Question Do you prefer someone help you set up your gear, or do you prefer setting up by yourself?

[Tracy]

I would love it if somebody would set up my gear for me. That sounds amazing. I don't see it happening, but I would like it.
I often have students pack and build my rebreather for me during classes. That is getting close.

 

[jonhall]

do you prefer someone "help you set up" your gear, or do you prefer set up by yourself?

I don't need help, but:

If the dive op either takes my gear ahead of the first dive or keeps my gear for multiple days of diving, I'm okay that they set up as much as they can. I have to attach my computer (a console) so I check everything anyway.

In rare cases when I've carried my gear onto the boat and the DM said they would set it up, I keep an eye on what they do. If they just offer to "help", I say no thanks, I'll do it - but after that first dive, I'm happy to let them do all the work - getting older, I need to rest and have a snack!!

 

[TMHeimer]

Now, if the question was "Do you prefer someone help you wash up your gear, or do you prefer washing it by yourself?"... I have been trying to teach wife and kids to wash their own gear but somehow, they refuse to learn.

The most sympathy that I get is that they are willing to watch the hose filling the cleaning tank while I go back and forth to the car to fetch all the scuba sets. Makes you wonder why some choose solo diving path

An OW student once paid me $20 (the going shop rate) to rinse his gear. I'd never pay someone to do that., and certainly not $20.

 

[Centrals]

It is more or less standard practice in SE Asia.
I do not mind the crew setting up my equipment(private or rental) but I will double check it.

 

[the_jaguar]

I do it for myself and my wife (at least 50% of the times), both the setup and tear down. We always take a few breaths before getting into the water and do a quick buddy check of the cylinder valve before descent.

At times, if the crew wants to set it up, I let them do it, but cross check everything before the dive.

 

[seansrs36]

Even though I use open circuit I would prefer to set up my own. You will arrange things the way you like them.

 

[Lorenzoid]

From the replies so far, I am getting the impression most of us prefer to set up our own gear. I wonder if we are seeing another example of SB'ers not representing the typical diver worldwide.

 

[Jai Bar]

From the replies so far, I am getting the impression most of us prefer to set up our own gear. I wonder if we are seeing another example of SB'ers not representing the typical diver worldwide.

Maybe it has nothing to do with SB'ers but with the fact that your life depends on your diving gear, why on the ocean would you trust it to a stranger, who can be unfamiliar with your gear?

 

[Searcaigh]

I worked at a dive center where the owner would have the staff get his gear, setup his twinset, etc and then leave his **** for the staff to clean and put away. Then he would complain about how it was put away.

No surprise about that

 

[boulderjohn]

In the OW class, students are supposed to set up gear 5 times during the pool sessions, so by they should have it pretty much down by the end of that part of the class. I figure that if they can do it, the employees who do it every day should have a pretty good idea of how it is done. Most of my diving does not involve such employees, so I do it myself, but on the occasions I am in such an environment, I let them do it and just check it over myself.

As for the end of a trip, I spent two weeks in the Philippines at two sister resorts (Atlantis), and at the end of the Puerto Galera stay, the DM said he would clean my gear in preparation of the transfer to the other resort. I happened to have wandered into the area when he did it, and I watched him doing it without him knowing I was there. I am sure my gear was never before ever cleaned as thoroughly as he did it.