@CuriousRambler
we are discussing where buying Halcyon gear is the best interest in the student which I deny. Your research is not as extensive as you believe if you have never heard of XDeep. That actually blew my mind.
Halcyon makes great gear, but not always the best. Educated instructors should be able to give some guidance to allow a student make a more informed decision.
it is that simple
See, now you're either intentionally taking my words out of context, simply not reading what I wrote, or just being plain ignorant.
I pretty clearly stated I haven't purchased a BP/W
in over a decade. Ten seconds of research shows XDeep was founded May 1st, 2011. Let's call today May 1st for easy math, basic arithmetic shows 2020-2011= nine years since XDeep was founded. In case you're unaware, a decade is ten years. Ten years is more than nine years. Which means I've had no reason to research BP/W's since XDeep has been in existence. But yeah, targeting my statements about my personal gear habits is a good way to keep the conversation from being objective and oriented to the discussion at hand. Again, this supports my argument that an instructor may not be your best source of information, assuming we accept an instructor's job is not to be your personal gear advisor. We also may simply disagree on that point, which is fine. That's the beauty of being able to select an instructor who meets your personal requirements. I'm going to do my own research regardless, so my instructor's level of (edited for clarity): knowledge regarding current market offerings doesn't concern me either way.
I've repeatedly said Halcyon doesn't necessarily make the best gear. Thank you for agreeing with me on that point, and stating it as though you're disagreeing with what I repeatedly wrote. You cannot deny they make gear that meets GUE's requirements, can you? This point is all I'm looking at with regards to "in a student's best interest."
I think we simply disagree on the role of an instructor. My opinion is that an instructor is there to teach me how to use my equipment safely and effectively, and do so in a way that meets the course requirements. I assume we agree on that much. I would expect any instructor to be able to have an informed discussion on the gear at hand, explaining the
why of selecting one feature over another, or
why I should avoid another feature altogether. To my mind, this is exactly in line with your statement that "educated instructors should be able to give some guidance to allow a student to make a more informed decision." Brand/make/model need not have
any place in this discussion for it to be complete, IMO. I also don't believe suggesting students buy Halcyon, or any other specific product necessarily contradicts that goal or that process. Given that Halcyon's gear is, again, a known quantity - it simply makes an easy example of "this is in line with what features we suggest." That, again, is not claiming it's the best product available for the role, the least expensive, the most available, or anything else. You're turning my statements into absolutes, which is EXACTLY the point I'm trying to make: using one piece of gear as an
example (
ex•am•ple ĭg-zăm′pəl: n. One that is representative of a group as a whole) of what works is distinctly different than suggesting it's the best, the cheapest, or the only option.
Edit: In summary: does Halcyon gear meet GUE standards? I'm not a GUE diver, so could be mistaken, but my understanding is that the answer is an absolute "yes." If that's an accurate statement, then having a GUE instructor suggest Halcyon gear as an option simply makes sense. My argument is predicated on the idea that the only objective assessment of "in a student's best interest" is equipment that meets the course requirements. Subjectively, you may consider something else "better," but I may prefer a competing product. At best, 'better' is difficult to quantify. Maybe money is of no concern to a given student, so "cheaper" simply doesn't matter to all. Objectively, the equipment will need to meet course standards.
If an instructor "crosses the line" and suggests Halcyon gear is the only option, then I suspect you and I are firmly in the same camp.