Reasoning for Deco/Stage Bottles on Left

For the past few days, I’ve been creating the training materials for the new UTD Stage/Deco Bottle Mini.  One of the things I tried to accomplish is explaining the “why” and not just the “how”, so I thought I’d take some time to offer some insight into the “why” we wear our stages and deco bottles as we do….on the left.

Before getting into that, I’d like to stress that there are many different schools of thought on how the stages and deco bottles should be worn.  This is not an argument against other methods, but merely an explanation of UTD’s methodology.  One aspect of diving is personal choice, and my intent with this blog is merely to provide the diver with more information, so they can make a more informed choice, whatever method they choose.

It’s also important to remember that a primary aspect of the UTD mindset is consistency.  This includes consistency in equipment, training, protocols and team.  As mentioned above, the UTD equipment configuration places all stage and deco bottles on the left side of the diver.  I’ve listed the reasons why below:

1. Allows for clean longhose deployment – With the stage/deco bottle on the left side, there is no possibility of the bottle “trapping” the longhose, which is routed on the right side
2. Ease of scootering – the dpv (diver propulsion vehicle, or scooter) is typically operated with the right hand.  Having the right side clear of bottles allows for more freedom of movement of the right arm to control the dpv/scooter.
3. Clutter of the right chest D-ring – The right chest D-ring has many items clipped off to it.  It’s where the longhose is clipped off when not in use, a backup light, an extra double ender and the scooter when stowed
4. No right hip D-ring – In the UTD gear configuration, there is no right hip D-ring, as that is where the light canister is.  Consequently, there is no hip D-ring to clip a bottle to
5. Allows for one handed stage/deco valve management – With the bottles on the left, facing “up”, the handwheel is on the left, or “outside”, making it very easy to access with the left hand
6. Clean and consistent hose routing – All regulator hoses come from the left, behind the diver’s neck, and in to the mouth from the right
7. Clean donation of reg in diver’s mouth with right hand – Due to point #6, the regulator is always donated with the right hand, since the hose routing is always the same
8. Easy access to right (utility) pocket – This is a common misconception.  This isn’t about how quickly the diver can get to their pocket in an emergency.  The right pocket is the utility pocket.  In other words, the items in the right pocket may be used throughout the dive.  This means that these items may not only be taken out of the pocket, but also may be put back.  Ease of access to this pocket, since it will be used numerous times throughout the dive, is important.
9. Consistent gas switching and stowing procedures – With all bottles on the same side, the gas switch and stow procedures are always the same.
10. Consistent stage/deco bottle rigging – Since the bottles are always on the diver’s left, all bottles are rigged the same way.
11. Clean canister light cord routing – Since the canister light is on the right, and the bottles are worn left, there’s no issue of the light cord getting tangled or “trapped”
12. No risk of light switch getting bumped off – Like #11, since the canister is on the right and the bottles are on the left, there is no risk of a deco bottle hitting the light switch and accidentally turning off a functioning light
13. The scooter is stowed on the right side when not in use

Of course, some items listed above are more “critical” than others.  Should a bottle be rigged for the left side, then mistakenly be put on the right when gearing up, it would be an inconvenience when doing the gas switch, due to the hose being on the inside instead of the outside, but probably not a life threatening situation.  Whereas, inability to donate the longhose, or tangled hoses due to unclean routing can cause for a bad situation.  Since UTD is based on consistency, the above reasons are why we wear the bottles left.

This affects consistency in equipment, of course, protocols (gas switching, stowing, donation of the reg in the donor’s mouth with the right hand, etc), training (the diver is trained to always have the stages and/or deco bottles on left.  There is no “in this circumstance, the bottle goes on left, and in this circumstance, it goes on right…” or “Donate using left hand in this case and donating using right hand in this case…”) and team, since all members of the team carry their bottles the same way.

There are certainly other configurations, and every diver must choose which method best works for them.  This is simply the reasoning behind why the UTD equipment configuration has the stages on the left.

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