I've always dived with a redundant air source, I've never trusted the standard octo off the same first stage. I used a Spare Air for a while, then switched to a pony bottle. My only gripe about SA is that it's just not a good buy. The only reason I picked up the larger model was I got it for a reasonable price. I would not recommend anyone paying full price for it, the doubles SA and nitrox versions are a joke, and so is the standard model for that matter, but only because of the price. Your money is better spent on a pony bottle and another first stage.
Solo Diving
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Here's a repost of my post on the last "Solo Diving" thread. Still applies
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First, I must tell you that I do occasionally dive alone - usually very early in the morning when no one else is willing to get up and go. - BUT -
When I do, I am betting my life that I will not get entrapped, and that I will not have some unanticipated incapacitating episode on that dive. These two are independent of redundancy, and while conservatism can all but eliminate entrapment, the risk of sudden incapacitation can only be marginally reduced.
I will provide two recent, local (Lower Alabama), specific examples which may help you make up your own mind when considering whether it is "safe" to go it alone.
(1) One of my boyhood friends was cleaning his pond - alone, in just over five feet of water. He had some kind of attack - probably stroke or heart attack - and drowned. We will never know if he could have been saved from the attack because he drowned first. Had he had a buddy, he would likely not have drowned. This man was in "excellent shape" - trim, ate right, regular exercise, superior swimmer and diver. Still, we buried him.
(2) Two spearfishermen were diving from a boat out of Gulf Shores - on the first dive, one had equipment problems on entry and elected to abort the dive. The other decided to go on solo. About fifteen minutes later, the boat driver and the other diver saw a huge freeflow of bubbles at the surface, followed shortly by the diver popping up, drowned. CPR failed. When he popped to the surface, he was wrapped up in the shaft line of the speargun, regulator out of his mouth and both arms pinned with the line. We believe he shot a big amberjack that wrapped him up and knocked the regulator out of his mouth - unable to get to his primary or independent second regulator and unable to jettison his weights, he'd started an emergency swimming ascent (we don't know how long the fish stayed on the spear and what affect that had on his efforts to get free/up); the last conscious thing he was able to do was get free enough to reach his power inflator, too late. Had he had a buddy, he would likely not have drowned. Again, he was in excellent shape, an experienced diver and spearfisherman (although obviously not experienced enough to shoot only things small enough for him to handle alone), and still died.
Note that in both these cases there was no equipment failure, no lack of redundancy, no deficiency in training or in fitness to dive. The incapacitation in the first case was a complete surprise; the entrapment in the second avoidable but nevertheless unexpected. In either case a buddy would likely have prevented the drowning.
Rick
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First, I must tell you that I do occasionally dive alone - usually very early in the morning when no one else is willing to get up and go. - BUT -
When I do, I am betting my life that I will not get entrapped, and that I will not have some unanticipated incapacitating episode on that dive. These two are independent of redundancy, and while conservatism can all but eliminate entrapment, the risk of sudden incapacitation can only be marginally reduced.
I will provide two recent, local (Lower Alabama), specific examples which may help you make up your own mind when considering whether it is "safe" to go it alone.
(1) One of my boyhood friends was cleaning his pond - alone, in just over five feet of water. He had some kind of attack - probably stroke or heart attack - and drowned. We will never know if he could have been saved from the attack because he drowned first. Had he had a buddy, he would likely not have drowned. This man was in "excellent shape" - trim, ate right, regular exercise, superior swimmer and diver. Still, we buried him.
(2) Two spearfishermen were diving from a boat out of Gulf Shores - on the first dive, one had equipment problems on entry and elected to abort the dive. The other decided to go on solo. About fifteen minutes later, the boat driver and the other diver saw a huge freeflow of bubbles at the surface, followed shortly by the diver popping up, drowned. CPR failed. When he popped to the surface, he was wrapped up in the shaft line of the speargun, regulator out of his mouth and both arms pinned with the line. We believe he shot a big amberjack that wrapped him up and knocked the regulator out of his mouth - unable to get to his primary or independent second regulator and unable to jettison his weights, he'd started an emergency swimming ascent (we don't know how long the fish stayed on the spear and what affect that had on his efforts to get free/up); the last conscious thing he was able to do was get free enough to reach his power inflator, too late. Had he had a buddy, he would likely not have drowned. Again, he was in excellent shape, an experienced diver and spearfisherman (although obviously not experienced enough to shoot only things small enough for him to handle alone), and still died.
