Warped View of the Dive World

[DaleC]

I'm sorry, what were we arguing about again?

One thing I picked up was a notion that locally oriented dive opinions should be contained in the appropriate regional subforums. I say no. I appreciate hearing different perspectives as it widens my knowledge base and all I think is needed is the simple preface "this is what I do, in my conditions". Problem solved.

I think the "fringe" of the Dive World (those not in 70 degree F or warmer water and those not "recreational") contending that the Dive Industry is not supporting their Dive World is like a Lamborghini dealer in Anchorage, Alaska contending that the Auto Industry is not supporting their Auto World. ].

This notion caught my attention because it is based on a false premise. The dive industry is really accessed on a local level so it needs to service divers in that locale. In my region this means steel tanks, drysuits, coldwater regs etc... If a shop ignored these products in favor of full foot fins and 3 mm wetsuits because that's what the majority of divers worldwide use they would soon be out of business.

It would be pretty cool if at least some of the responses followed a similar theme as the list in this post, but I do not require you to respond in any way other than be honest and open about YOUR views of the Dive World &/or the Dive Industry.

I personally don't have any generalizations about divers (sort of as pointless as having generalizations about races). That's old Newtonian thinking. It's all quantum nowadays.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Without any interest at all in joining in the (apparently) impending flame war, here's my 2PSI.

OK, so, on to MY warped view of the dive world

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives made in the World are made in waters 70 degrees F and warmer.

Ours certainly have been.

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives made in the World are made with Aluminum 80 cubic foot-ish tanks.

Well, since most resort ops don't offer anything else, sure. I do use bigger tanks when I can get them, but I'm sure not paying airline fees to ship tanks or weights.

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives made in the World are made using Vest BC's.

I think that if you're limiting this to those using rental gear, you may be right. For those with their own gear, I mostly see back inflates or wings. Of course, I'm a noob, so what do I know?

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives in the World are made wearing 5 mm or less wet suits.

Well, duh. That sort of goes along with the idea that us wimpy vacation divers are diving in warm water...

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational divers" first OW courses were "booked" as 3 or 4 day classes.

How else would you book them? We did our classroom work online, but it still takes the same amount of time blowing bubbles...

I think it is highly likely the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives made in the World are made using full foot fins.

Can't say that I've ever seen anybody diving with full foot fins, but I'm a noob, and dive with small groups, so I may be missing something.

I think it is highly likely the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives made in the World are "guided dives."

Depends on where we're at. In Cancun/PDC/Coz we do guided dives. Pretty much the only way to go, there. Someplace where shore diving is the norm, we probably would not.

I think it is highly likely the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational divers" will go "deep" within their first dozen logged dives. (>100')

Well, sort of. We did, on dive #7, but that was our AOW deep dive. We've only been to 100 FSW twice. Once for AOW, and once to see the Car Pile in Curacao. Mostly, we stay shallow simply because there's more to see.

I think it is highly likely the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational divers" will go "under rock" within their first dozen logged dives. (Cavern, not arch)

Discounting short swim throughs, we were "under rock" on dive #13, so close enough... but that was one of the Cenote trips in PDC. Very structured, and (as is well known) about as safe as such an activity can be.

Those last four may very well be due to me living 2 decades in Hawaii. :cool2:

I think the Dive Industry has "evolved" to supply the demand generated by the customers clamoring for the above list.

I think the "fringe" of the Dive World (those not in 70 degree F or warmer water and those not "recreational") contending that the Dive Industry is not supporting their Dive World is like a Lamborghini dealer in Anchorage, Alaska contending that the Auto Industry is not supporting their Auto World.

It would be pretty cool if at least some of the responses followed a similar theme as the list in this post, but I do not require you to respond in any way other than be honest and open about YOUR views of the Dive World &/or the Dive Industry.

The dive industry supports us? Damn... considering that we've spent about $30K on diving in the past year, I think it's the other way around. :confused4:

 

[Togalive]

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives made in the World are made in waters 70 degrees F and warmer.

I would completely agree with this, at least the water temp on the surface. Its a simple question of customers (Tourists) which make up the majority of our industry diving where they are comfortable, and 70+ degree water is just that.

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives made in the World are made with Aluminum 80 cubic foot-ish tanks.

Given that most dives around the world are made by tourists, there is nothing surprising about this. The tanks are cheap, they last, and they're just the right size and weight for most people.

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives made in the World are made using Vest BC's.

Once again, I believe this to be accurate. A simple question to ask is why would a tourist use anything else? Vests, at least in a tourist's eyes, are the easiest and most practical. However unfounded these thoughts might be, they are what determines the end result.

