Reactions to Tech Gear

[TSandM]

I think my funniest experience was in Florida -- I think it was at Manatee. I had just come out of the water and walked over to the table to drop my tanks. There were two teenaged boys who watched me, and came over to ask some questions. They said, "Are those heavy?". And I said, "Well, yes, they are -- do you want to try them on?". And one of the boys marched up and shrugged into my harness, and stood up -- and his eyes got incredibly wide and he looked at me with a clear expression that said, "YOU were carrying these?"

Sometimes it's fun to be a little old lady.

 

[Storker]

Over here, twinsets are quite common, and nobody bats an eyelid.

Up here as well. I see a mix of poodle jacket/octo, single tank BP/Ws with either a short hose/octo config or a LH/BO config, smaller (typically D7 or D8.5) doubles and large (typically D12), tec-size doubles. The only caveat you might hear is that if you're diving a D12 or bigger set, you haul it yourself, thankyouverymuch

The first time I buddied up with a guy in full tec setup (sans stage bottles, though), we did the buddy check, he showed me how he was going to donate his primary if I needed some of his gas, and when I saw he was carrying his belt under his harness I told him that if I'd need to ditch his weights, I wasn't going to try to untangle his crotch strap: I'd just cut his weight belt. We were on the same page, and that was all there was to it. Even if I was carrying a snorkel on my mask strap at that time

One of my clubmates likes to occasionally sling a stage bottle even on shallow rec dives, just to stay familiar with the setup he's using on his deco dives. If anyone wonders about the extra tank, he's happy to explain why he's carrying it, and that's all there is to it.

 

[tomfcrist]

Most UK dive boats have a diver lift, so getting out of the water isn't a big deal.

Seriously?! Why the heck are they not over here too?!

They are. They are just two and far between.

 

[Hickdive]

Seriously?! Why the heck are they not over here too?!

Yup, seriously.

Once you've dived from a boat with one then you tend to look for it before booking.

Consumer pressure means that not having one will lose you custom (unless you're the only game in town).

I'm trying to remember the last time I climbed a ladder back onto a boat in the UK and attracts little comment or attention.

As Mustard Dave says "tech gear" like twins and rebreathers are pretty ubiquitous in the UK.

Here's what UK dive boats are typically like;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Q9D-nzTE0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q5A1Dd8FsM

 

[rongoodman]

Sometimes it's fun to be a little old lady.

I'm starting to get that reaction from time to time when I'm doing squats or deadlifts. I'm more or less the token old guy in the free weight area.

 

[bl6394]

Years ago when I was an AOW diver - I went on a shop trip - not my shop - to the Keys using my BPW with a single tank in a DIR configuration. An instructor on the boat hated it and shared with me the point of view that the bolt snaps and metal buckles clanked too much - and I should be using a Jacket style BCD to dive. To her - my securing a crotch strap and winding a 7 foot hose seemed to be a distraction as she geared up. At the time - as a relatively inexperienced diver - I was perplexed by her comments. What business was it of hers?

Some people probably should not be scuba instructors.

 

[ermaclob]

Yup, seriously.

Here's what UK dive boats are typically like;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Q9D-nzTE0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q5A1Dd8FsM

Oh God :depressed: This is only some think i could only dream of.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think my funniest experience was in Florida -- I think it was at Manatee. I had just come out of the water and walked over to the table to drop my tanks. There were two teenaged boys who watched me, and came over to ask some questions. They said, "Are those heavy?". And I said, "Well, yes, they are -- do you want to try them on?". And one of the boys marched up and shrugged into my harness, and stood up -- and his eyes got incredibly wide and he looked at me with a clear expression that said, "YOU were carrying these?"

Sometimes it's fun to be a little old lady.

I think my funniest was KBR, in Lembeh Straits, Indonesia. Shortly after arrival, as we were loading our equipment onto the dive boat, the resort manager noticed my BP/W. She immediately asked me "Do you know Lynne?" As it turns out, Lynne and Peter had been to the same resort a year and a half earlier and that was the last time this woman had seen a BP/W. She didn't even know we were from the same part of the USA ... much less that we actually did know each other ... but she assumed that since we were diving the same type of weird gear that we probably did ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[FireInMyBones]

Most of the comments that I've received have been about my long hose when diving a single tank. I don't get many comments about my tech rig.
When I'm diving with someone who has never seen the long hose in action before, I ask them if they want to practice an OOA scenario, and if they say yes, their eyes light up when I deploy it and they don't have to reach for anything. I think the light bulb over their head is more than any verbal reaction that I've received.

 

[jwelburn]

I think the number one non-weight related question about my doubles is "Is that a rebreather?". And I've had it from all over, from non-divers to DMs. I don't know if that's a Hawaii thing or what, but it happens.