Diving with redundancy.

[Open Ocean Diver]

Hi Big Kahuna,

I agree with that totally!



I agree with that also. I think that diving with a pony in OW circumstances is also stigmatized by the industry.



Here again I think you are right. May I add, I don't think we both need it as you have written before regarding my diving self-reliant.



Yep, we totally agree again! Dive and Let Dive.



This is why we get along so well! We tend to think alike even though we dive differently and follow different tactics.

Here is why I dive self-reliant:

1. I gain a sense of freedom u/w. If the buddy I splash with likes to dive with the overall group, verses a single buddy, or has 100% confidence in their gear and situational awareness, then go for it! Go ahead, swim over that big bottom feature so I can't find you. I'm cool.
2. I am lazy. I don't want to hold my breath while finding my buddy if something does happen. The "security blanket" feeling that I get totally relaxes me. I enjoy that, "whatever", feeling regarding the dive group or buddy. If the buddy is a picture-perfect buddy, then I will reciprocate.
3. I am a contrarian. So many of the rules and regulations we live by are based in folklore from a bygone era. It is fun to watch and listen to attitudes and comments from others who follow the so-called paradigms, some follow these with religious fervor, either rightly or wrongly.
   1. I enjoy seeing the expressions on a DMs face at the beginning of the first dive. Then when they signal me to board the boat because they are running out of gas, or we have hit the artificial time limit for the dive. When their assumptions about me are proven wrong, I just chuckle. (I am not a gas hog)
   2. Yeah, I know, I am that jackass.
4. Some people are truly interested in learning. They ask me questions about my rig. Newbs are somewhat astonished that what they learned in OW is contradicted by their own certification agency. Or, that lady in Miami who reported me back to the DM in a loud voice on deck because I violated the rules and was solo. The DM responded: no, he is a solo diver and certified for it! I know, I am that jackass.
5. The industry will not change unless solo divers push back. The ongoing acceptance process for solo diving has taken about 18 years since SDI created the cert. We have a long ways to go. We have not finished the re-education process.

And, it's fun! Also, I like gadgets. I like tinkering with stuff (you and I are tinkerers). Example: I like my Perdix AI with its custom GF feature (even though I don't do much staged deco--I still like the setting!). Dr. Doolette wrote a good article about GFs, with Boulderjohn listed as a resource, so of course I followed his lead and had to reset my GF.

Dive and let dive! Join the revolution!!!

cheers,
m

I also like the idea of a pony bottle/security blanket feeling as I consider the pony bottle and solo diving cert. In the meantime I think I’m going to invent an electronics diver buddy line (DBL) wireless transmitter/receiver system. What do you think good idea or bad idea?

 

[The Chairman]

Should you ever move into deeper, tech, deco diving, your 40 can be put to good use with a deco gas, whereas an H-valve will end up in your bin of odds and ends.

This was true for me. The bits that turn my DIN valves into an H-valve are sitting in the junk box right by my Duoaire and mask rearview mirror. Not to sound glib, but they are solutions in search of a problem. All of these were attempts to fix problems that either didn't really exist or were ultimately solved by improving skills. That's why I say: "don't substitute more gear for training or experience." Investing in experience (more diving) and training is usually a far better approach.

Should you ever move into deeper, tech, deco diving, your 40 can be put to good use with a deco gas, whereas an H-valve will end up in your bin of odds and ends.

So can the experience you gain by slinging a 40 before you take a tech class. I learned to dive a drysuit during my Cave class. Yeah, I got lucky as I took to it like I had been diving it for years, according to my instructor, but really I was there to learn about caves and should have attempted to master that before that class. If you think you might go tech, figure out how that stage feels now, even if you don't breathe off of it.

I gain a sense of freedom u/w.

Diving should be fun. Anything that makes it more fun is a good thing.

Also, I like gadgets. I like tinkering with stuff (you and I are tinkerers). Example: I like my Perdix AI with its custom GF feature

Hmnnnn, I don't see my Shearwaters as "gadgets". I often don't wear exposure protection and I often dive without a bladder or a wing, but I always have my PDCs on my wrist. I rarely take them into the pool, unless I have the air integration on, but they are on most every dive.