Yet, another ? about tying off the SPG and primary?

[DIR-Atlanta]

I was speaking more of the "cave line vs. zip ties" debate. I should have clarified; my apologies.

I actually realized about five minutes after I posted that that's probably what you were talking about. I guess it's not your fault that the thread morphed out from under you.

 

[do it easy]

I actually realized about five minutes after I posted that that's probably what you were talking about. I guess it's not your fault that the thread morphed out from under you.

Sorry, that was my bad... but thanks all for the insight and discussion...

 

[Diver0001]

Is it just me or is this debate ridiculous?

Reminds me of old times. In terms of risk management it isn't even worth reading....

But we're all addicted.

R..

 

[karstdvr]

For OOA, you always donate the reg from your mouth. That reg should never be clipped off, since you are breathing it. The only situation where someone would need to donate a clipped-off reg is with a rebreather, and that action is pretty far down the list of "what to do" in an OOA emergency.

.

When you have a stage(s) don't you clip your primary regulator to a d-ring to keep it from dangling? I do.

In an OOA situation here the ideal thing is to pass off a stage,but this won't happen that fast. Therefore you have to wait to locate this regulator and unclip it,while the OOA diver waits patiently.

 

[karstdvr]

With the O-ring method, the second stage or SPG must be removed from the hose to effect a repair, which requires an extra tool or two, as well as a shutdown and purge of the reg. Plus you must have spare O-rings lying around, which means more parts that have you have to purchase and bring to the dive site. .

I think this minimally time consuming in a nonemergent situtation,but well worth the benefit in an emergent situation. I remember a dive in some tight cave with zero viz that my spg got seriously wedged,and I couldn't move unless I freed the spg from the d-ring. I was so thankful that a hard pull was all I needed to get out of this situation,and not have to deploy a dive knife to cut somewhere behind me that I couldn't see very well. I am a proponent of the o-ring method,and just as I am willing to spend the time to make sure my equipment is operating correctly,I will spend the extra 2 minutes installing a new o-ring if necessary.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

When you have a stage(s) don't you clip your primary regulator to a d-ring to keep it from dangling?

Yes, but you still donate the reg from your mouth for an air share, and then pick up your necklaced reg, just like always. From there, you can pass off the stage if necessary, and then switch to your long hose (which you would obviously have to unclip first).

In no case should you have to unclip a reg to donate it (again, unless you are using a rebreather).

 

[karstdvr]

I would agree that is a good procedure,but I guarantee this will lead to some confusion trying to sort everything out. My rationale for having the stage on the left side is to free up my long hose so I can deploy it quickly. Since I keep this long hose unencumbered,my plan is to be able to deploy it quickly,having to stop and unclip it is too time consuming,it should be deployed quickly. The more time is spent fumbling for things the faster the situation will decay.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

My rationale for having the stage on the left side is to free up my long hose so I can deploy it quickly.

This is the corrrect rationale (one of several, actually) for wearing stages on the left.

Since I keep this long hose unencumbered,my plan is to be able to deploy it quickly,having to stop and unclip it is too time consuming,it should be deployed quickly. The more time is spent fumbling for things the faster the situation will decay.

I agree completely on the "not fumbling" point, but I'm afraid I am not real clear on how you are using your stage reg and long hose. Are you saying that you do not clip your long hose when you are using a stage bottle, and that you would always donate the long hose for any OOG emergency?

If you are diving a stage, then your long hose should be clipped off, and as such it is not really "unencumbered". Even if it were not clipped, the stage hose would still be crossing it, so it could not be deployed that quickly. The best hose to donate in any OOG situation is always the one in the mouth - again, you should never have to unclip a hose to donate it in an OOG emergency.

 

[karstdvr]

When I dive a back mount configuration with a stage,the long hose 2nd stage is clipped to a chest d-ring,and the stage reg is in my mouth. I am not a fan of donating a stage reg in a OOA situation since now my clearance between the OOA diver and myself is 40",less room for me to address the situation-it could be very difficult to unclip a stage when there will be very little slack on this hose,more likely it will be pulled very tight. My preference is to hand the OOA diver a 7' hose,quickly deployed by pulling on the 2nd stage,breaking the o-ring,and getting 7' of separation between myself and the OOA diver. Once the situation is under control,then my preference would be to hand the OOA diver a stage for greater separation,and stow my long hose. About 6 years ago when we were doing some big dives in a system,we tested some of these scenarios to find which would be the most efficacious,and had the greatest success under testing with this scenario.

 

[rjack321]

I don't understand how you could donate the long hose while keeping the stage reg in your mouth?

The stage reg should be crossing over the long hose at you left shoulder.

If I'm OOG, I will most likely be ripping that stage reg out of your mouth while you're farting around with the hose crossing mess. This is likely to happen despite the o-ring breakaway.

Donate the reg in your mouth. For a whopping 30 seconds you're connected by a 40inch hose. Then either pass the bottle over to the OOG diver, or switch them to your long hose depending on the circumstances. The DIR way always donates the reg in your mouth, whether you've got a single, doubles, or stages.

Consistency of response is the DIR hallmark you are shooting for, not all sorts of gear specific variations.