Anyone have experience with GUE Rec 2&3?

[PfcAJ]

Well by that logic we might as well have a hundred little intermediate classes.

Kind of like "cave lite", now we've got tech lite? 130ft on gas with 15mins of deco is enough to paralyze. Remember that kid a few years back who got it on the Speigle? I do. It's not a trivial matter.

If you're too "nervous" to take t1, maybe you shouldn't be diving in t1 ranges and stick to rec depths. Much the same way if you're nervous to take a cave class, you should stay out.

This is the same "every kid gets a trophy" nonsense.

---------- Post added May 2nd, 2014 at 10:40 PM ----------

Ps I would tell you it's stupid in real life too. And you know I would.

 

[WhiteSands]

I get Lynne's point. I could swim before I could walk. Swam competitively at the national level in my youth.

When I started diving I could not comprehend why people failed OW classes because they could not clear their masks or have to remove their masks underwater. These were non-events to me but obviously created much fear in others. As a result I had little empathy for my buddy when she had problems with water in mask or equalizing.

Till I was reminded of the number of hours I had spent in water which resulted in the absence of fear in things which terrified a weaker swimmer.

I still have difficulty empathizing fully but I get why they created this course. Some people might see a need for it and it enables them to take little steps and get comfy with procedures before using a gas that could cause serious problems if mistakes were made.

 

[rivers]

Sorry to drudge up a few month old thread, but figured I would comment as to why I chose rec 3 over tech 1.
1. I didn't have a tech pass. yes, i could have gone and done an upgrade, but i have my reasons why i didn't.
2. I have a lot of easy and cheap access to dives in the 35-40ish metre range through my club. But, 35m is really pushing my comfort limits on nitrox. Also, due to the nature of rib diving, sometimes you get dropped with the current still running and getting down the shot can be a lot of work. A CO2 headache does not make for a fun dive, so having access to trimix is a huge plus. Plus, I only had a 35m ticket, so being able to go to 40ish and take advantage of a few more wrecks can't hurt.
3. I'm quite happy in recreational ranges, and don't have a need to go much deeper at the moment. I'll probably take tech 1 in a few years time, but i think the skills i learned in rec 3 is a good step in that direction. I do better gradually working my way up when it comes to depth and complexity of dives.

Before I took the course, I was already doing dives with up to 15 minutes of back gas deco up to 35m. This just gave me a bit more depth as well as taught me proper stage handling procedure. During the course, we talked about why 32% was chosen, and in essence, it's because it is still only a recreational course, so even if a major cock-up occurred, a diver could switch to it at 40m and get the hell out without a major risk of toxing. We did feed back that perhaps in the future, there could be a kind of "Rec 3+" upgrade, which would allow for a longer exposure as well as something like 50% as a deco gas, again for divers who are quite happy in recreational ranges and have no desire/need/want to go any deeper.

Yes, there were no bubble guns and failures were not complex, but we were taught how to deal with them both individually and as a team, from left and right post failures to lost deco gas.

 

[LiteHedded]

how much do the rec courses cost if you dont mind my asking? tuition-wise