Note that in both these cases there was no equipment failure, no lack of redundancy, no deficiency in training or in fitness to dive. The incapacitation in the first case was a complete surprise; the entrapment in the second avoidable but nevertheless unexpected. In either case a buddy would likely have prevented the drowning.
Rick
Hi Hocky,
I usually start my dive with a buddy. We are actually same ocean buddy diving. Thats how they call it here. If we dive a wreck, we will start the dive together, meet at different point during the dive and probably end up doing our ascent together if we follow carefully our run time.
The equipment I use includes but is not limited to:
Double tanks with isolator manifold
Two din first stage
Two second stage:
The primary attached to a 7ft hose and wrapped around my neck
The other one attached to a bungee around my neck
Tec wing style bcd
Two lights
A reel and two lift bag for decompression
Two cutting devices
A jon line
Two depth gage and timer
One pressure gage
A set of decompression profile with backup profile if anything goes wrong on a slate
A dry suit
A spare mask
And some times a stage tank with a nitrox mix for deco.
If anything goes wrong with my equipment, I have few simple options to choose from.
I feel much more comfortable being alone down there with this redundant equipment. I have done some deep solo dives with a recreational set of equipment. Looking at it now seems a little foolish for me.
You could use a single tank but it would be preferable to have a valve with two din connector.
I have used a spare air in the past. You dont have much air if you are deep. Maybe 15-20 breath at 100feet!
Did you see the double spare air?
A pony bottle would be a great option though.
Philippe
I usually start my dive with a buddy. We are actually same ocean buddy diving. Thats how they call it here. If we dive a wreck, we will start the dive together, meet at different point during the dive and probably end up doing our ascent together if we follow carefully our run time.
The equipment I use includes but is not limited to:
Double tanks with isolator manifold
Two din first stage
Two second stage:
The primary attached to a 7ft hose and wrapped around my neck
The other one attached to a bungee around my neck
Tec wing style bcd
Two lights
A reel and two lift bag for decompression
Two cutting devices
A jon line
Two depth gage and timer
One pressure gage
A set of decompression profile with backup profile if anything goes wrong on a slate
A dry suit
A spare mask
And some times a stage tank with a nitrox mix for deco.
If anything goes wrong with my equipment, I have few simple options to choose from.
I feel much more comfortable being alone down there with this redundant equipment. I have done some deep solo dives with a recreational set of equipment. Looking at it now seems a little foolish for me.
You could use a single tank but it would be preferable to have a valve with two din connector.
I have used a spare air in the past. You dont have much air if you are deep. Maybe 15-20 breath at 100feet!
Did you see the double spare air?
A pony bottle would be a great option though.
Philippe
100days-a-year
Contributor
Hocky,to your question no I do not dive with SA.Nor do I use ponys ,they belong on the racetrack.I use the look at my guages,computer and timer method.I always have a back-up on my boat.The practice of using SA teaches one some bad habits and poor air management.I know minute by minute how much air I have and how long I have.The caveat to this could be a low sac rate and extensive freedive experience.
raffles
Guest
Hi all
Been away for a little as I have just moved to a new job. As to the subject in hand, solo diving has been around for a long time whether it will be accepted by the industry and charter boats isn't actually up to the firms and boats but up to their insurance carriers.
When the people who have to pay out if accidents occur agree it will become common place. Then health care insurers will have to agree etc etc.
As to whether it's a good idea that's a personal question that every diver will have to decide for themselves when and if they decide to dive solo.
Raffles
Been away for a little as I have just moved to a new job. As to the subject in hand, solo diving has been around for a long time whether it will be accepted by the industry and charter boats isn't actually up to the firms and boats but up to their insurance carriers.
