Surprised james didnt mention the long hose setup. Took me a bit of fiddling before I was happy with the routing, but its satisfying practicing out of air drills just how quickly I can have the long hose out in front of my buddy with it.
I've had to share air in two real, honest-to-God, rescue situations. Donating your primary and going to you own, personal secondary is a quick, easy and non-confusing way to save a life. No fiddling. No searching. Perfect communication to the out-of-air diver about where their next breath of air is coming from.
I have been diving for 6 years and an instructor for 2 years. I love these videos. I also encourage my students to like and subscribe to this channel. I even learn new ways to teach using these videos. I do believe that everyone learns something from everyone. From the quick tips videos to the mouth piece Monday videos. Keep up the great work.
I made a necklace out of shock cord (saw a diy somewhere on YT) and hang my yellow octo on that. I like the fact that it stays very close to my body so as not to bounce around on the reef or drag in the muck and is easily identifiable. I thought long and hard about doing a long hose set up but being strictly a recreational diver and diving with everyone from experienced divers to newly certified it made more sense to me to have my alternate air source set up to be what most divers are trained to look for. Plus...and this is just a thought...if you are diving a long hose setup and an out of air diver that you didn't see in time to be in control of the situation rips your primary out of your mouth, would not the hose wrapped around your neck be at that point a hangman's noose? That's meant to be a serious question and not a smartass one camp or the other statement so tech guys and gals please don't take offense. I am considering a longer octo hose that would tuck into the waist strap of by backplate to create space from a panicked diver. That's another thing about long hose that makes a lot of sense to me.
I use a small bolt snap attached to hose end by a tank valve o-ring and a cable tie. In someone needs the octopus and pulls it, the o-ring breaks while the bolt snap stays attached to the D ring
Thanks James. I can't believe how many people don't secure their octo or consol/gages. We always teach several ways as part of our OW class. If people don't know i blame their OW instructor.
I prefer to keep my octo close to my neck using a rubber necklace. That way I can donate my primairy to my buddy, while using my own octo. This way, I'm 100% sure that they can breath in an out of air situation, since they need air fast. If my octo also fails, I can just wait a few seconds before we start buddy breathing.
I've tried all of these and my preferred method is the hose through the D ring. Works like a charm. I speak from having been that guy now I'm no longer that guy or least not for that reason.
James, I have been binging your videos ever since I found your channel. I’m a recently new diver as I moved to Guam at the beginning of 2021 with the military and you’ve helped me a lot, I need to get my hands on one of your Miami Technical Diving shirts and some stickers because I also sticker bomb my dive gear storage totes
OK, so the underlying premise of the long hose method is that if you have to donate a regulator to someone it should be the one that you were just breathing off because you know for certain that it is working. So what happens if you give up your primary and go to the necklace and low and behold, its not working properly. How does using the long hose method negate the possibility of your backup not working. Couldn't you as standard practice switch to your octo during your safety stop to assure yourself that it is working properly, this is of course in addition to checking it before your dive
James, you make diving safer and more enjoyable with your quick tips and overall readiness (READY!!!) to help out a fellow SCUBA diver. God bless and thanks again. I'm gonna use the fold through D ring method for securing my octo!
James, find your channel really useful! I have just passed my open water and in the process of putting together my own kit. I will definitely try the various options to find the best suited for me. Keep the great videos coming! 👍🏻
I am using that yellowish piece of plastic that you can push into the mouthpiece to keep dirt out when stored and attaches that to a d ring, effective and also quick release on a pull.
Doesn't the "loop" method cause a lot of hose flexing? This might be OK for the Miflex etc. flexible hoses but is not so good for normal rubber hoses. While on the subject of Octo and Alternate Air Sources, why does it have to be on the right hand side of the donor? This causes an "S" of hose as it is manipulated so that the out-of-air person can get the second stage feeding from his/her right when ascending face-to-face. And side-to-side is impossible unless the out-of-air diver is willing to have the hose around his/her neck. This is not easy for either face-to-face or side-by-side ascents. Surely, for the out-of-air diver to get the feed into the second stage from the right, it would be better to have the Octo on the donor's left hand side which then causes a "U" of hose between the out-of-air diver and the donor in the face-to-face position of a straight hose for the side-to-side position? I know which situation I would prefer. Of course, if the donor has a "side-breathing" Octo, like the Poseidon series, then the second stage can be breathed with the feed from either the right of the left as there is no up/down as there is with most second stages. Otherwise, the out-of-air diver might be getting a "wet breathe". Most importantly, we should be thinking of the comfort of our buddy if an out-of-air situation occurs. Discomfort can easily lead to panic in a stressful situation. More of this type of short, informative, videos please!
