Critique my rig (and/or me!)

[txapacheguy]

like I mentioned if you can find someone, a "mentor" if you will, in your area to show you how to deploy a SMB and then watch you do a couple, that's probably the best route outside of it being a skill learned in a more advance class. And then practice...in very shallow water where the consequences of a screw up are mitigated.

I have nothing to critique on your rig, even though I went a little different direction when I started accumulating my kit. It sounds like you have enough stuff to take you safely in and out of the water, and already know what you want to tweak and perhaps add. I second the recommendation for the rescue course. I took it back in October with a shop here in Colorado Springs. We all learned a lot and had a great time.

My dive experience is equal to, or perhaps less than yours. I learned during the Search and Recovery Specialty I took with the rescue course how humbling the deployment and control of a lift bag can be, especially in low visibility. I can only assume that an SMB holds as many potential "snags". I have a few lift bags, a couple of spools, and at least one SMB in my garage that I should probably practice a bit with before I make it back out to the ocean.

I would not mind spending a weekend of practicing such skills here in Colorado once things warm up a bit(since there is not a lot of great diving here). I also have a few pony bottles and a variety of dive gear that you could "try before you buy". Get in touch with me if you are interested (going ice diving in Feburary or March as well)...

 

[EevelMonkee]

I'm curious why you would want a critique of your gear choices. They are your choices, and if you're happy with them, who cares what we think? For every diver there is another opinion of the right set of gear and the right way to use it... very few will be the same. If your gear works for you, enjoy it however you like.

Agreed! There is something to be said for standardization, and I think schools of thought like "DIR" are about this but the recreational dive community allows the diver to choose what is comfortable and functional for them. PADI teaches the BWRAF pre-dive buddy check. A big reason for this is to become familiar with your buddy's equipment. This is especially crucial if you or an insta-buddy have what may be considered "non-standard" equipment like AirII or weight integration requiring something more than a grab and pull.
Dive the gear that gives you maximum enjoyment because that is the entire purpose of recreational diving. Buy my book!

 

[g1138]

As an Air 2 user I have to say it is not streamline at all. It's heavy and it dangles. And to get it to reach your mouth, you need to extend the hose, more often than not. So it it isn't strapped and stowed, you have a dragging unstreamlined inflator-octo when you're horizontal.
If you want streamline go with a bungee reg around your neck. Same air share deal, just a different air source for you.

Weight integrated. Split it up. If you ever have to take off your BC underwater, you'll be shooting to the surface while you're BC stays at the bottom. Not so important in tropical locations where even a 3mm had minimal buoyancy, but for those Colorado dives you better have it split.

Tusa fins. If your having feet cramping they may be too loose on you. If it's more so your calfs that are cramping then yes you need fins with less rigidity.

Snorkel: Snorkels come in handy if you're in bad surface conditions ON the surface. Always good to have one. Not always necessary underwater....well not necessary at all actually.
Unless your in a cave and your tank ruptures and all you have is a pocket of air above you from said tank ;D.

Shears: Good place to put them, you probably won't get separated from your BC.

Mask: Given right conditions you can actually see behind you with a clear mask. Shapes and blobs are better than black if you want a wider field of view. But no mask ever gives clear peripherals.
Lots of glare in bright sunny conditions though. Not so much of that here in Monterey ;D

Other than those points I think you're good. You should definitely practice a bit more though.
Things tend to get rusty if you don't ;D

 

[g1138]

I'm curious why you would want a critique of your gear choices. They are your choices, and if you're happy with them, who cares what we think? For every diver there is another opinion of the right set of gear and the right way to use it... very few will be the same. If your gear works for you, enjoy it however you like.

Because it is what you don't know that you don't know that can hurt you.
And no I did not make a typo

 

[mountainsean]

I have nothing to critique on your rig, even though I went a little different direction when I started accumulating my kit. It sounds like you have enough stuff to take you safely in and out of the water, and already know what you want to tweak and perhaps add. I second the recommendation for the rescue course. I took it back in October with a shop here in Colorado Springs. We all learned a lot and had a great time.