When the people who have to pay out if accidents occur agree it will become common place. Then health care insurers will have to agree etc etc.
As to whether it's a good idea that's a personal question that every diver will have to decide for themselves when and if they decide to dive solo.
Raffles
mbranson
Guest
Philippe,
I dive solo probably at least half the time. But there are a few rules that I try to follow. I never dive solo at a site that I have never dove before; never dive solo deeper that 60 feet (about the maximum depth I would want to ditch all my gear and swim to the surface if I got tangled up in something); never dive solo in a high current area or at night; always carry a 13 cu. ft. pony tank on solo dives. I try to be as self-sufficient as possible during all dives. I always carry a signal tube, storm whistle and signal mirror in a small bag strapped to my tank. I have two knives, one strapped to my leg and one on my BC (again, in case I get tangled up; at least I can reach one or the other). I have thought long and hard about every piece of gear that I use, not only if I need it, but where it is carried. I find that it is a lot less distracting to dive solo, I do a lot of fish counts and have found it is a lot easier to do them without a dive partner. Anyone who spearfishes solo must be suicidal. There are too many things that could go wrong. The article in Rodales that Greg G mentioned was very good.
Solo diving is not for everyone, but I find it has helped me be a more relaxed, competent, self-sufficient diver.
Matt
I dive solo probably at least half the time. But there are a few rules that I try to follow. I never dive solo at a site that I have never dove before; never dive solo deeper that 60 feet (about the maximum depth I would want to ditch all my gear and swim to the surface if I got tangled up in something); never dive solo in a high current area or at night; always carry a 13 cu. ft. pony tank on solo dives. I try to be as self-sufficient as possible during all dives. I always carry a signal tube, storm whistle and signal mirror in a small bag strapped to my tank. I have two knives, one strapped to my leg and one on my BC (again, in case I get tangled up; at least I can reach one or the other). I have thought long and hard about every piece of gear that I use, not only if I need it, but where it is carried. I find that it is a lot less distracting to dive solo, I do a lot of fish counts and have found it is a lot easier to do them without a dive partner. Anyone who spearfishes solo must be suicidal. There are too many things that could go wrong. The article in Rodales that Greg G mentioned was very good.
Solo diving is not for everyone, but I find it has helped me be a more relaxed, competent, self-sufficient diver.
Matt
N
nobends
Guest
I am an avid fan of solo diving. I prefer solo diving with friends so that I can share the experience. Those sound like contradictions.... However, I believe the 'Buddy' system teaches all the wrong practices. Self reliance is probably the best saftey feature of any diver. I prefer to be self reliant, diving solo, with friend who dives the same way.
Next time you are on a chartered dive trip, look around at the 'Buddy' teams. I've noticed that the majority of the buddy teams are not equipped, configured, or attentive enough to provide any real assistance to their partners. Inexperienced divers with an OOA emergancy will likely surface from any depth before swimming 20+ yds to their buddy for air. That swim should never be the only option! Redundancy, training, equipment, state of mind, makes a solo diver. Best of luck to all other solo's out there!
Next time you are on a chartered dive trip, look around at the 'Buddy' teams. I've noticed that the majority of the buddy teams are not equipped, configured, or attentive enough to provide any real assistance to their partners. Inexperienced divers with an OOA emergancy will likely surface from any depth before swimming 20+ yds to their buddy for air. That swim should never be the only option! Redundancy, training, equipment, state of mind, makes a solo diver. Best of luck to all other solo's out there!
Generally, I prefer to buddy dive primarily for the social aspect. In my mind, it'll be a great day when underwater communications gear becomes standard equipment.
However, I do dive solo sometimes even though I have less than 100 dives in. My first solo dive happened because I didn't have a buddy. That dive gave me a sense of confidence and self-reliance underwater that I never had before. Now I've realized that solo diving can sometimes be safer than buddy diving. I'm a very detail oriented diver and have found that my desire to develop and execute a dive plan and focus on my breathing rate and bouyancy are things that don't seem as important to the majority of buddies I've met or been assigned with. Maybe I've been unlucky, but I've had back luck finding a buddy who will plan a dive and stick with the plan, not swim behind me during a dive, uses and responds to the "ok" sign regularly and stays off the bottom.
