JonnieB
Contributor
I never said it was dangerous...just typical over-priced gimmicky SP kit. You won't see ANY dive pros here using it
Do I need a BC like the students wear?
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Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
I never said it was dangerous...just typical over-priced gimmicky SP kit. You won't see ANY dive pros here using it
In my years working as an instructor, I always wore something sold by the shop for which I was working. While teaching classes, I frequently pulled something from the same rental inventory as what I gave the students. For my own diving, I wore stuff the shop sold, which came at a big discount for me. After the ScubaBoard rep gave us incredible keyman pricing, I looked like a ScubaPro ad for years. Then I switched shops and had to get rid of all that stuff. Today I don't own anything ScubaPro because it has been a dozen years since I have worked for a ScubaPro shop. I was soon looking like a Hollis ad.
I left that shop in large part because the shop switched agencies and adopted the recommended marketing technique of the new agency's owner. All instructors had to purchase (at a discount) exactly the same gear from head to toe and use it whenever we were with students. It was our "scuba uniform." We were to tell our students that we had on our own chosen those items because as instructors, we wanted the very best. The real reason was that they gave the shop the very best price markup. I left before having to buy and use that gear, almost none of which I would have ever chosen on my own, and some of which I would have strongly recommended against if I had been allowed to speak truthfully.
The lesson here is simple: don't use what an instructor wears as a guide to equipment quality.
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
Did all that stuff work?
I am not sure what your question means.
Did all the equipment work? Sure. It's pretty unusual scuba equipment that doesn't work. The owner of the agency my first shop switched to, the one who recommended that all instructors wear the same gear and tell the students that they chose it because it was the best said that it really wasn't lying because the selected gear was all good, so there was no harm in it. (Our definitions of "lying" differ.)
Did the strategy sell gear? It sure did. When I was teaching tech at the second shop, a new student who had bought all his gear at my previous shop complained that he had bought all his gear there because of the high recommendations he got, and now it looked like he was going to have to replace it all. I asked him what his gear was, and after he told me the first couple of items, I stopped him and asked him to let me guess the rest. When I got them all right, he asked, "How'd you know?"
A dive shop in Sydney 'tried this on' with me some years ago, I refused to comply, finished the courses I had in progress and moved shops, 2 MD and a AI in training moved with me, I taught courses as an independent not long after and bought my first dive charter boat after moving back to Queensland.
In HK instructor receive commissions from dive shop for bringing in customers. Many beginners seek advice from his/her instructor on equipment purchase therefore..... You will not usually see instructor using crappy and old equipment because of that.
Entry level, if there is such a thing, is frown upon for quality and reliability etc etc.
SHAME.
Because your shop is stocking other brands. LOL.I never said it was dangerous...just typical over-priced gimmicky SP kit. You won't see ANY dive pros here using it
ANY true dive pros can use any bc anywhere!!!! Said a lot about the diving ability or lack of it of the pros in your shop!!
I use BP/W but will use anything eg. jacket bc when I travelled lite in Philippines and Thailand. So a amateur like myself has better skill than any pros in your shop.
Exactly. When doing pool training I use shop equipment to protect my gear from chlorine. I'll use whatever BCD is left on the rack (within reason) after making sure students have adequate/appropriate gear. It's likely the oldest, most decrepit BCD that's not quite my size but it's fine for me as an instructor. Better that students have the best stuff.
But I do have preferences and so use the gear I want when actually diving in the ocean or lakes. A quick count suggests I have gear from about 15 different manufacturers on me when I hop in the water, and another 2-3 backups in my truck. Here's the breakdown:
Reg Set: 2 different manufacturers (the SPG is the odd one out)
BPW: 2 (non-standard weight pouches, but those are same as weight pouch manufaturer), not including bolt snaps
Drysuit: 1
Undergarment bits: 2 (gloves are non-standard)
Hood: 1
Fins: Same as reg set
Mask: 1
Snorkel: 1 (not counting the non-standard keeper)
Tanks: 1, though backup tanks and pony (if used) adds 2 more
Computers: 2
Dive light: 1 (weird Amazon special ) for day light dives, add 1 more for a night dive
Pocket mask: 1 (required for instructors)
SMB: 1 (I have a different one for situations where I think I might really need to deploy it to be found)
Knife: 1
Not sure if my dry gloves are made by the same folks as the suit it self. I think not, so that's another one....
I carry a lot of my own gear when diving tropically these days, but when I do rent I don't really care what I get.
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