Bob and Jim,
:gans:
There are all sorts of gear I bet you would frown on any DMC using. Diving helmet, rebreather, sidemount, Spare air, full face mask and the list can go on. While explaining a 7' hose is intuitive for a caver/techie, it's not for an OW instructor who only does recreational diving.
Part of the problem are the myths that surround a lot of the gear we use. It's not unusual or unreasonable for an instructor to buy into those myths. This has very little bearing on their suitability to train others to dive in an OW environment.
As usual Pete, you take things to a rather extreme degree. I had this discussion with my course director some years ago ... when he quoted the standard that stipulates instructors must wear similar equipment to what the students are wearing. His position was that if the students are in standard BCDs and regulators, so must the instructor and assistants.
So I took the question to NAUI HQ. They said that wasn't the intent ... the intent was to prevent instructors from showing up in rebreathers, sidemount, etc ... equipment that was SO DIFFERENT that you could not demonstrate the requisite skills.
This is not the case in a BP/W ... or even a long hose. FWIW - if I'm training students using a standard BCD and regulator ... I will wear those things. I make no such requirements of my DM's ... in fact, I encourage them to wear something different, so I can explain the differences to the students, and show them the differences in how this equipment is used. Realistically, they're going to be seeing this equipment at the dive sites ... and probably diving with people who use it ... shortly after certification. So why WOULDN'T I want them to get exposed to it?
It's interesting to me that these instructors who have an aversion to BP/W ... which is just another style of BCD ... have no problem with students showing up in a Zeagle Ranger or Dive Rite Transpac. It's interesting that instructors who object to a long hose have no problem with students using an inline backup reg.
Why the aversion to one form of "different" equipment, but not another? Mostly it boils down to what they can sell at the dive shop.
I want my students to be able to recover their regulator ... if they can perform that task using the equipment they are wearing, that is functionally the intent of the standards. I want my students to be able to do a controlled ascent while sharing air ... if they can perform that task using the equipment they are wearing, that is the intent of the standards. I want them to be able to remove and replace their rig ... both underwater (in case of entanglement) and on the surface (to prepare to board a small boat) ... if they can perform those tasks using the equipment they are wearing, that is the intent of the standards. Exposing them to how to do so using different equipment goes above and beyond the standards ... I see no downside at all to such exposure.
Students are not as easily confused as some folks claim they would be. I have found nothing but benefits to exposing them to different choices in dive equipment.
Oh ... and FWIW ... once I'm sidemount certified, I will probably expose them to that, too. I won't attempt to teach in it ... but I will make an effort to show them what it is, how it works, and under what circumstances someone might want to consider using it. I see no downside to doing so ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)