First PADI Recreational Backmount Doubles Certification Issued

[divezonescuba]

The possibly first ever PADI recreational backmount doubles certification was completed this weekend. This recently approved course was developed to allow recreational divers to learn how to safely dive with more breathing gas and with redundant safety systems, more commonly only found in technical diving.

 

[tursiops]

(Why is this in the Texas Forum, instead of something more appropriate?)
Presumably a Distinctive Specialty?
What is in the IM; can you share?

 

[jstreetley]

Is it independent doubles? There is definitely a twinset specialty that's available at quite a few places in the UK.

 

[divezonescuba]

Here in the US, independent doubles do not have the same level of acceptance as in Europe. This course is designed for recreational use of backmount manifolded doubles. Doubles in europe and in particularly the UK also have much more recreational use than here in the US. As a result there are some divers in the US who are not technically trained to use backmount doubles, but recreationally dive them anyway without any training whatsoever.

The use of non-technical backmount doubles is so small that I have been on several recreational boats where the crew has never even seen a set of manifolded doubles. Similarly, many non-technically oriented diveshops have never filled a set of manifolded doubles. I find that these shops sometimes close the isolator valve and fill only one tank.

This kind of came to a head this last year when we were told that an egyptian safari liveaboard boat would allow divers who were not certified to dive with backmount doubles to dive backmount doubles. If you wanted to dive sidemount with 2 tanks, you had to be certified for sidemount. But because there was no PADI recreational certification to dive backmount doubles, you did not need to have any certification to dive doubles. We thought that this created a potentially unsafe situation.

Having said that, I personally use independent backmount doubles on trips anytime I cannot obtain a set of manifolded doubles or when manifolded doubles are too inconvenient or expensive to obtain. In some places such as Bonaire, the cost of using manifolded doubles is twice that of using independent backmounted doubles. You could actually come close to buying a set of used doubles if your trip was two weeks long.

One of the other independent doubles applications here in the US is boat diving situations where it is dangerous to move the set of manifolded doubles from the dock to the boat due to the tide. I dislocated my shoulder once, when the crew attempted to lift me up by the arms while I was getting on the dock with a set of doubles. I would imagine in the UK, the tides present an even more difficult situation.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Is this a distinctive specialty or a standard one?

That said, I find doubles has its place in recreational diving, not for extending dive times, but not having to switch out tanks when you are boat diving locally. Plus you always have redundancy.

 

[Cap335]

I have always found it amusing that the people that hated the idea of independent doubles are the same people that love sidemount

 

[divezonescuba]

Same here.

 

[divezonescuba]

Is this a distinctive specialty or a standard one?

Currently, the course is a distinctive specialty.

The lengthy 4 month process thru which the original instructor outline was developed and the rigorous review and modifications required by the PADI technical diving course evaluator, would leave me to think that any qualified instructor could get it approved from themselves.

I see it eventually going the way of the full face mask, solo diver, and other courses which started out as a distinctive specialty and then progressing after a number of years to a normal recreational specialty. All of the distinctive specialties that I used to have are now regular courses.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Currently, the course is a distinctive specialty.

The lengthy 4 month process thru which the original instructor outline was developed and the rigorous review and modifications required by the PADI technical diving course evaluator, would leave me to think that any qualified instructor could get it approved from themselves.

I see it eventually going the way of the full face mask, solo diver, and other courses which started out as a distinctive specialty and then progressing after a number of years to a normal recreational specialty. All of the distinctive specialties that I used to have are now regular courses.

Did you also write a student manual?

 

[loosenit2]

What, as the course creator, is the advantage of going this route rather than creating an intro to tech course comparable to other agencies? Presumably this Recreational doubles courses covers the same things, equipment setup and use, valve drills, s-drills, emergency procedures, buoyancy and trim differences, maybe gas planning. I can see an advantage of perhaps a name, where having tec in the name might scare some folks off, but what other reasons drove you to create this distinctive specialty (aside from the Egyptian example you give above)?