What year did the octo debut?

[Nemrod]

I do seem to recall that octo use had been going on in the cave diving community since the 1960s, as part of their equipment redundancy practice. quote]

For someone not educated much on vintage gear - how did an alternate air source, octo, or whatever they were called at the time work before the era of single hoses? Did you have an extra double hose hanging off a pony (which to me doesn't seam like a great idea if you are in a cave (entanglement, etc), or where there single hoses at the time?

They were not octopus seconds I don't think, what I recall, since I was a cave diver hanger-arounder wannabe at that time, Y valves on LP108s, independent doubles, sometimes with a Y on the right and a single post on the left, thus mounting three separate, complete, independent regulators. The particular air management strategy we used at the time made the right tank the important tank. This was way before GUE or DIR was around, yes, people were using metal plates and diving the caves, of course, then as now, sometimes they did not come out alive.

There were no commercial isolation valves to my knowledge but I am vaguely aware that people were cobbling such things together but you have to remember, I was 17yo and maybe diving equipment was not always my most important priority.

Nem

note: Scotty, if I messed your post up, I tried to fix it back, I think I did, sorry, I keep hitting my moderator edit button when I mean to hit quote--sorry for that.

[JES]

... but you have to remember, I was 17yo and maybe diving equipment was not always my most important priority. ...

What, did Manatees have that strong of a pull on you even at 17?

[captain]

Looking through a 1978 Skin Diver magazine, the latest I have I didn't see any octos in use in the article pictures or in any equipment advertisements or even an add for Jeppesen training products.
I would say the mid 80's when it came into general use and Dacor pined the name Octopus on their whole regulator package with two 2nds, an SPG and BC hose because it looked like a 4 armed Octopus.

[SeaHuntJerry]

Hi,
The Viking regulator octopus buddy tube has a shutoff located on the end of the hose attached to the mouthpiece.Hose is carrying ambient pressure,twist mouthpiece out to open up.
Jerry has a Brand New in the box Complete Norseman reg,pac and tank in orginal
boxes.

As far as Ocopus regs go the UW explorers club started using them early before being marketed as such.
Jl (Kemps Cow)

[regulatorbj]

Hi, Have thumbed through my files an concure the "Viking" reg had a " Safety Tube", reveiwed in a "Skin Diver" mag dated Feb 1959. However another artical in July 1971 "Skin Diver" mentions the "octo" being in use in the "Med" in 1965 but does not state for what purpose. Regards bj. (new member)

[DaleC]

IMO, they were mostly used by divers that were pushing the envelope… what they call now technical divers (I don’t like that term). The average diver would probably not have felt the need until it was marketed by the industry.

Jumping in late but I feel this is probably an accurate hypothesis. I don't have an actual "vintage" community to dive with and probably because of this, the evolution of my equipment configuration naturally tends to follow that route. I'm comfortable doing "average" dives (to about 50-60') with a single tank and no octo as I am confident of my ability to ESA from that depth. In some ways, as long as the dive is straight forward, an octo complicates an otherwise simple gear configuration. The only exception is when I'm diving with others who rely on an octo for safety; I don't feel it's fair to expect them to buddy breath from a DH without training.
Past that depth, or where conditions dictate that I may not be able to make a direct ascent/exit, I prefer access to an alternate air source. However (I've said this somewhere else recently) I don't really like my AAS to be connected to the same first stage (or DH) as the most likely problem I will have diving vintage is breathing past the reserve and going OOA. In that case an octo won't help me. For that reason, and the fact that a freeflow could result in the loss of all my gas, I prefer a pony to an octo connected to the main tank.

[Boiler81]

I think general use must have been in the early eighties. I was certified in the summer of 1984. We used an octo in all of the training (SSI). We also trained in and practiced buddy breathing. I did my first dive trip to the Keys that year and do not remember anyone not using one.

An interesting side story to demonstrate who much tings have changed in society since that time. My buddy and I were on a dive boat and there was an older gentleman on the boat who said he was certified in the 60s by the YMCA. He told the crew he had not dove in about ten years. The crew told him "It's like riding a bike, once you are in the water you will figure it out". They buddied him up with me and my buddy who were both newly certified. Of course we all enjoyed the dive and had a great time. Imagine a boat doing that today.

Looking through a 1978 Skin Diver magazine, the latest I have I didn't see any octos in use in the article pictures or in any equipment advertisements or even an add for Jeppesen training products.
I would say the mid 80's when it came into general use and Dacor pined the name Octopus on their whole regulator package with two 2nds, an SPG and BC hose because it looked like a 4 armed Octopus.

[scubasteve59]

It has been suggested that Sheck Exley the famous cave explorer, either "invented" or more like "popularized" the ocotopus reg back in the sixties; especially in the cave diving community. I think Dacor gets the plug for marketing the octopus into wide spread use with their labels and regs in the seventies.

[captain]

Sometimes back in the 80's I got on and quickly off the octo bandwagon, too much extra clutter. I think in my whole diving career I may have dived with an octo less than 10 times.

[eskimo3883]

In 1980 I was in a reserach diving course taught by the Diving Safety Officer at the UC Santa Cruz. Because of recent deaths within the UC system the University was just starting to force divers to have a BC, tank pressure gauge, depth gauge, and compass. Also, you could not use/depend on a reserve rod. That's all the University lawyers required. Previously I never dove with any of this because I could not afford them. In earlier basic certification my instructor allowed me to read my buddy's depth gauge and watch. Dive tables were Navy so with unlimited bottom time at 30 feet who needs a watch? My Sea-Tec horse collar BC had no auto inflate, also too expensive. You pull out your reg and add some air when you needed to. I eventually bought a dive watch when the cheap digital ones came out but these were not required for safety as long as you could write a bottom time in the dive log. I do not re-call any octos at that time but one guy had the brand new Scuba-Pro Jacket and as I recall an Air-one on the mouth piece. These jackets cost more than my entire dive locker of used equipment (wet suite, tank and reg, etc) and they were for dive pussies. That is the term I used for someone who had more money than myself. The research diving course was the best course I have ever had. Nothing to do with the course but everything to do with the instructor. Doug McDonald was the instructor; very cool guy, web says he is still in the area working in a dive shop. Doug preached wet suits and neutral buoyancy at your planed depth. He would dial in his weight belt base on the dive depth. When finally forced to wear a BC Doug used an old USD type BC you filled with a 1/4" rubber tube because it lay flat on his chest and didn't impeade swiming. These vests were so out of date at that time I never saw another one until ebay. The tube was not a problem because Doug never added any air. Doug taught if you ever put air in the BC on a dive it was because you dropped the ball weighting up. Very basic guy who taught learning safety instead of buying it at a shop. Many times I looked back on this advice as I tried not to drop the large rock I was carrying.

This simplicity was dumped after I got a job and some money because you can never have enough dive gear. In recent years I am replacing an absurd amount of modern dive gear for an absurd amount of vintage dive gear. The difference is I don't wear all the vintage gear at the same time.

[Popeye]

UCSC, Did you have any classes with Bob Widman?

[Bryan]

Hold on Bernie.....I'm waiting for replies to questions I sent months ago....