DIR in Chicago?

[ppo2_diver]

2) DIR/GUE teaches teamwork, communication, planning and preparedness way beyond what PADI does... makes you a much better diver in a shorter amount of time in my opinion... I've met a few PADI or SSI dive masters and instructors that had terrible trim, planning skills, and experience...

As many people have said before, it is the instructor who makes the class. DIR is not an agency or a standard for that matter. It is an approach to diving. A good DIR minded instructor can make any PADI class very good and instill the DIR mindset. For this reason the people who show up a dive stores, plop down their money, and let any instructor teach them is gambling with the level of education they may, or may not, receive. This is why there isn't many true DIR dive stores. Consumers have a right to interview and select the best instructor for them. OK, I'm rambling now...

I agree, DIRF is a great class to take. But, if there is no GUE/UTD instructor in one's area, there maybe a good DIR instructor around. I wrote an article in my blog about DIR training. It is here: Precision Diving - What is DIR Training? | Precision Diving Blog. To me, DIR training is about maximizing a one's diving capacity. Not just teaching a few skills.

 

[robzr]

If all you want to do is warm water vacation stuff, PADI is fine. If you want to do things better, in all conditions, and manage risk / safety even better than PADI, go directly to DIR... take PADI OW but then get yourself into Fundies and stay the course for DIR/GUE... why you ask?
...
2) DIR/GUE teaches teamwork, communication, planning and preparedness way beyond what PADI does... makes you a much better diver in a shorter amount of time in my opinion... I've met a few PADI or SSI dive masters and instructors that had terrible trim, planning skills, and experience...

3) Mixed gas / technical diving... it's all in there as the Ragu commercial says... since DIR / GUE is a standardized approach to things in a logically progressive manner... it's in there... there's no separate deco, adv nitrox, trimix, adv trimix classes... it's all part and parcel of the DIR / GUE training and methodology... something that isn't widely advertised or touted as a benefit but in my mind it's a HUGE thing...

I just wanted to say, regarding the GUE classes, that may or may not be the way to go, even if you want to dive DIR. A big advantage of GUE training is that, you can "go anywhere" and meet up with another GUE diver, show them your card, and you are immediately on the same page as far as dive protocol, signalling, gasses, etc... diving locally, this is pretty much a non-advantage, I only know of 3 GUE trained divers in the Chicago area and we all know each other anyways

The classes that I took (GUEf & Tech 1) were top notch, very high quality, I learned a ton and was stressed to my limits, my confidence definitely increased, BUT there are downsides, the limitations are very conservative, the classes are expensive and you likely have to travel to take them, and you must recertify every 3 years to keep certified; otherwise you need to retake your class, so again, $$$. Because of these reasons I'm going to get cave certified in April, but I'm getting certified through NACD instead of taking Cave 1. The class is the same length (5 days), less than half the cost, I'm taking it from a hog/dir"ish" diver who has over 3100 cave dives, has done a lot of exploratory/mapping work and has a good reputation. I won't have to recertify if I take a break from cave diving or otherwise don't make my 25 cave dives in 3 years. So GUE training is great, but you have to weigh all the costs and consider alternatives as well.

Just playin devils advocate...

Rob

 

[TSandM]

As an active line-following cave tourist, it is my very strong belief that if you don't do 25 cave dives in three years (that's very few dives over a LONG period) you SHOULD have to recertify.

 

[Rainer]

And to be clear, it is NOT the case you need to redo the entire course (I asked JJ). They'd like for you to schedule a few dives with a current instructor (at your expense) and have them evaluate you. Seemed *more* than reasonable to me.

 

[robzr]

And to be clear, it is NOT the case you need to redo the entire course (I asked JJ). They'd like for you to schedule a few dives with a current instructor (at your expense) and have them evaluate you. Seemed *more* than reasonable to me.

I didn't realize that, I guess if you are pretty rusty you'd probably have to retake the class though, as it's pretty tough to pass in the first place. My GUEf instructor retook Tech 2, since he let it lapse, I was there when he retook it and I know he was sweating it (Dan MacKay seems to have a way of making you sweat )... So that is more reasonable if you have the option to just do check out dives, and I understand the reasoning behind it and I can see how that functions as quality assurance so that you know if you are diving with a similarily certified diver you are both up to date and etc... Again though, it's expensive in time and money. If you're in Chicago and you want to rent a T1 / T2 instructor (or even GUEf) you're probably going to have to fly somewhere to do it.

If you have a cert that doesn't expire, you are more in a position to use your own judgement, do smaller dives with other divers or rent an instructor at your own discretion to fill in the gaps and get back up to speed. GUEs approach is great for what it is, but for all divers it just might not be necessary. If you're in the WKPP and you have to do big dives with someone you may not have dove with before, it's a great idea. If you're hanging out on Lake Michigan doing dives with the same guys all the time (most of who aren't GUE certified), it might be overkill.

Rob