Octopus, or no Octopus?

[spearo #uno]

You need a balanced octo and a pony specially if you spearfish.

[DABEER]

I like to eat octopus

[JUNKMAN]

Go Pony . I have carried one for many years and never needed for a real emergency till this last Sunday . 75' of water off ponce ,half way through my dive when the fitting at the first stage failed , instant NO AIR . An octo would not help very long because air was escaping at a rapid rate (got it turned off before it emptied ) . Most divers dont use them , they are a bit of a pain , but I sure as hell am a beliver !!!

[SpearMax]

Originally Posted by JUNKMAN

Go Pony . I have carried one for many years and never needed for a real emergency till this last Sunday . 75' of water off ponce ,half way through my dive when the fitting at the first stage failed , instant NO AIR . An octo would not help very long because air was escaping at a rapid rate (got it turned off before it emptied ) . Most divers dont use them , they are a bit of a pain , but I sure as hell am a beliver !!!

Wow Junk man - glad you survived that close call.

.

[Smash]

Originally Posted by Arisaka99

i'm just debating whether or not to buy one.. I already have two pony tanks and an 80cf tank.

Hey Arisaka99,
I’m a bit shocked by the results of this poll. If you are scuba diving you should have an alternate second stage. As an earlier post pointed out, it’s the cheapest insurance you’ll ever buy. As a central and northern California diver I can say with confidence that the argument against an alternate air source because of low vis, strong current, or entanglement is just a bunch of bunk. That’s like saying you shouldn’t have brakes on your car because you might hit them at the wrong monument and cause yourself to skid out of control. Even a solo diver should have one as a backup in case of the highly unlikely event that your primary second stage were have a failure. A better question would be, should I use an octopus or an alternate air source built into my inflator. As a scuba instructor for 16 years, diving in low vis, high current, and kelp forest I can tell you that there is almost no difference between the two options. In an out of air emergency an octopus is better. However I personal like the built into the inflator style best. It’s just a bit more stream lined. I’m assuming that you might be a relatively new diver so I’d like to give you some advice. Bad things happen to good people, and there are divers killed every year because they didn’t follow safe diving protocols. They may have been diving like this for years and never had a problem, but remember just because you got away with something over and over that doesn’t mean it’s safe. It just means you've been lucky, so far. Do it right all the time and then you’ll be prepared when that bad thing happens. If you’re diving solo then a pony is the way to go. But if you’re new to this sport you have no business diving solo. Get a ton of experience before you try that, and remember you’re never as safe solo as you are with a buddy. Hope this is helpful. Have fun and be safe.

[kmoose]

I used to use them a long time ago but got tired of them failing/leaking and snagging. Over the years I am just not sold on the need for them as a safety item when weighed against the amount of incurred catastrophic second stage failures across the board required their use. Unless you are the type that wears a parachute on an airplane I find their only reasonable use is as a spare 2nd in the dive bag. I've never once heard of one failing in a "no flow" condition and a free flow can be controlled by kinking the hose.

Dive shops love to sell them and new to the sport divers are easily sold not knowing the facts.

[Capt.Gene]

Know that the redundant 2nd stage is not for your use. It is there for your son, daughter, or other dive buddy who lacks your level of experience and confidence when shit happens. And shit happens.

[SubSub]

Is it just me that keep getting really old threads in the timeline? I got this one in the top 10 but it's been like a year since last post...

[jfjf]

when someone votes (in a poll), the thread gets bumped, even without a post. (I think anyway).

[redrumintl]

Hey guys, I just want to say I love reading through these threads! I always learn so much, so I just want to say thank you and encourage us all to keep communicating!

Personally I love octopus and grab them when I can. All of types of them, they taste pretty much the same!

BTW, I am the founder of the Red Rum Intl. clothing brand. I am interested in doing some diving across south Florida from Miami to Palm beach here in the late summer-fall while I am traveling the state trying to put my brand in stores. I will also be compiling footage for a massive Spearfishing video and want to include as many local divers in their towns as possible. These videos will be shown in shops across Florida. If you are interested please reach out to me on here or on Instagram: daniel_delsol

Also, you can checkout the current videos on our YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN8...llFSlk6GdMlqwA

A subscribe would be greatly appreciated!