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives in the World are made wearing 5 mm or less wet suits.

This goes without saying. If most dives are in 70+ degree water, you wouldnt want to be wearing a 7 mil. Plus, thicker suits = thinner wallets.

I think the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational divers" first OW courses were "booked" as 3 or 4 day classes.

Once again, its all about ease of certification. In order for an industry to survive in our world, it must deliver a product quickly, painlessly, and efficiently. Instant gratification, or as close as you can get to it, is key.

I think it is highly likely the VAST MAJORITY of "recreational" dives made in the World are made using full foot fins.

This I disagree with. I have never been to a dive shop where full foot fins were the default, even in tropical locations. Fins are a matter of saftey, at least in my views, and skimping on them for tourists is not the way to go. (Freediving fins exempted)


I'm honestly getting tired of copying and pasting now...so, I do not agree with the bit about deep dives or caverns. That info is highly dependent on your location, we dont even have caves around where I live. And I can guarantee you some tourist in the bahamas would have a difficult time going >100ft on a guided dive.

 

[vladimir]

Interesting ...

Originally Posted by halemanō
I got PADI OW certified with my Kauai (Hawaii) free dive buddies in '92.

Originally Posted by halemanō
I started diving at age 7 in Norther Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming (Yellowstone)

So which one of the above histories should we believe?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

There's no reason not to believe both; they are not inconsistent. He started diving in Idaho, etc., and got PADI certified some time later, in Kauai.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

......I fully expect and welcome some harsh criticism of my personal views; please don't hold back, tell it like you see it. :kiss2:

I'm starting to think this offer was not genuine.

This seems to be a mass comprehension problem, again by some instructors and SB Staff.

When the harsh criticism has been "of my personal views" I believe it has been welcomed.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Cooper? No sh*t. How'd you ever get there?

(everybody else prolly thinks you meant "Copper", just down the road)

Well, since the poma lifts at Wolf Creek (mid to late '60's) were impossible to negotiate for skiers under 50 lbs, and "excitingly thrilling" for skiers under 100 lbs, my family mostly went to Cooper until my sister (1.5 years my junior) weighed over 50 lbs.

Did Copper exist in the '60's?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

This seems to be a mass comprehension problem, again by some instructors and SB Staff.

Typically, a "mass comprehension" problem is an indication that you're not expressing yourself very well ...

When the harsh criticism has been "of my personal views" I believe it has been welcomed.

Not really ...

Your personal views are that anyone not diving in warm, tropical water is "fringe" ... and that those of us who you have so defined should confine our comments to our respective regional forums.

I think those personal views are presumptuous and rather ignorant ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Hank49]

To give Halemano a little benefit of the doubt here, my impression of his definition of "fringe" is the outer edges of the bell curve if defining type of diving by numbers. (tropical being the peak of the curve)
And the impression one gets reading SB is that perhaps a majority of divers worldwide ARE fringe divers, but as I believe Bob (NWGratefulDiver) mentioned, it's because SB has a high percentage of hard core diving enthusiasts, many from cold water areas of the world.

Whenever I meet vacation divers in Belize, I ask, "are you members of SB"?
None have said yes. A couple have checked it out, but weren't regular users.
One can also get the impression that being trained to dive in a tropical destination would be a sub par training. I agree that cold water divers are better trained, which they need to be diving in that environment. But, many people will NEVER dive cold water. I had never met a cold water diver until recently. EVERYONE I knew was trained in the tropics.
That's what the industry has geared itself to. It gets old hearing over and over by some here about their superior training and that a tropical diver is sub par. So what? It's all about having fun. I'm not going to get dry suit trained. I hate cold water. I'll never dive in cold water.
I think that's Halemano is getting at, based on some of his other postings. But I can live with being inferior. I'm going out tomorrow, Feb 6 and diving in 77 degree water. And that's cold for me. Come on down. I guarantee I'll show you a good time diving.

 

[gcbryan]

It's kind of humorous being on SB and arguing about what the majority of divers are like. No one on here is in the majority including Halomano Most divers don't live in Hawaii and read SB either so none of us are typical if you take that approach

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I'm sorry, what were we arguing about again?

One thing I picked up was a notion that locally oriented dive opinions should be contained in the appropriate regional subforums. I say no. I appreciate hearing different perspectives as it widens my knowledge base and all I think is needed is the simple preface "this is what I do, in my conditions". Problem solved.

Exactly!

It's kind of humorous being on SB and arguing about what the majority of divers are like. No one on here is in the majority including Halomano Most divers don't live in Hawaii and read SB either so none of us are typical if you take that approach

The members that are on topic in this thread are not arguing; we are sharing :kiss2: