Buddy Checks and your Habits.

[Juz]

<font color='#32CD32'>Not looking for a slating, but as I've got more experienced (and yes I know, maybe more complacent) I've focussed less and less on buddy checks.

I've seen some posts lately talking about buddy checks, but I'm not sure of their value once in the water - I agree it might remind you on the surface (to connect your dry suit hose for example), but to expect that after a 60 second buddy check a person would know your kit inside out is ridiculous.

My thinking now is that as long as my air is on, everything else can be sorted out in the water.

So, with an experienced diver, that I already know, I'd not bother with a buddy check, merely ensure that my gas is on.

I do however, tend to talk through a buddy check with a new buddy.

What about you guys.

Juz

[JAG]

<font color='#000080'>My regular buddy (j.w.) and I used to but then got a bit slack. Had a slight incident, nothing major but would have been prevented had we done a buddy check. It gave us the kick up the backside we needed to overcome our complancency. With the advent of new kit for the pair of us, we now ensure buddy checks are carried out.

All the best,

Ian

[Fathoms Down]

I must agree with Juz, as my diving tended towards to technical side I don't really worry too much about buddy checks. I mainly dive with the same buddies so I know their equipment layouts but if I am with someone I haven't dived with before I make a special menatal note of their releases and talk to them about AAS, etc. However, its mostly a case of &quot;kick the tires and light the fires&quot; these days.

[Andy Phillips]

Ah the old buddy check,

I am mostly with you on this one, I think part of this comes from moving into mix and always diving stages. There is no way on this planet I am going to stand up with all that stuff strapped to me and start going ....... breath, weights etc And I have a sneeking suspicion that if I turned to Mark and said lets do a buddy check, his first reaction would be to give me a well deserved slap.

We do a rudimentary bubble check on the way down, but mostly problems are sorted out on the bottom. I tend to check myself as I kit up, it is rare that I forget something, but not unknown. I think once you get to a certain point you have to rely on both yourself and your buddy to have the nouse to put your kit together correctly, with, of course, the odd highly humerous error. My last one being to forget to turn on the Argon bottle connected to the dry suit. It gets jolly tight from about 35M, 4 tonsils time. Hanging onto the shot and frantically pointing behind you eventually gets the message accross (before any wag points out I should be able to reach the knob, I could but through my watering eyes I was unable to work out which bit was the knob and which the end of the first stage).

Andrew

[Helen F H]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (andyp @ April 16 2004,14:04)]I could but through my watering eyes I was unable to work out which bit was the knob and which the end of the first stage).

<font color='#000080'>ROLFMAO!

I like to do one every time, no matter who im with. &nbsp;We change our setups so often i cant afford not to know.

Looks a bit poor in court too &quot;did you buddy check?&quot;......&quot;no mi'lud&quot;

[Juz]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Porg @ April 16 2004,14:21)]I like to do one every time, no matter who im with.  We change our setups so often i cant afford not to know.

Looks a bit poor in court too &quot;did you buddy check?&quot;......&quot;no mi'lud&quot;

<font color='#32CD32'>I don't use different set ups. I have a set up that works for me and use that. I have 2 sets - UK and abroad, but then everything is in the same place on each.


I'm not sure this is relevant to be honest. Everyone &nbsp;chooses to do it or not, the injured party would be at as much fault. They could have asked to do one - in which case I would, or they could choose not to dive with me.


Juz

[Jen S]

<font color='#8D38C9'>Depends who I'm with. If I'm teaching or taking an inexperienced diver in, it will be a full buddy check &amp; brief everytime!! If I'm diving with my regular buddies, will check if air is on &amp; then a quick (10 second maybe) refresher of releases. If I (or them) have any change to their regular kit, be it something new or missing, will let them know about this in more detail.

Jen

[dave archer]

Like to do one as a matter of course usually, unless have dived with the buddy lots of times and know that no kit config has changed lately.

I can understand people with so much kit strapped on they can barely shuffle into the water being reluctant to stand and do one, but can't help feeling some sort of check is better than nowt.

I know it's tempting not to bother once you've a few dives under your belt and especially when you done a lot recently (skipped a few on my last liveaboard for example), but I reckon that's complacency rather than good judgement.

On this board we've got posts horrified by the number of people dying diving, some of them very experienced.
And we've got posts that go some way towards saying &quot;I'm too good to bother buddy checking&quot; - doesn't add up to me.

YMMV - not having a dig at anyone, just my thoughts on it.

Safe diving all,
Dave.

[johnkendall]

With almost everyone I dive with(Particularly students), I do a Full buddy check. (I use BAR) but when I dive with the guys I normally do Mix dives with, then it becomes a &quot;Personal&quot; check. I will check all my regs, all my inflates, all my dumps and releases. My buddies are doing the same on their kit, we don't need to do it out loud to each other, as our kit is pretty much identical.

John

[Fathoms Down]

This seems to miss an important point - the kind of diving you are doing.

I seem to remember the TDI course notes say that technical diving can involve divers on different deco stops so should be considered a solo activity (or words to that effect). When I have my technical kit on I'm too keen to get into the water and get the weight of my kit off my back and start cooling down to go through extended buddy checks to prevent the kind of problems I should be able to deal with myself. It also happens that I use my technical kit in the Uk.

When abroad and using a single tank and BC then I do spend a bit more time on making sure everything is working with my buddy even if I know her kit inside out.