Near-DIR diving: Are there DIR things you would probably never do?

[Sloth]

Because DIR is really a front for Halcyon to sale dive gear111!!!!

The can light isn't required for a fundies rec pass but is required for a tech pass. Two back lights are required for both. Why? I have no idea.

I was going for a tech pass so now I always carry my can light deployed even in 100' viz. Why? because I'm a loser. (and because not being use to doing skills with a light in hand help contribute to me only getting a rec pass)

 

[*Floater*]

- Lamp in the same hand as the compass: Sorry, it's just too much of a pain - especially in dark and bad visibility you need to look at the compass every 20 seconds - constantly swapping the light around is too annoying.

Yeah, I've found a small mask light to be the most convenient solution. IMO, it's not a risk, if it's small enough it won't bother your buddies and it's not a major entanglement hazard. DIR divers don't seem to use them, but I'm not sure that anyone would mind.

- All stages on the left: It just seems like asking for trouble, sure if you follow procedures perfectly you should never breathe the wrong gas, but why not have the extra simplicity and safety of left-lean, right-rich?

I've tried both ways and prefer everything on the left. If you stack it right using light tanks then they won't be in the way, and the procedure is quite safe and simple - you and buddy just verify that the gas is right before switching by looking at the markings on the bottle.

- Single bladder wings: Again, there is extra safety in a double bladder. Even if I can happily swim my rig up I still don't want to keep finning to have to stay on the surface. I also don't want to be dumping $2,500 worth of stages and lights to get extra buoyancy (would any DIR diver really do this without a second thought?) Ok, I can hold a lift bag for extra buoyancy but a working wing is better and safer. So, balanced rigs: yes. Double bladders: also yes.

I've seen several major discussions on dual bladder vs. single bladder wings in these forums (over at TDS perhaps). The basic arguments against dual bladders are that anything that damages or inhibits one bladder may simultaneously affect the other so you cannot rely on them, and the risk of a your wing self-inflating is doubled, plus if it happens then dealing with it will be more confusing because you have to figure out which bladder is responsible.

- No computers: Takes some of the fun out of diving. If I plan to look at a wreck at 10m but then decide to follow a big fish down to 20m I want the flexibility to do this without having to go and write a new dive plan first. Sometimes the dive plan can be "go and have a fun dive".

Yeah, I sometimes I use my computer too when I don't want to concentrate on tracking the dive in my head, however, if you practice then you'll be able to approximate what the computer does and might end up getting more out of your dives because you'll become more aware of your profiles and environment, and it supposedly becomes easy and automatic after a while. And it's a nice feeling not having to rely on the computer. If I dove more I'd definitely learn to use mine in gauge mode only (right now I still need to keep recording depth every 5 min on my wrist slate for my approximations).

Are there any other DIR guidelines others will not adopt, or would anyone like to convince me I am wrong about any of these points?

Well, I see DIR as a certain type of an ideal. In the real world I have to deviate from it or I wouldn't be diving much at all. For example, some times I get paired off with an insta-buddy who has an air2 or insists on donating his pony in case of an OOA. What can you do other than go along or not dive? I tend to go along. And for that matter, I don't view air2's or wireless SPG's as major safety concerns for rec diving.

Other than that, I like to have a small mask light for night and cave dives to view wrist gauges and wetnotes. I like using a wrist slate. I find having one quick-release convenient for boat dives during which the rig is doffed on the boat in a drysuit. Then there's solo diving, less safe I agree than diving with a DIR buddy, but sometimes there's no buddy (DIR or otherwise) available. And other little things like that...

 

[Jason B]

Are there any other DIR guidelines others will not adopt, or would anyone like to convince me I am wrong about any of these points?

DIR divers don't pick and choose which part of the system they want to use as the system does not work that way.

As for convincing you that you are wrong, I could care less how you dive and see no need to convine you of anything. Besides, you seem to be convinced otherwise already.

 

[Meng_Tze]

The only thing I am going to say about this with reference to what I will NOT do:

Become so dependant on the team that I switch off my own self preservation and may be can not make it home on my own.

Don't misinterpret my statement as anything else than written. The team concept is crucial, but be careful not to throw ones own self preservation in that team for others to manage. Remain an thinking diver with sound actions.

 

[bvmjethead]

I think he has some valid points.

