DM (PADI) Equipment swap with buddy breathing

[scarefaceDM]

Found it easy to do as long as you took your time and both wear weight belts...integrated BC's are a pain..but if you plan it before hand make sure your buddy wears a weight belt instead of the integrated weight.

I never had to switch my gear under water with anyone again...now that was a useless skill to master...really was more for comical relief than anything else.

 

[iztok]

When I was observing one this past Saturday what I saw is a lot of stress in two divers. Perhaps part of it is to help you deal with stress?

 

[scarefaceDM]

There are/will be other ways you will learn to manage stress. I personally found that skill test a joke more than anything else. Yes there was a stress level and frustration...but that is nothing compared to handling a panicked diver in real life situations....Trust me you will not want to remove any of your gear

 

[DBailey]

When I was observing one this past Saturday what I saw is a lot of stress in two divers. Perhaps part of it is to help you deal with stress?

That is the whole reason for it.

Plain and simple...as long as you have air, you can solve ANY scuba situation underwater.

 

[DBailey]

I never had to switch my gear under water with anyone again...now that was a useless skill to master...really was more for comical relief than anything else.

That is why I avoid calling it a skill. It is an exercise. There is no mastery of this exercise.

 

[Walter]

It builds confidence.

 

[scarefaceDM]

I does deal with stress, it does build some confidence. It was more of exercise than skill. All true.

I just found it comical and found other means of building my confidence up besides switching my gear around with someone else. Like diving in various, low vis conditions, for one. Found other ways to manage my stress levels. Like preparing and managing my diving better. And seeking out high skill sets to master my diving. I am still looking for that..

But I still have not found a reason to use a snorkel for diving....

 

[Pearldiver07]

When I was observing one this past Saturday what I saw is a lot of stress in two divers. Perhaps part of it is to help you deal with stress?

It is supposed to expose you to dealing with issues without letting stress overwhelm you.

If you get ahead of yourself, and start worrying more about the gear switch, you'll lose situational awareness, and get behind on your breathing. This perceived shortfall will often cause a heightened sense of anxiety if you're not prepared to deal with a situation under water.

Take the clues from this seriously. If you stress heavily during this exercise, you should seriously evaluate your readiness to be taking care of uncertified divers during training. Not because of anything in you do or don't do, but more reflecting your personal level of comfort in the water.

 

[Walter]

If you stress heavily during this exercise, you should seriously evaluate your readiness to be taking care of uncertified divers during training.

If you stress heavily during this exercise, you should seriously evaluate your readiness to be diving.

 

[iztok]

If you stress heavily during this exercise, you should seriously evaluate your readiness to be diving.

I don't stress heavily. But I do have a little anxiety every time I try something I have never done before. (Not only related to diving.)

In diving I try to picture it in my mind and figure ahead of time how to deal with certain event/situation. Sometimes solution or method is clear, sometimes not, but most of the time I also ask someone with more experience about it. Because even if solution/method seems clear that doesn't mean there is no better or easier solution/method out there based on real life experience.

For me asking this at SB was part of my planning stage. (You know, plan the dive, dive the plan.)

Thanks for all the answers. This is very helpful group.

For now I finished first review, observed 2 classes run by my instructor and DMs and did first 3 tests (400y swim - 1pt, 15/2min tread -5pts, 800y snorkel - 3pts - missed last one by a second for 4pts). I am progressing faster than I thought as it worked out with my work schedule.