Equipment for DIR-F Class

[O.M.O.H.]

Hi,

I really like the GUE techniques and phylosophy. Especially propulsion, bouyancy, team approach, etc. and I would like to take a Dir-F class sometime this summer.

I currently dive a Deepoutdoors 55lbs wing with DeepOutdoors Matrix harness. (Black Fusion II System). Would my Deep Outdoors system setup be allowed in the class, or do i have to buy all new equipment, including reg's lights, regulators, etc as class prerequisites? I understand i could rent most of it, but still.


Thanks!

 

[Bismark]

Take a look at the GUE website and read the bit about the gear you need under the Fundamentals course. You need a solid backplate with a continuous weave harness but I am not familiar with the Deep Outdoors Matrix harness. Sounds like something more than a continuous weave harness though. You don't say what type of regs you have or lights so I can't comment on that. If you don't get your answers from the GUE website, email your prospective instructor directly and ask him what you need. By the size of the wing it looks like you are taking the course in doubles?? A lot of us on SB will be able to tell you more if you give us an exhaustive list of your equipment. Good look in the course.

 

[Bismark]

Okay, so I looked at the Deep outdoors Matrix system and that won't work. Sorry to say but it won't be allowed in the class. You need a simple solid back plate with a continuous weave harness with two shoulder d-rings, one left hip d-ring and a single waist band buckle and a crotch strap. No quick releases or sternum straps. This is the very simplest set up you can imagine and will be what you use for all your GUE training and diving. It also happens to be the least expensive set up you can get and the only thing that can wear out is $15 worth of webbing material.

 

[TSandM]

I believe you can still take Fundies in a single tank and without a canister light. You do have to have a long hose/bungied backup configuration, but you can use your existing regulator and just change the hoses, which is a pretty cheap adjustment.

Your 55 lb wing is a good size for steel doubles, but it will be criticized if you are using it for single tank diving, because it is almost certainly too big, and that leads to venting problems.

The best way to sort out what you need for Fundies is to contact the instructor you are considering taking the class with and talk to him about what you have, and what he will want to see changed before the class begins. There will be some equipment changes; one of the central tenets of the GUE system is gear standardization.

 

[MattL]

when you sigh up for the class thew gue web page it gives you dates and whos teching the class you can send an email to him and ask what you will need the big quston is are you going for a tech pass are a rec pass

 

[O.M.O.H.]

Thanks to all! You guys are great!

Would this be a SS or an Aluminum backplate. I know reading a book or watching a $60 DVD would give me a better insight on the equipment but at least this thread will get me on my way.

Do you think SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - Basic Harness would work? It has a grommet in the spot where you would screw on an STA or DBL bands. Or should i just go really basic and buy some 2' webbing at $1.5 a foot weave it myself and be done with it?... The only think is there will no manufacturer to blame should something go wrong with the webbing.

Thanks

Thanks

 

[O.M.O.H.]

when you sigh up for the class thew gue web page it gives you dates and whos teaching the class you can send an email to him and ask what you will need the big quston is are you going for a tech pass are a rec pass

Well most likely i will go for the rec pass because my aspirations with GUE (at least for now) lie within a need to learn proper buoyancy, propulsion, and safety and emergency technique. None other agency provides the sort of training GUE does in this regard. I really have no cave aspirations at this stage of my life. I may be still too new of a diver to have technical or cave plans for the next 2-3 of years.

 

[rainman_02]

That plate / harness would work great. So would one from DSS or Oxycheq. You need a knife pocket / knife to go on the waist belt though. And on that harness, you'd want to remove the right hip D-ring and add a crotch strap.

SS or Aluminum is up to you. You may buy one and find you need the other. If you're going to take the class, you need the book...might as well buy it for the $15 or whatever it is.

Also, check out the BAUE (BAUE Home Page) website for photos of properly set up DIR gear.

 

[TSandM]

The material of which the backplate is made is not an issue for the class. Selecting aluminum versus stainless steel is really a matter of what kind of diving you are doing, and how much ballast you want and where. If you dive locally in New York, I would imagine you have to wear a fair amount of exposure protection, and therefore a fair amount of weight, so stainless steel gives you 5 lbs of ballast on your back (at minimum) and takes it off your waist. This generally helps single tank divers get closer to correct trim (I have to add a bit more weight still on the cambands to trim out right in a single 95.)

On the other hand, if you only dive very warm water with minimal exposure protection, you might prefer a lighter plate. I use a DSS Kydex plate in warm water, because it's very light to pack, and I only have to add a little bit of weight to the cambands to be properly weighted.

So it's a matter of how much ballast you need, and where you need it to balance properly.

 

[rjack321]

Nothing to add to what you've been told so far...

Just BTW the grommet in the Dive-rite webbing is totally unnecessary. If you put on you own webbing you can just use the cam band slots (for your straps) or burn a hole in the webbing with a soldering iron (makes a clean non-fraying hole) and use a single tank adapter.