a retreat from DIR

[cornfed]

Check out this video...

http://www.divetekadventures.com/Videos/VideoGUESdrill.htm

 

[H2Andy]

yeah, exactly... notice how his wrist is pointing up ... if he had a light on, it'd
be shinning up

 

[jonnythan]

yeah, exactly... notice how his wrist is pointing up ... if he had a light on, it'd
be shinning up

If he had a light in his hand, it would be shining directly into the other guy's eyes during the pass off and while putting the reg into the mouth.

 

[H2Andy]

nope Jon

the light is mounted on the hand. the wrist is turned up. the light is shinning up.

try it sometime

also, you can pivot your hand slightly so it's pointing away from your
buddy's face if it's a problem

seriously, i believe this "blind your buddy" problem is seriously overated

how many air-shares do you kow of have failed because of buddy-blinding,
leading to the drowning of the buddy?

on the other hand, i was facing a constat, very real problem of an entanglement
hazzard. THAT was the problem i had to address. that was the real problem,
not this "buddy blinding" thing that really, is a non-issue for me.

 

[TSandM]

Andy, what brand of light are you using? Do you think the cord length is different and might have anything to do with this?

I don't dive caves (yet!) so I don't have your experience. But I had a significant problem with excess cord with the Nite Rider light, and I don't have that problem with the Salvo.

 

[H2Andy]

i have a Dive Rite Slimline ... the chord is not too long... two or three wraps
take care of it

it's not ideal.. but... it's the lesser of two evils

 

[aquaoren]

lol... ok... did you learn to do the backward kick with Mare Quattros?

wait, no... you probably changed the equipment configuration to use Jets

Actually, I was able to backward kick (kinda`) with the quattros. They were only a little too floaty. The choice was either ankle weights or heavier fins.

he had his computer strapped OVER the light chord. it's much harder to quickly undo the computer, remove it, undo the light handle, and ditch that.

on the other hand, removing an elastic handle such as mine, and simply
undoing two or three loops takes less than three seconds.

btw, you are ASSUMING he had the chord wrapped around his arm. we
really don't know that.

I understand your setup and if it works for you then great.
You of course wanted to say that you are ASSUMING that he had his computer straped OVER the light cord. we really don't know that.

not at all. i wanted to hear reactions to my changes from DIR divers. there
is a chance, you know, that someone may say something i didn't consider
in making my change ... and i could... you know... learn something?

Well, I can see where you are coming from.
Let me ask you something. Do you really think that when the **** hits the fan, everything will go as smooth as you always drilled it? Can you really rule out that when everyone is stressed that you will not shine your HID in someone eyes from a 15 cm distance? If you would be the OOA diver would you want to take the risk that someone will do that to you? Blind you when you're already in some distress?
As I said before, YMMV but you know the DIR answer.

 

[H2Andy]

Well, I can see where you are coming from.
Let me ask you something. Do you really think that when the **** hits the fan, everything will go as smooth as you always drilled it?

probably not. but i think we're trained, more or less competent divers by the time we
hit apprentice cave. i can't imagine being blinded momentarily being that much
of an issue.

honestly... by the time a diver passes DIR-F, they have dealt with much worse
things than being momentarily blinded.

for a diver who has passed Tech 1, heck, being momentarily blinded is about
as significant as being without a mask.

 

[Vayu]

honestly... by the time a diver passes DIR-F, they have dealt with much worse things than being momentarily blinded.

Like the part where they throw a bag over the student's head and beat them with sticks.

 

[rjack321]

i've had problems going through the Devil's Eye into the mainline, particularly
where there are deep drop-offs (two of them). also, i've had trouble on the Ear,
particularly on exit, with the cord catching on the rocks.

So how does the light cord droop? Were you putting it under or over the long hose?

Maybe my arms are longer, but I'd have to be scraping the bottom to catch mine.

particularly in a high flow system (such as Devil's), you're either moving into the
current or it's pushing you back. having to run the line, keep bouyancy, keep
forward progress, and check my gauage by clipping and unclipping is a lot of
things going on at once for me. glancing at the gauge is simplicity itself.

Are you tracking your pressure in your head and using the gauge as a double check?

yes, on the left. part of the problem with the SPG on the lower d-ring was messing
with the darn stage bottle clip. now that it's up top, the SPG does not interfere
with the bottle and vice versa.

So if you had to show your buddy your primary gauge would the stage reg and hose get in the way?

I agree that checking your gauge while diving with a stage can be a pita. But the key for me was to place the gauge snap on the d-ring below the stage snap. I actually find it easier to clip it off since I can use my elbow to hold the stage + d-ring away and perpendicular. Clipping is actually easier this way since the d-ring won't move.

What do your buddies think of your new configuration? If you got tangled up in the line or similar would they be able to help sort the situation out easier or would it be harder for them?