Equipment configuration question

[bbain]

Not sure whether this goes here or in the "general" discussion . . . .

I'm wondering whether/how the ergonomics would work if, instead of hanging an octopus off the PRAM, one used an Airsource or Air II instead of the regular inflator mouthpiece on a BC? That would get rid of one extra hose, etc., but it strikes me as being a bit difficult to manipulate if one actually had to use it in an emergency. Offering the DH mouthpiece to my buddy, picking up the Air II and using it to regulate ascent seems like that could be fairly challenging since the buddy would be right on top of me. Thoughts?

Of course one attraction would be that if the configuration included a wireless computer, the only extra hose would be the BC inflator hose, which would be nice . . . .

[1969ivan1]

I think I have seen Allan do that before.

[SurfLung]

I think the modern way is to remove the skill of true buddy breathing... Wear an octopus and just hand the other guy the extra mouthpiece. They still call this buddy breathing, but it really takes no skill or very little. For the few times you'll actually need to buddy breath in your life, it sure seems like a silly waste to carry the extra hose and mouthpiece around.
Carrying an Air Source with you on every dive gets rid of the octo hose but replaces it with another system to carry along on every dive in spite of possibly never ever needing it. The skill to buddy breath the old way of swapping the one mouthpiece back and forth will be with you forever without carrying extra equipment and hoses.
I think the PRAM allows you to use the conventional octopus so modern divers won't be uncomfortable around you. If you're not going to do it that way, you might as well just leave things clean and teach your buddy to buddy breath old style.

[DaleC]

What BC?

I guess it depends on what you want the second air source for. If it's for you, the most likely cause of a failure will be OOA due to breathing past your reserve (using a J valve). In that case an octo of any sort connected to the main tank won't be of value.
If it's for others then an inflator/octo combination isn't that optimal IMO (depending on who you dive with I suppose). Most divers don't understand how a doublehose works and won't expect their performance characteristics and the inflator/octo is too short to donate (let alone giving up your BC control). You basically wind up with two short airsources, both of which have draw backs for donation to others.

[SurfLung]

Carrying an Air Source with you on every dive gets rid of the octo hose but replaces it with another system to carry along on every dive...

Sorry, I thought you meant a Spare Air.

[Herman]

I think it's important to consider just who it is that is going to need to share air with us and what their reactions are going to be. Odds are that it will not actually be someone you are diving with but someone who comes out of the blue....sorry for the pun... Reading over the OOA reports on another board over the years and in my own experience it appears that it is much more likely to involve a total stranger rather than your buddy(s). SO, with that in mind it makes sence to me that you would want the alternate air source to be something that a total stranger to vintage equipment would reconize. Add to that a lot of stranger OOAs (at least the reports I have read) involve the OOA diver taking the divers second stage, not his octo. How they would react to a double hose is not clear but I would think that panicked they would look for something familure and since the hoses on a DH are not, they would then go for an octo, esp if it's obvious, something the inflator types are not. When diving my PRAM with unknown dives around I have a bright yellow hose and a yellow octo on my chest. Vintage it's not but it screams "OCTO HERE" which is what I want them to see. The intergrated BC inflator to me are not the answer. First off, there are a lot of times I don't have a BC or LP inflator to begin with and even if I do, I don't like the short hoses. If they are using your AIR2(or whatever brand) or DH hose you are going to have to have the OOA diver in your face with little room for you to move. The longer octo hose gives me room do move and deal with the problem.