I have switched from swivel to fixed adapter. I don't see why anyone would want a swivel. I'm also not a fan of the "loosely" screwed on 2nd stage.
As for you inflator issue. IMHO, the more dive experience you have diving, the faster you will pick up on something being off instead of thinking that it is your fault.
Dont mean to hijack this thread, but I've had my swival loose an o-Ring also, fortunately this was observed during the pre-dive check, so it was able to be replaced before the dive.
Which leads to a question, I do see other SM divers, using the 90 degree elbows, for their short hose, and not on their long hose.
How do others setup their long hoses if not using a swival?
One SM diver explained to me that when you have to do an Air Share, its easier to deploy the hose to hand it to the other diver w/ out having the swival in the way, of causing the regulator to not be right in the divers face ready to take it/use it.
Thoughts?
Razor style routing doesn't use a swivel. The long hose is in the same hog loop that you use in backmount so the hoses look the same. If you are using Apeks style second stages the easiest/best way to pass regulators around is to actually make a U with your thumb and fingers, think LEGO hands, and put the bezel of the second stage cap in the U. You have much more control of the second stage when passing this way and the elbows become irrelevant.
Zach, I have two observations of your thoughtful post. One, that your analysis puts much of the blame on your thought process and not the fact that your gear failed. That kind of thinking will keep you alive and healthy in some shitty circumstance and allow you to become a better diver over the long run. I've seen many others that consistently put the blame on a piece of gear or configuration that in reality is still the operators fault for not keeping it in line with the diving they are doing. These kind of people never do "learn" enough about themselves and their limitations to make them truly competent underwater. Second, is that over the years it is common to see newer divers taking too much gear underwater and or trying to adapt dive gear designed for wrecks and reefs to cave diving. It is a painful struggle and expensive process to find out that less is more and that most of the gear purchased early on will be sold or traded for the correct stuff. Not that a misbehaving swivel is the end of the world, but the others are correct in saying that many failures occur with them. Other notables are the pull dumps on a wing inflator, SPG fittings, quick clips on a harness, two triggers on a Tekna, the list goes on and on.....
thanks for all the replies.
I've taken your concerns about my swivels to heart. I started a poll to hear all thoughts on the use of swivels here.
Zach
zklukkert.com
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