Solo Gear & DIR Setup

[christianweber]

could be the case , but does it fails it is very unlikely and you still have the option of turning the valve's on and off ,should be trained just in case , it is the only way to get save, to the decogas , if you don't carry it with you .

there are a lot of different scenarios to get trough now . i still love my doubles no matter what.
sidemount i think is just for real extrem situations ,must be very well planned nothing to go trough open water to reach a wreck or so .

i could not imagine the tanks on the side with a size of two 104 lp's or even bigger and than decogas might be a to difficult task for me ,i am not there yet ,still a long way to go .

doubles and long hose are just fine for me .

 

[JimC]

Are you referring to the possibility of having the isolator valve fail and not being able to protect either gas source?

That or not being able to protect enough gas with an isolation to ensure an exit from the current dive. This stuff is more applicable to hard overhead diving, but its still an issue that a solo diver should be aware of. I personally wouldn't solo dive with just manifolded doubles. Despite how rare the failure modes are, I want no single point of mechanical failure in my gear to equate to me not coming home to my wife and kid.

I dive sidemount all the time now, open water, deco, boat diving, shore diving, caves. I have used everything from AL80's to Steel 104's as sidemounts. Stages are no big deal just like in doubles. One or two AL80's is ok, more and you want to a scooter and some leashes, but thats the same deal in doubles.

 

[divemaster_jim]

doubles and long hose are just fine for me .

When I'm diving solo I'll use my doubles and long hose,
reasons
#1 being familiar with my equipment,
#2 being able to control any gas loses,
#3 being able to assist other divers if the need arises,
Now I know that by the tenets of DIR it's a team concept, it just strikes me funny as it has a base on a diver being self-reliant (i.e. alone) and being able to handle it.
Just my $.02 cents worth,

 

[shoredivr]

Earlier in this thread it was questioned whether having an octopus is necessary for a solo diver. For me there's another reason for having an alternate air source, apart from the potential of either diving with a buddy at a later time, diving a satndardized configuration, or where the solo diver encounters another diver who needs the alternate air source.
I frequently dive in cold water where a free flow can make things interesting really quickly. I have an H-valve on my single tanks so a free-flowing reg can be shut down. My alternate air source is for me when I solo dive. I also sling a 30cuft tank for redundancy.

 

[Nemrod]

Can you explain the advantage of side mounting in open water?. Is it less drag, better balance and manuverability?

An octapus is not an alternate air supply, it's only real purpose is air sharing. If an alternate source is required then there must be two independent systems available or at the least an H/Y valve or other isolation system, or a buddy bottle.

What do you think about the Air Buddy, it certainly is small, streamlined, reliable. Yes, it requires some training to use but then it is being used in a solo dive. An Air Buddy on the pony/buddy bottle seems like a neat and streamlined method of providing redundant air source without clutter.


This picture shown for illustration of the Air Buddy for those who don't know of them. It is a small "regulator" that you bite down on and it squirts air into your mouth! Here it is on my DA to satisfy octapus requirments.

N

 

[shoredivr]

Hi Nemrod:
If you're talking about sidemounting like JimC is doing (I think two similarly-sized 80cuft tanks - or bigger - with 1st and 2nd stages on each tank), I can't comment because I haven't experienced it.

I like having the 30 cuft pony on all solo dives for redundancy (in addition to the h-valve for main and alternate regs), and don't find it to be a hassle in terms of drag, etc. I prefer to sling it rather than attach it to my single tank. Too many stories about starting a dive on pony instead of single tank, or pony leaking unnoticed when it's mounted on the main tank. (I'm not using the pony to extend bottom time, or because of poor gas planning, but for redundancy, since I'm not diving doubles.)

The Air Buddy is something I've never seen before, thx for posting the pix to understand it. If you encountered another diver who needed air, what would you do, offer them the Air Buddy? If you hadn't mentioned how it works, I wouldn't know how to use it, although come to think of it, it does resemble somthing I've seen used to fill lift bags.

 

[shoredivr]

*and I understand how those things work.

 

[Nemrod]

"The Air Buddy is something I've never seen before, thx for posting the pix to understand it. If you encountered another diver who needed air, what would you do, offer them the Air Buddy? If you hadn't mentioned how it works, I wouldn't know how to use it, although come to think of it, it does resemble somthing I've seen used to fill lift bags."

I am solo, there is no buddy. I still don't think that a disorganized diver melee constitues a solo dive, it is just an unorganized group dive with no leader, in such a dive, I would be equipped to assist my buddies.

If I were using the Air Buddy on a buddy dive, I would turn the double hose mouthpiece to them, face to face as in buddy breathing, I would take the Air Buddy and we would go to the surface.

It has a tilt valve in the mouthpiece, when you bite down gently it releases air, piece of cake, does need a small amount of practice. When I got it I went straight to the pool, did an hour pool dive, no mask, stayed on the Air Buddy till the tank was dry, praticed switching over etc.

One of the things I like about the Air Buddy is it fits right to the oral inflators on most SMBs so it inflates them perfectly! This is my "60 foot" rig.

I still don't understand why sidemount in an open water dive? What is the advantage?
N

 

[JimC]

Sidemount offers a lot of options a traditional backmount/pony or doubles system does not. It offered true redundancy (a failing of doubles) and allows you to manage all of your own gear. Your valves and second stages are right there where you can manipulate them. You can dive sidemount anywhere they offer tanks and go anywhere your comfortable diving. You can solo or buddy dive in the stuff. Quite simply other than being more difficult exit and entry of some boats, in some conditions I have yet to find any redeeming quality for not diving sidemount all the time.

 

[Nemrod]

JimC, I am familiar with sidemounts slung, is that what your doing, what does it look like in practice? Essentially your sling independent doubles rather than using them in a conventional back plate mount. So, what type BC is used this way? Just trying to fully understand what your doing and how your doing it, interesting. N