GUE Fundamentals BP/W: Hopeless without Halcyon ?

[Goingforsound]

Hey Roger!

I'm the one on facebook who told you that GUE and Halcyon were related.

If you have no intention of using doubles in the future, do the Rec Pass. It's a little bit easier. If you never dove doubles, they will probably require you to do a double primer before Fundies. Its a bit more work with the double.

For the equipment, from the instructor point of view, its easier to say buy Halcyon. They probably dont have all the time in the world to look at all the other options. I did my fundies in Egypt and the instructor had a Xdeep backplate and wing. It just has to fit the DIR requirements.

I'm in montreal right now, we can meet up and discuss about it.

Cheers,

JC

 

[CptTightPants21]

Hey Roger!

I'm the one on facebook who told you that GUE and Halcyon were related.

If you have no intention of using doubles in the future, do the Rec Pass. It's a little bit easier. If you never dove doubles, they will probably require you to do a double primer before Fundies. Its a bit more work with the double.

For the equipment, from the instructor point of view, its easier to say buy Halcyon. They probably dont have all the time in the world to look at all the other options. I did my fundies in Egypt and the instructor had a Xdeep backplate and wing. It just has to fit the DIR requirements.

I'm in montreal right now, we can meet up and discuss about it.

Cheers,

JC

I don't think they will require a doubles primer, but it is counter productive to have fundies be the first time you dive doubles. Fundies should be done in the set up that you are most comfortable with and/or the set up you plan to continue using after class. There is a lot of material and skills that get covered in fundies and just being acquainted with doubles will take away from that.

I think that if OP only plans on diving single tank then he would get more out of class taking it in a single tank set up.

I am still waiting for the gear suggestions that the OP emailed about and that were dismissed.

 

[BlueTrin]

I don't think they will require a doubles primer, but it is counter productive to have fundies be the first time you dive doubles. Fundies should be done in the set up that you are most comfortable with and/or the set up you plan to continue using after class. There is a lot of material and skills that get covered in fundies and just being acquainted with doubles will take away from that.

I think that if OP only plans on diving single tank then he would get more out of class taking it in a single tank set up.

I am still waiting for the gear suggestions that the OP emailed about and that were dismissed.

So if you have never dived doubles, what should you do before to do GUE fundamentals ?

 

[Goingforsound]

A double Primer. And a few dives.

 

[elgoog]

So if you have never dived doubles, what should you do before to do GUE fundamentals ?

A double Primer. And a few dives.

Just to clarify, GUE Doubles primer is not required for anything. Any GUE course that you're going to do in doubles requires you to be proficient in doubles - that could be through figuring it out on your own, with a mentor, doubles course with another agency, digital download from the flying spaghetti monster, etc.

For Fundies, in my opinion, below is most important (emphasis mine).

I don't think they will require a doubles primer, but it is counter productive to have fundies be the first time you dive doubles. Fundies should be done in the set up that you are most comfortable with and/or the set up you plan to continue using after class.

 

[BlueTrin]

Ah thanks, i assumed wrongly that diving doubles was a Fundies requirement

 

[Goingforsound]

I did not specify by which agency, nor said that it is mandatory.

I just hoped on doubles with a nice divemaster for 6 dives before fundies.

You can do fundies in a single tank and get the Rec Pass

 

[rongoodman]

Much conflict of interest there?

Since Halcyon gear has never been required in GUE courses, I would say no, there isn't.

 

[CptTightPants21]

So if you have never dived doubles, what should you do before to do GUE fundamentals ?

You can take fundies in single tank and pass with a rec pass.

If your goal is to pass fundies with a tech pass and continue on with more advanced GUE training, a doubles primer isn't a bad way to go.

At the very least, you should find a dive buddy with some experience in doubles and have him show you the ropes. An intro to tech class might be beneficial, but I would recommend having at least two dozen dives in doubles. Gaining the initial experience and working on some of the initial growing pains (head heaviness, long hose managment, etc) would be beneficial.

 

[lv2dive]

This thread makes me miss Lynne. She was a huge proponent of people who were recreational divers taking fundies in a single tank to learn how to be better divers and enjoy diving more. She also used little if any Halcyon gear, specifically to help illustrate the point that it was NOT required to be a GUE diver. And she probably single-handedly steered more people towards GUE than any other individual out there.

I had no intentions of any real technical or cave diving when I signed up for fundies. My goal was to become a better diver and get more comfortable in the water. There were a lot of things about GUE I didn’t agree with but I figured I would take the good things from the class and keep on diving the way I wanted to. Interestingly, came to agree with some of the items I had the biggest issues with, and I also ended up pursuing cave and technical training with GUE.

GUE can be very polarizing. I’m not really sure why - the organization is up front about what it is. It is a team oriented, standardized approach to diving, the earliest classes begin with the end in mind. One can take the classes and continue diving in a GUE team approach, one can take the classes and learn from them and not continue diving in that fashion, or one can not take GUE classes. GUE isn’t saying they are the answer for everyone, or that they are better than anyone else, just that they have an approach and here It is.