Scubapro octo keeper on a climbing carabiner. Plugs the mouth piece hole for keeping sediment out and also added benefit of no free flow for stride entries!
Get a silicone necklace and put it on there. If you need it, it's immediately available. If your buddy needs it he can easily pull it free. If at some time in the future you move on to a long hose setup, your alternate will be where it's always been.
love your videos just got my PADI open water since COVID hit us all been long wait but well worth it keep great vids coming and all the helpful info thanks again.
Hey look at that Some more tangible content. The D-ring method looks pretty META, will be trying Think I might come see you for my Tech I use long hose for donations and a necklace for my backup,
Think I might have an idea when one applies currently existing technology to a new field. In 1989 a Swedish child bicycle helmet manufacturer made a chinstrap clip that would open if it was subjected to a pulling force >10-16Kg. This was to combat injuries sustained by children during play, while still being safe in an cykling accident. And to make it more noticeable it was made in a green plastic. Giving it the name “grönt säkerhetsspänne” or “the green safety clip” Imagen making a octopus/safe second holder utilizing that clip? It is safe and secure but in an emergency out of air situation the diver just have to yank it and it will just release into your hand.
James you have often showed your recreation set up without a long hose. There is so much opinion about long hose for and against in recreational setting. So like those below it would be great to know your views.
First of all I really like your content, they are enriching and encouraging to be better divers. Second thing about the latest technique you show, insert the tube into the D-ring, I do not so much agree with you about the use of this method, I got to see in some refreshments I passed that the tube got stuck in the D-ring and had to apply more force to get it out Dragging a pinch into a pipe which can encourage quick and unnecessary wear and tear, and is even dangerous for new divers who do not feel maximum underwater comfort. So in my opinion it is better to have one of the first methods you show, or connect it to a rubber band that will hold the loop of the pipe.
I also agree with you that this method is not the best in a lot of scenarios. I learnt diving in Turkey and the diving schools I went to had fairly small D-rings on their BCD models, making it not only harder to fit the tube through, but it also meant the tubes often had tears in them and seemed really brittle 🥲probably due to them sitting in harsh sunlight in this state a lot 🙈 Sadly, this was still the preferred method I saw instructors using & teaching... but because of that experience, I would also recommend using a different method or at least only using this one when the D-ring is really big! 😉
Great tips! James, can I drink for you from yours ideas to my videos? As for securing my octo, I use an old rubber mouth piece holder (if I can call it like that) and when teaching I use the same way to secure it looping the hose either on a D ring or inside de canvas of the BCD sholder strap! Even, case the BCD doesn't have any other option, I teach my diver to secure the octo passing it inside the quick release front strap of the BCD! Love your videos!!!! Bets regards!
My octo is strapped around my neck with a bungee because my main breath thingy hose is about 6.5 foot and this is the one I pass to my buddy because he can move way better with a 6 foot hose
Thumbs Up! User Request: Octopus vs Integrated Alternative Air Sources / Pros and Cons of each. I have a Scubpro Air2 Integrated. While I like not having another hose, it seems like in a share air situation I would not be able to off gas on acent because buddy would be breathing from it.
Wouldn't you be breathing from the Air2, and your out of air buddy breathing from your primary? You would be in slightly less panic to off gas, but still very inconvenient, especially with an out of air diver in tow.
I have a short octo hose, and I'm currently using a magnet holder for the octo. It is one of the fastest method to attach the octo, you don't even have to look at it as it finds the lock itself, just make sure a mouthpiece looks down when attaching to prevent a freeflow from the reg. Also need be careful not to hold any compasses close to it. Over the year of usage magnet holder it still has it strength as before, however, it did get rusty on the magnet surface, the only downside that I can currenly see. With other methdos - I don't like any kind of a plastic clip, as it looks and feels ugly to attach, I prefer not to use any bcb pocket (the octo tends to drop out from it), or D-ring for attaching an octo hose (bends the hose too much plus my BCD doesn't have large D-rings). I've used snorkel holder in the past but it eventually broke, and though cheap, didn't want to use it again. Before using the magnet I used a small bungee attached to a D-ring, and that was pretty much good but the octo sometimes went through it, as well as it could prevent from a quick release when needed. When a magnet gets too rusty or looses its power I will switch back to bungee - might need to think over its connections, or to a boltsnap solution (which is good but not just pull and release). I look for a quick and easy attach, quick and safe release, non-destroyable, and some compact solution.
