Maybe this should go to a new thread?
Yeah. It was funny. I swear your face was about 18 inches from mine when you came around that corner. Should've seen the look in your eyes. Like 'Holy cr**! What is this?!"
Very uncool of me. I should've backed off the line before changing regs.
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When you were changing regs did you attach hose and second stage back on cylinder? I leave it hang on the same one necklace, why store it back on cylinder if you don't have a need to unclip bottle now?
Same one necklace? I don't understand. Two reg's on one necklace? One reg clipped off a necklace? Two regs, two necklaces? Sounds cumbersome and can lead to confusion between which reg goes to which tank.
What works for me is the following. I am no expert and this is what has worked out for me only. You asked, I'll tell you but go get official training if you have not done so. It is worth every penny! It's worth it to learn from someone elses mistakes without suffering them yourself. That being said.......I dive SM exclusively. I will mix dive styles (BM/SM). My regular buddy dives SM but prefers BM. If it's a team of two the buddy needs to be experienced and known to NOT likely panic. If a buddy is not well known/experienced then someone else needs to be BM too - team of three.
For the BM buddy I carry a 5ft LONG hose on the left tank which I wrap around my neck in the usual manner with a bungee necklace. The excess is stuffed on the tank under two bands. I've learned to stuff it such that it deploys without entangling itself on my rig. (Thank you J.F. for the helpful hint. Yall should've seen the first drill. What a hoot!). The right reg is on a SHORT hose and clipped off with a break away o-ring arrangement. I stuff the excess hose on the right tank and I can easily return it there during a dive. The rig seems streamlined (BUT I AM ALWAYS OPEN TO HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS).
I have run OOA drills and the air share with BM works well. On those drills I have said just grab a reg and we'll work out the long hose after you get air. Of course the one in my mouth was the one grabbed. Since the right is break away, all I had to do was pull it. If the right was pulled the other hose was on the necklace and ready. Likewise, I can quickly donate that long hose to help someone. A switch off was not difficult and it is my responsibility to move to a more correct swim position. You can't expect an OOA person to think well.
Proper air management is crucial. I never expect to airshare for myself and always I keep enough in each tank to get myself out. Good thing because I had a free flow last weekend that required me to shut down one tank for exit. I wasn't worried. Plenty of air in the one tank and there were options for accessing the shut down tank. The buddy at the time was BM. I wouldn't take his air, but he was ready! :-D
BTW if any sidemounters out there take exception to this arrangement and can foresee a disaster in the making then please comment. Like I said, I'm no expert but this arrangement seems to be working well for me given that I do to mix SM and BM dives (under the strict guidelines mentioned above).
One last comment. If the dive plan is definitely for tight nasties SM only then I'll remove the long hose for a shorter version so it won't catch on rocks.
Re: Maybe this should go to a new thread?
Thanks Angie for sharing your experience. I'm only on my way to sign up for sm class (just need some time and some money) however i always try to use my chance to ask questions.
I have similar config: left cyl w.long hose around neck(will donate), right cyl with H-valve and primary short hose w.swivel , secondary "stage"-length hose folded under inner tube on cyl and this second stage clipped to the right cyl(will use as replacement reg or safety reg if cyl used for no-mount restriction). I use just one necklace to clip both active second stages on it (elastic rings between each reg and its clip). The reason for one necklace came after my right (short hose) second stage stuck in between sholder d-ring and rock and started to release gas and i had no chance to get to it with my hands. If this reg would be on my necklace at that time it never happened (plenty of room between head and body around neck to protect regs from pinch and dirt).
In any case it takes seconds to switch second stages in your mouth unless you try to fold hoses and clip second stage back on a cylinder. This one may affect a trim for a moment especially in "wind". That is what i was thinking reading your message and thats why it became curious to me.
Re: Maybe this should go to a new thread?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ARY
In any case it takes seconds to switch second stages in your mouth unless you try to fold hoses and clip second stage back on a cylinder. This one may affect a trim for a moment especially in "wind". That is what i was thinking reading your message and thats why it became curious to me.
Yep. That's what happened. I was reaching back to better stuff a hose when I caught the "tailwind" and got blown over and behind the line. The line went around a corner just then and I just about got wedged between it and the rock. Nothing serious. Just annoying. The entertainment was when the other folks came around the corner.
Angie
Re: Maybe this should go to a new thread?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ARY
I have similar config: left cyl w.long hose around neck(will donate), right cyl with H-valve and primary short hose w.swivel , secondary "stage"-length hose folded under inner tube on cyl and this second stage clipped to the right cyl(will use as replacement reg or safety reg if cyl used for no-mount restriction). I use just one necklace to clip both active second stages on it (elastic rings between each reg and its clip).
I don't do no-mount (not yet anyway). Dang! I sold my H-valve. Thought I'd never need it again. Sigh.....so much more to learn. BTW I clip off my reg high on the shoulder harness not the bottle. Good point about the stuck reg. Thanks for the info.
Angie
stowing the sidemount regs
I've just been using surgical tubing with a big ball on it up high on the shoulder straps to stow the regs, crossed over. I've never used the sidemount rig with backmount divers but I do carry a long hose in my box just in case. I personally don't like the idea of having a hose go behind my head in the sidemount rig although I see lots of people diving that way who know a lot more than I do.
I usually have a couple of pieces of inner tube on each tank for stowing hoses, does anyone see a reason why I couldn't stow a long hose that way rather than behind my neck? Is a 7ft. hose too long to use for that purpose?