 

[Spratman]

Wrist mounted compass. Light spill over should be sufficient to read compass while still keeping it focused ahead on where you are going. Of course, if you are diving in visiblity that poor, or needing that much help from compass navigation, i.e. not following contour of a wreck or something, preferred method would be to lay/follow a line to return to your starting point.



Several reasons. One of the big ones is deployment of the long hose. Can't do that if there are stages in the way. One of the principle things of DIR is stanardized configuration for all dive conditions, so you'll always know where your gear is and how to access it.


Drysuit is normally redundant bouyancy. In the event of no drysuit, lift bag is preferred. Two main reasons. For a dual bladder, you have to have two hoses. If you leave both hoses hooked up, you might have air "seep" into second wing, causing inflation and bouyancy issues that might be hard to pinpoint during dive. Secondly, if a wing "fails" during a dive, likely cause is a puncture from a sharp object on wreck, etc. Most bladders that are maintained and kept in good shape dont just "fail." If something punctures the primary bladder, what are the odds that it may also damage your secondary one as well? If you arent carrying another backup device (liftbag) then your SOL. If you are, then why bother carrying two bladders? Then, there is the whole static vs. dynamic discussion, but thats a whole other post...

Ok, so I break this one myself from time to time. The idea is that the use of computers makes many people to reliant on them. If things go south, they have no idea of depth/time/deco obligation, or how to make a solid plan to ascend safely from RIGHT NOW. On "big" dives, I have a written deco plan, and carry a computer more for data logging and depth/time info. On "rec" dives with no deco, I'll still plan it the dive, but generally use the computer as a comparison to my dive plan.

Note that "using" one is not the same as "relying" on one.


I dont know if these *convince* you or not. Merely pointing out some of the reasoning behind the ones you mentioned so you can draw your own conclusions.

Are there things that I dont do? Sure. Fitness is probably the big one for me. I dont eat/exercise anywhere near what the "book" says I should. I'm also not doing 10k penetrations, 400', or 5 hour dives on a regular basis either. I maintain a lifestyle and level of fitness that I feel is appropriate for the diving that I do.

Even if one doesnt like everything DIR, or is vehemently opposed to *most* things DIR, there are still a lot of good ideas that have come from them that can benefit just about everyone.

Thanks, CD, for the explainations. You are correct that many people non-DIR divers look at DIR as a lock step rationale. And in fact, it is.

However, I adhere to a good portion of DIR techniques without buying the entire philosophy/mentality. If I wanted to go the GUE route, then I would accept what the agency is telling me I need to do in order to meet their certification requirements.

I'm not going to waste time telling a DIR/GUE guy why I don't like the methodology, which apparently goes on quite a bit. Thanks for humoring some of us non-DIR folks.

 

[Sloth]

The only thing I am going to say about this with reference to what I will NOT do:

Become so dependant on the team that I switch off my own self preservation and may be can not make it home on my own.

Don't misinterpret my statement as anything else than written. The team concept is crucial, but be careful not to throw ones own self preservation in that team for others to manage. Remain an thinking diver with sound actions.

Strange, I got the impression the over all point of DIR is team first individual second.

The team is measured by the weakest member. If you have a someone who "switches off" then you have a weak team.

Each member of the team has to be able to preform the function of anyone else on the team at any point. Three man team and diver 1 is OOA and diver 2 has lost his mask. Guess what, diver 3 day has just gotten interesting. At least this is the message I got from my fundies class.

Team work means you extend your awareness and interest beyond self to others. This applies to any team application, military, police, firefighters, and I think GUE places a emphasis on it to. Being part of a team doesn't mean you can potentially switch off it means you are so switched on that you stop thinking me and you start thinking we.

 

[do it easy]

Most agencies require a snorkel, but GUE only sets a guideline for fins. How come no one is overly concerned about being compliant with PADI? We never see threads asking "Is my snorkel PADI approved?" Lots of agencies teach drysuit divers to use the drysuit for buoyancy, but on this board, most divers will tell you to just add enough air to take the edge off the squeeze and use the BC or wing for buoyuancy.

Is there something so sacred about GUE training that makes it unthinkable to violate their guidelines, while it's acceptable or even expected to trample over other agency's teaching once the hot little c-card is paid for?

 

[RTodd]

This doesn't belong in this forum. A question regarding why each of these practices exist would be great since it hasn't been answered very well so far.

 

[JeffG]

or would anyone like to convince me I am wrong about any of these points?

Not really. I really don't care how you dive.