Octi vs. Spare Air

[DiveCaptDean]

To me, spare airs tend to be cumbersome and worthless. I personally have never dove with one, but have had people on my boat that have..they never seem to have control of it. Also, it may get you to the surface, but you wont be doing a safety stop. Not a good idea. I personally suggest either a pony bottle. which will give you plenty of extra emergency air, and H-valve with an extra Reg or a set of doubles. with two regs. The latter may be too much for you right now, but a pony bottle or H valve can do us all wonders. I like pony as it is a true alternate air source. A octo/exra reg is a necessity. think about having someone rip a reg out of your mouth in an emergency..do you want to find your spare air...un cap it. and shove it in your mouth? I would rather just tilt my chin to my chest and bite my backup reg.
Good luck