Octopus, or no Octopus?

[Arisaka99]

I was wondering what y'all thought and used when it comes to SCUBA diving. I have been told by some people don't buy an octo, it's a waste of $ and its just something else to break down on you. What do you prefer?

[spearhunter11]

I have a octo for my buddy, it stays clipped to my B/C never gets in my way and as long as you take care of your gear you shouldn't be wasting money.

[2fishin2]

its the cheapest insurance you can buy for you and your buddy

[jfjf]

The cost of an octopus is minimal and it can increase your safety. I think most people would highly recommend you have an octopus and probably any charter boat will require it, if they notice it.

Now if you are carrying a pony/bail-out bottle, then THAT reg can serve as an octopus and it is probably better to NOT have to juggle three second stages; in my opinion anyway.

[TrigR Happy]

You can also replace your inflator on your bc with an octopus/inflator
i have this one
http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detai...T_ID=AtomicSS1

[Bdog]

I have one and it rides under my arm and never gets in the way. I have never had to use it and hopefully never will but its there just in case I ever do.

[AndrewK]

Originally Posted by TrigR Happy

You can also replace your inflator on your bc with an octopus/inflator
i have this one
http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detai...T_ID=AtomicSS1

I use one of those.... it streamlines everything pretty well.

[IyaDiver]

If one uses a soft cover type 2nd stage, and for some reason gun butt hitting the 2nd stage due to difficult shooting angle in rocks or whatever, the diaghram of the 2nd stage may actuall get knocked loose by gun recoil. So yes octopus.

Sharing with friend as air-banker hahaha.....yes octopus.

I stopped using slim line Air2 or the like inflator/octo combo a long time ago. Stick to long hose octo due to necessity of inflating huge sausage underwater and when time to become air bank, short Air2 hose is a pain.

Used to teach in the 90s and has Air2 + octo.....but now only octo and must carry octo for me

[FredT]

It depends a lot on who you are diving with, and the local conditions.

Diving Solo a pony is a better answer.

In an entanglement situation with low vis there is a high possibility of the thing becoming a liability. Same in high current or heavy surge. If your buddy is one you trust to give your air back and he KNOWS buddy breathing it's redundant too, especially if both were trained in the blow and go techniques taught before the the PADI lawyers decided students were too stupid to learn it... much better a drowned diver than a lawsuit any day.

Diving with recently trained divers on a reef they do no harm, but it may not be much help either. Especially if the buddy panics as they are wont to do when the world turns brown. I REALLY hate seeing that vacant eyes like pie plates stare in a buddy, an indication that there is going to be a really bad day ahead of you. Don't depend on the gear to be a crutch to get you home.

I dive with one where the charter requires it, the buddy of the day requires it due to lack of training, and when diving a Hogarthian rig. Otherwise it stays in the bag on deck.

[Megabeast]

No octo for me. One more hose to hang, one more stage to service, another drag point, etc. Besides, I dive solo 80% of time anyway. I used to use an octo inflator combo, but the propietary hoses made having dive alerts for it tougher to find. Eventually I just ditched the bladder and the octo, and my diving has never been happier.

[Smudge]

Originally Posted by IyaDiver

I stopped using slim line Air2 or the like inflator/octo combo a long time ago. Stick to long hose octo due to necessity of inflating huge sausage underwater and when time to become air bank, short Air2 hose is a pain.

I just put my air2 in my mouth and use my primary to inflate. Easy peasy.

I say yes, get an air2 or an octopus. Definitely have a back up. This is a sport that kills pretty regularly. I like to do what I can to increase my chances of not being a statistic...

For instance, I dive with two computers. One air integrated Cobra and a D4 on my wrist.

Earlier this year it saved me. My Cobra failed. Fortunately I was in very shallow so self recovery with out a computer would have been very easy, but I had the peace of mind of the D4 on my wrist anyway...

[POL]

On a few occasions my primary mouthpiece started letting water in, (yes, I inspect the mouthpiece regularly) octo came in handy.
Only once my buddy was OOA at 80 ft, We surfaced with my octo. Strange thing is that I still had 2300psi of air, and he was out. Best we can figure is that he didn't notice a freeflow on his octo. Water was black, and cold. If that is what happened, than my octo turned a potentially risky situation into an inconvenience. But on the other hand, if he didn't have his octo, we wouldn't have a problem.
Still don't know what really happened to the air, both tanks were filled just before the dive, and after the dive orings were fine, and in place.

[IyaDiver]

Originally Posted by Smudge

I just put my air2 in my mouth and use my primary to inflate. Easy peasy.

...

not when you are being drag by a giant fish at depth and fast going deeper n deeper seconds count and switching 2nd stage is a risk and I do need the extra length of the octo hose for sausage because the sausage will be clipped to the gun bands, not a sausage for a surface marker

I only do this when my primary fish flotation is over powered though.

Long hose octo is safer when you come across a panic air sucker and you are the bank. Primary 2nd stage being a short hose and a righ hander, is not the most comfortable 2nd stage for donation when you want to grab the panic person close to you face to face due the u turn the hose must do. That extra 30 cm or so of the octo hose can allow smoother U bend on the hose and less fatique on the panic guy mouth.


.

[Arisaka99]

So the vote is yes, use an octo?

[Mighty KC]

I rarely wear scuba, but when I do I dont use an octopus or BC. Last season I put on scuba to try to retrieve a fish that broke my shooting line. My dive buddy saw my regulator (steel Dacor pacer 960) and commented that he had not seen one of those in a while. That night he and his wife came by my place and he gave me a Scubapro MK V and said that he would rather that I use it. That was my first gear change in 25 years.