Everything old is new again (My indentured servitude has begun!)

[mikeguerrero]

That is the point! He will never get to show them his strange gear that way (They sure do go through a lot of DM's that way). Even though the dive shops sells different gear, first they need to sell the customer all the dive gear that will shortly be found in the classifieds, then follow it up by selling the good stuff. (I am kidding, Wallin's is a good dive shop from what I have seen and heard, and they do offer a broad range of gear types).

Peter,

You are 100% percent correct about that statement... All my dive shop equipment except for mask and tanks found it's way back to the clasified's.

If it looked cool and had matching colors, I purchased it.

Our OW instructor was awesome, she was a Tech 1 diver, but never got to speak her word because the shop didn't sell tech equipment.

I believe and it's just my opinion that most divers hang up their equipment to dry after a few exposures to Monterey diving. Those divers would be fine in BCD type configuration. No need to learn 7ft hose etc.

However, there are those divers that find Monterey just an incredible place to dive and they keep comming back.

I find those divers can benefit from learning the configuration that makes you more streamline.

So it's great that a DM gets to see all these new divers and those that continue to come back might ask the DM, why they dive their gear.

There is no point in confusing a new diver with another set of dive gear unless they ask and are curious.

Diving is about having fun and comming back to dive. Don't want to overwhelm a newbie with too much info.

Just go out and show them a great time and let them see all the cool critters and kelp that Monterey has to offer.

 

[Hepcat62]

However, there are those divers that find Monterey just an incredible place to dive and they keep comming back.

I find those divers can benefit from learning the configuration that makes you more streamline.

Interestingly enough, the staff at Wallins has apparently been seeing an uptick in interest in "tech-style" gear, specifically Halcyon (they also carry Hollis). I'd like to believe that the good will being spread around by a lot of our extraordinarily friendly MoCal tech and tech'ish divers is really starting to have more people considering some of these alternate gear choices.

A significant portion of the new interest seems to be centered around the Halcyon cinch/Infinity setup, so I also wonder if what I have come to believe is true - that Halcyon has finally found the right balance to make a BP/W attractive as a recreational BC (to divers with no interest in "tech" training) without sacrificing the performance/reliability of the setup in any (generally) appreciable way.

 

[Hepcat62]

But you'll be dead after day 1...

I'll be surprised if the students' split fins don't kill me before my BC does. I've heard just being NEAR them results in death! :shocked2:

BTW - having put a few dives in on the BP/W, I absolutely cannot stand my Knighthawk (which I dive in the pool as my "like the students" bc) anymore. Compared to every other recreational BC I've tried, the Knighthawk is clean, "sleek", and uncluttered - I loved it dearly. Now it feels like one of those inflatable sumo suits, and it always seems to be trying desperately to escape by floating up and away from me as much as possible. Everything really IS relative...

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The eternal question is: Why don't they just start divers out from day one in the stuff that they will eventually most likely move to?

Oh wait, why don't they sell divers a crappy BP/W w/ long hose, then when they out grow that they can move up to the more advanced and better streamlined poodle jacket. It never seems to be in that order does it?

 

[kathydee]

I'll be surprised if the students' split fins don't kill me before my BC does. I've heard just being NEAR them results in death! :shocked2:

Be careful Brian!!

BTW - having put a few dives in on the BP/W, I absolutely cannot stand my Knighthawk (which I dive in the pool as my "like the students" bc) anymore. Compared to every other recreational BC I've tried, the Knighthawk is clean, "sleek", and uncluttered - I loved it dearly. Now it feels like one of those inflatable sumo suits, and it always seems to be trying desperately to escape by floating up and away from me as much as possible.

I loved my Ladyhawk too. It dove much better than the standard BC. I was so attached that I still wanted to dive it even after I bought my B/P & W.

Don gently coaxed the it away from me. After one dive in the new rig the Ladyhawk showed up on SB Classified!!!

 

[Ben_ca]

The eternal question is: Why don't they just start divers out from day one in the stuff that they will eventually most likely move to?

Oh wait, why don't they sell divers a crappy BP/W w/ long hose, then when they out grow that they can move up to the more advanced and better streamlined poodle jacket. It never seems to be in that order does it?

No point in making one sale when you can fleece a new diver many times over....

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

No point in making one sale when you can fleece a new diver many times over....

Yeah, and then LDS's can't understand why divers learn to have contempt for them.

 

[mikeguerrero]

Do you appreciate your BP/W more if you were once a BCD diver? Ask yourself that question, and see if you can answer it.

I dove the ProQD i3 for a year and half, before I finally made the jump to BP/W. I was sold more on it because of my drysuit, I wanted the air on my back, not squeezing me.

I was one of the hardest to accept change, but can honestly say it was the best change I did to diving.

 

[Hepcat62]

Well, the students are done in the pool as of this afternoon. It's amazing how much improvement they've made over just a couple of days! Next weekend we're in the ocean both days - it should be a ton of fun!

Here's hoping conditions are good so they'll get the MoCal diving bug and keep diving here...

 

[fisheater]

Hepcat62:

I'll be DMCing an OW class at the BW next weekend, too. If you get a chance, say hi. (I'll be working with Rob Haas, who teaches through Glenn's.)

It's so cool to watch a bunch of people in scuba gear walk into the water on a Saturday morning and a group of divers walk out of the water on Sunday afternoon.