I think all this octo-thing is bad, not lifelike, or whatever. I mean, it sounds logical, and we've learned it in the pool, if we are low on gas sign to our buddy and ask for the octo. In real life, some divers suck the gas like there is no tomorrow, and notice they are out only when no more comes. Then they look around, and go for the first thing that can provide them some breathing gas, which is most likely the reg in the closest human's mouth. Rip it off, and the buddy is lucky if he doesn't push his mask off. :D If i'd be an instructor, i'd prepare all OWD students to handle this situation, and keep the alternate on a shorter hose on a necklace. But i'm not, so i just use the common setup, as random people expect it like this.
I'm sure James has his opinion, but for me they're bad. I've not seen one with a high performing reg, they're all not very good, but the big issue is that it put the inflate/deflate buttons in different places. When I taught I saw 2 separate situations where the rescuing diver was using the reg purge rather than the button to 'dump gas' leading me to have to intervene. In a real emergency, that sort of mistake could easily be fatal.
I saw a a video and James did not like them. Besides I think everyone pretty much just sees the yellow hose regulator now. Using one on the bcd would confuse people during an emergency
I urge people to test the "quick release" of octo's folded into d-rings. Sure they are quick release when pulled directly down by a person of rational thought. But in a real scenario when there a rush to retrive them they tend snag as people try to mindlessly pull it out in any which way from all sorts of angles
What first stage is that? I have the legend lux reg set and I’m planning on adding ocean reef quick disconnect hoses on both regs and I ordered a predator extender full face mask
Does anyone have any luck with the Octo "pocket" on their BCD? I believe some Aqua Lung, as well as a ScubaPro BCs have a pocket you can do similar to the D-ring method James demonstrated, but goes in the BC. I tried one on a rental BC with no luck- it just fell out often.
I am a new diver (about 20 dives) and started using a breakaway necklace right after my qualification dives. Other than being more equipment is there any negatives to this method.
I used to do this. Pros: It's nice and easy to see and remove the octo from (especially, if like me, you use a bright yellow necklace). It's also nice and close to the body. Cons: I found it a bit more fiddly to get on and off during setup and it would sometimes get disconnected from either me or the octo when moving gear around. Especially during rescue exercises, it got separated regularly found myself searching for it separately. I eventually stopped using it when it fell off during a rescue exercise and something got dropped onto it, which broke it (there was a plastic break away which got crushed). Decided not to go back to this approach, mostly due to the troubles with having it during teaching.
I use a Scubapro Hydros Pro BCD which has a small D ring so I couldn't actually loop my octo in it. So I bought a dedicated octo clip from Scubapro. Not as flimsy / easily brittled like the Aqualung on this video.
I'm usually use the loop through a D-ring but I might switch to using my yellow octo as primary second stage and use a plastic hose-holder to keep the alternate second stage at my shoulder (which keeps the mouthpiece close to my face) So I would donate the second stage which I breath from so I know it works good when I donate it I think I'm gonna try that out and if I don't like it I switch back to the loop :)
I tryed a lot of different octo holders but most of the time my octo starts free flowing. The only holder that works for me at the moment is the scubapro clip that came with the reg. I might try to do the basic loop again as the octo holder seems very fragile. What can I do to prevent Freeflowing ?
Does your octo have a Venturi valve? If so place it in the pre dive position, it will still breath but crack pressure will be higher and will possibly prevent the free flow. You may need to take it to a shop and have a service tech work on it. My regulators I don’t want to say never but I cannot remember the last free flow. I setup my regulators and am very picky in how I service them. Proper setup and service could help.
My current reg set up includes both, as a dive guide you never know when you may need to give air to two people (which hopefully will never happen cause that’s a bad day). My thinking behind it is if needed I donate my octo first, if need be I then donate my primary and switch to my air 2. I personally really like both systems but if you choose to run just an air 2, which I do on vacation, remember to have a longer primary hose because it’s essentially a long hose primary donate set up. Not only does it make everything easier but give yourself as much space from that person who is panicking or who is in the verge of it.
