are very hearty and will take quite a bit of abuse before failing. In any event, on every dive or at least on every series of dives spend a little time on your octo and your pony to make sure they are working well. An OOA is not the time to find out one of them could stand to be serviced.

 

[Kharon]

The SDI solo course recommends eliminating the octo (and I have) because it's unnecessary (see next paragraph before you sputter a response), an additional failure point (not so much), and (probably most important) is one more thing hanging that can get tangled.

The 2nd stage on the pony should be positioned in the same place an octo would be (where an OOA diver would look), should be yellow (familiar octo color), and should be easy to pull free. Also the pony should be easy to hand off. Also, it should be frequently practiced with while diving to insure a calm, collected, trained response to an emergency.

 

[ajtoady]

The dive parameters determines wether or not I carry the 30' pony/extra gas. The extra octo at times is not a big pain and not worth removing and replacing. This is however my personal preference and not some course or training mandate.

 

[Stealth Mode]

Thank you for all of the excellent input,I failed to mention some important info.I wear the pony reg on a necklace and my bottle is mounted coming off of my cam strap.I wanted to clarify that it NOT slung.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I have been diving that configuration for over 20 years solo and with a buddy. On most of my rigs, i have an Air2, so in actuality i have 3 second stages. If you are using standard second stages, i strongly discourage 3 second stages. What benefit does that third stage provide? Answer: almost zero and it has the potential to cause confusion, create entanglements, cause the loss of your primarily air supply, increases the liklihood of a freeflow... anything else? of yeah.. an extra failure point

You should ALWAYS have enough gas in the pony to get you to the surface. You should ALWAYS have enough gas in the primary to get yourself to the surface. Should you come upon another diver who is Out of gas, you should be able to donate the primary from your mouth and ascend with your pony. If the buddy sucks the primary down too fast, then you swim up harder or share the pony or die, I guess..

Still not a reason for me to take a third second stage.

 

[redacted]

I have been diving that configuration for over 20 years solo and with a buddy. On most of my rigs, i have an Air2, so in actuality i have 3 second stages. If you are using standard second stages, i strongly discourage 3 second stages. What benefit does that third stage provide? Answer: almost zero and it has the potential to cause confusion, create entanglements, cause the loss of your primarily air supply, increases the liklihood of a freeflow... anything else? of yeah.. an extra failure point

You should ALWAYS have enough gas in the pony to get you to the surface. You should ALWAYS have enough gas in the primary to get yourself to the surface. Should you come upon another diver who is Out of gas, you should be able to donate the primary from your mouth and ascend with your pony. If the buddy sucks the primary down too fast, then you swim up harder or share the pony or die, I guess..

Still not a reason for me to take a third second stage.

Why do you feel an air 2 (a 2nd stage) is OK but a conventional 2nd is wrong? It seems to me that an sir 2 suffers, to one degree or another, from all the possible problems you cite in your "Answer".

 

[spectrum]

I'm solo only 10-20% of the time so to avoid messing with the gear and consistency I leave my alternate on place. Keeping your major gas supply accessible to more than one diver is a positive.

Pete