DIR setup for DM certification??

[De Spook]

when i DM it is mostly for a uni club. as we already have a large cache of hire gear: jackets and 30" and 36" reg hoses, there is not a lot that we can do about changing what the students wear.

in the pool sessions i wear the same as them, so that they can emulate easily. i set the weights so that i trim horizontal in the pool and i perform all the skills and always hover just a little off the bottom. after the first session most of the students attempt to follow suit.
on the second day of pool sessions i bring in the BP and long hose, as does the instructor, and we go through the importance of buddy checks and the different styles of gear that they may come across. we also go through the pros and cons of each setup.

when we get to the open water dives, the next weekend, both the instructor and i wear BP and wing, long hoses and rig in a hogarthian style.

the students have seen it before and understand why we use it. they often have done a little more investigation themselves and have more questions. they also get to see lots of different configurations as the site we use is also the pier the boats pull into.

if i were able to afford two sets of regs and a second wing then i would probably use them in the pool. but i have seen what the chlorine does to dive gear so my main kit doesn't go into the pool.

as most of the divers in our uni club are looking for cheap gear there are a lot of BP divers. (we went out on the boat today and every diver was in BP and long hose) and we encourage all those that we teach to try out different setups to see what they want to purchase. they are all welcome to try our kits after they are certified.

I would love to see the club change the gear over to 5' hoses and bp + wings. but i don't think it will happen soon.

 

[Mortlock]

A bit off topic, but I'm curious as to the effects of chlorine on dive gear. What are its effects?

 

[bridgediver]

a "DIR" configuraton can kill you when you reach for the wrong hose in a gas change.

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I'm curious as to where the wrong hose might kill you, assuming of course that we're not talking about stages and such?

 

[Dan Gibson]

Black turns brown and eventually falls apart. Someone who has a picture should post it.

A bit off topic, but I'm curious as to the effects of chlorine on dive gear. What are its effects?

 

[ElectricZombie]

During my training period i used a jacket for the pool work with conventional hose rig so the skills could be performed in a nice PADI way without any confusion to the students.

There is no confusion with a standard BP/wing and long hose setup...everything is right where it should be and more importantly, it works. I wouldn't be worried about doing anything the PADI way, just the right way.

Having a B/p wing can also be a pain in pool work where a lot of time is spent bobbing around on the surface explaining and talking over skills. Also a conventional rig is less threatening to new divers.

It's just the opposite. A BP/wing is more comfortable on the surface because it does not ride up on the diver and limit their vision. A new diver isn't going to be any more threatened by a BP/wing than an ill fitting jacket BC with a bunch of junk attached to it. A new diver will likely prefer the BP/wing due to it's clean and streamlined nature...less bulk, less clutter.

Most of my roles as a DM is often leading newly certified or not so confident divers. As such one of the biggest problems usually for first dive of the weekend is getting the weighting right, yeah they should know, but there is always one. So i make sure my B/P or my transpac has some pocket space on it for extra weights, usualy one or two spares to pass out or possibly but not often to take off them..

Get the weighting issues settled before you start carrying a bunch of extra weight.

As a DM you need to be comfortable diving what you are happy with, and that you can easily control. You may not be able to perform a nice DIR horizontal ascent with someone who has spooked themselves and need to be able to adapt. .

That's why I dive a BP/wing. Hmmmm, none of my students get spooked.

You may think you are a good diver, but helping to teach that ability to others is a different skill set and not everyone is learning to dive as a first step to buying a shed load of gear.

That's exactly why a BP/wing is a great choice. Beginning divers can buy a simple BP/wing setup and be done with it. There is no need for the random, "flavor of the month" crap sold at the LDS.

They just want to be able to dive, and seeing you hovering in perfect trim in B/P wing is not going to help them in a rental jacket.

Who says they have to be in a jacket BC? Why not have them in a BP/wing?

Students come to me to teach them to dive. I can give all the lectures about dive safety and gear selection I want, but if they see me diving some poorly thought out rig while not paying attention to my bouyancy and trim, I am setting a horrible example. Even if a student were in a jacket BC, is that any reason to disregard proper trim and bouyancy? Just because these people are new to diving doesn't mean that you can get away with sloppy skills just because they don't know any better; it's just the opposite. The commitment to doing things properly doesn't change just because you are teaching students. What's the point of starting divers out on the wrong foot?

 

[voop]

Mike, Sean...

I know "why" the DM's are asked to wear shop equipment. Where I think it's extremely silly however is that if I am a DM candidate taking a class...during which time I am basically an unpaid employee of the shop and a student myself...why would I be required to be a swimming advertisement of the shops latest and greatest gear? It's not in my top 10 reasons to take the class to get additional sales and marketing experience. If I want to take a DM class simply to broaden my horizons or to work on a diveboat etc., then why is it a requirement of a class I'm taking as a student that I spend a huge chunk of my time and effort to work as someone else's sales department?

Well, you don't have to. There's an easy solution: take your training from an independant instructor or diver training center, which doesn't also double as a gear-sales-shop. That way, the only heat you're going to get is if you can't perform the skills as required. There are some such training facilities (probably not a lot) -- I know of a few succesfull ones in Europe, but I do not know the overseas marked at all. Still, I would be surprised if there weren't training-only facilities on the far side of the pond as well.