That said, I do impose a lot of restrictions on myself. I don't solo dive deeper than 50 feet, nor in low vis (considered less than 10 feet here in Michigan), night, or large bodies of water with a current. I don't solo dive in an overhead environment or in any situation that threatens entanglement. I also use an independent regulator (on a seperate first stage) in addition to my primary regulator and Air2 on my original first stage.
Again, I'd prefer to dive with a buddy than dive solo. But if I didn't dive solo, I wouldn't have the self-confidence and experience that I have now. Down the road, my solo diving experience is more likely to save my life or the life of another diver than it is to cause harm within the restrictions I've imposed on myself.
However, I do dive solo sometimes even though I have less than 100 dives in. My first solo dive happened because I didn't have a buddy. That dive gave me a sense of confidence and self-reliance underwater that I never had before. Now I've realized that solo diving can sometimes be safer than buddy diving. I'm a very detail oriented diver and have found that my desire to develop and execute a dive plan and focus on my breathing rate and bouyancy are things that don't seem as important to the majority of buddies I've met or been assigned with. Maybe I've been unlucky, but I've had back luck finding a buddy who will plan a dive and stick with the plan, not swim behind me during a dive, uses and responds to the "ok" sign regularly and stays off the bottom.
That said, I do impose a lot of restrictions on myself. I don't solo dive deeper than 50 feet, nor in low vis (considered less than 10 feet here in Michigan), night, or large bodies of water with a current. I don't solo dive in an overhead environment or in any situation that threatens entanglement. I also use an independent regulator (on a seperate first stage) in addition to my primary regulator and Air2 on my original first stage.
Again, I'd prefer to dive with a buddy than dive solo. But if I didn't dive solo, I wouldn't have the self-confidence and experience that I have now. Down the road, my solo diving experience is more likely to save my life or the life of another diver than it is to cause harm within the restrictions I've imposed on myself.
I really like what nobends said above. Dive with a buddy and be prepared to take care of yourself. I am a very new diver but that makes sense to me.
I think it is like sanctioned out-of-bounds skiing- if you can, take a buddy. If you can't, know the risks. Requiring a c-card certification seems ridiculous, since this kind of diving can't be taught, it can only develop in the right set of circumstances. Extreme skiers don't get that way by taking lessons, and I suspect solo divers don't, either.
I think it is like sanctioned out-of-bounds skiing- if you can, take a buddy. If you can't, know the risks. Requiring a c-card certification seems ridiculous, since this kind of diving can't be taught, it can only develop in the right set of circumstances. Extreme skiers don't get that way by taking lessons, and I suspect solo divers don't, either.
ScubaDubaDoo
Registered
I completely agree with nobends. Out there it's really up to you and your training. I had a close call not too long ago. We were diving with assigned buddies - three teams of two relatively close to each other. I really thought that in terms of having people around in case anything went wrong, we just couldn't be safer. I was completely wrong. When I got into trouble it was better for me to go up than to try to get my buddies attention (who was now about 10-15 feet from me and still swimming away along with four other divers). I really thought I was a goner. My whole attitude now is that when I'm diving with friends I'm solo diving. The people I dive with now have the same approach. It's not a good idea to have a false sense of security or to teach it. Or to rely on a buddy that isn't going to be able to help you out anyway. Just recently I went out on a charter dive and regretted spending the money for the trip. I ended up scrapping the dive because of the quality of divers on board (no choice in who was your buddy). I spend the morning sunbathing and letting the guys rip me about refusing to dive. As it turned out one of the guys ran out of air at 80 feet and he was the guy I was suppose to be diving with. I don't think so. Being self reliant is very important to me. And sometimes my self reliance includes telling people to bite me when it's necessary.
Rose
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