Small world, I'm in the Springs area too. Was definitely looking at the Rescue course as my next one, though to be honest I wasn't really wild about my OW instruction (to be fair I only did the class & pool work at the LDS, and my check-out dives as a referral in the Caribbean). It wasn't bad, it's just that I don't think I got enough of the not-in-the-book-but-really-good-to-know-for-a-beginner info that I felt should have been included (e.g. drilling on some simple but real "what-if" or problem solving scenarios rather than just stopping with the basic skills demonstrations, etc.). Anyway, good to know you had a positive experience with the Rescue class, that motivates me to give it another look.

-Sean

 

[mountainsean]

Because it is what you don't know that you don't know that can hurt you.
And no I did not make a typo

Exactly, it was an attempt to generate some discussion not just about the specific gear, but about the reasoning behind the choices too. I'm not about to run out and replace major parts of the rig just because someone on SB said so, but I've already picked up some good tips from the discussion so far and that's exactly what I was after. That, and maybe some validation that I'm not gunna die with what I do have.

-Sean

 

[DevonDiver]

I'm curious why you would want a critique of your gear choices. They are your choices, and if you're happy with them, who cares what we think?

I won't speak for the OP, but I've always sought feedback and guidance from my peers and mentors. Fresh perspectives and the benefit of other peoples' experiences is what allows me to continually evolve and refine my diving.

 

[Guba]

(Side note...)

I don't know if it was the pre-emptive admonition of the mod early in the thread or what, but I'm impressed with the quality and timbre of the comments to this thread. The intitial post did, indeed, have a few "hot buttons", but there seems to have been an overall, general effort to keep them "cool". Way to go, SB!

Now THIS is what a discussion forum is supposed to be!

(Ok, now on with the thread.)

 

[Blackwood]

Thanks Devon, I was wondering about that. If it takes more than 1 breath (i.e. in shallow water) then you also have to adjust your buoyancy presumably

Naw. When that first breath goes in, your net buoyancy change will be zero (all the air went from your lungs to the SMB). Inhale (now you have positive buoyancy), blow, let go (now you have negative buoyancy), resume normal breathing. Unless you dawdle you'll be fine. No need to feel rushed.

<(note, I'm assuming a reasonably sized SMB like this; I don't know about the DAN one.>

 

[fjpatrum]

Because it is what you don't know that you don't know that can hurt you.
And no I did not make a typo

I'll respectfully disagree, especially when it comes to gear choice. It's all personal preference unless there has been some sort of recall on a piece of equipment for safety purposes.

I understand the "you don't know what you don't know" mentality, but let's face it, equipment generally isn't what gets people killed or in a bad situation while diving. It's generally carelessness, or "over reaching" beyond our skill level, which is a form of carelessness, or medical issues that have nothing to do with equipment.

What reg you use, for example, won't matter unless you're diving very cold (sub 40 F) water. What fins you use certainly won't matter and the whole argument about splits versus paddles is frankly silly. If you're in conditions likely to cause a silt use paddles, otherwise use whatever you like. I suppose there could be something about a particular reel that might make it a bad gear choice, but I suspect you'd find just as many "it's fine" answers as "you're gonna die" just like most gear arguments. Modern SCUBA equipment is there for a reason... because someone wants to buy it. There is no "universally useless" or "universally great" individual piece or brand of gear.

I won't speak for the OP, but I've always sought feedback and guidance from my peers and mentors. Fresh perspectives and the benefit of other peoples' experiences is what allows me to continually evolve and refine my diving.

That makes complete sense to me and I try to do the same in many situations. Maybe I just didn't read the original post the right way, but I got more a vibe of "I'm new, validate me" that I never understand. Perhaps I'm bringing my own issues to the discussion?