Garbage that you get for being DIR, or semi-DIR

[JDostal]

Or, you could all just take the opinion that I do, and compare arguing about scuba configs with arguing on the internet...

Not sure if anyone here has heard the joke or not, but look it up sometime. The punchline probably isn't suited for this thread.

The moral of the story is, don't get all worked up about it. Just dive.

 

[ScoobieDooo]

Hey, take it with a grain of salt. While not all DIR I certainly am moving in that direction. What I find the most refreshing about DIR is skills, skills, attitude and physical fitness. And practice, practice.

I had many divers say to me "Oh, you wanna be a techie, eh?" because I dive a BP, wings and the long hose. Not true as we know - this rig works for all kinds of diving.

Just keep diving safe and have fun...eventually, they come around.

 

[Uncle Pug]

newly minted DIR divers.... whether the internet trained variety or the newly DIRf'd usually have their mouth in front of their skills and that in and of itself is a huge snag hazard.

Better not to say anything and just learn to do... as several posters have already mentioned.

That said... I have never had anyone give me grief though I have had a few comments like, "Wow, where is your BC?" (deflated 27# wing on an LP 104 doesn't look like much.)

So far none of the comments were at all derisive... more along the lines of serious inquiry.

When they ask you what you were doing swimming backwards facing them while they tried to keep up with their split fins... you can tell them a thing or two.

Until then... chill.

 

[ZoCrowes255]

Well it is an unusual gear setup for most people to encounter. I know that when I first encountered a DIR-like setup I was a little thrown off. I was more curious than anything else. Cut your average REC diver some slack (as long as they don't do anything blatently stupid like have an unclipped computer and are crawling over the reef)

 

[WillAbbott]

ZoCrowes255 once bubbled...
Well it is an unusual gear setup for most people to encounter. I know that when I first encountered a DIR-like setup I was a little thrown off. I was more curious than anything else. Cut your average REC diver some slack (as long as they don't do anything blatently stupid like have an unclipped computer and are crawling over the reef)

Well first off, seems like I started a hot topic...hehe, I don't do that often (not that I was trying )

But it's funny you mention "stroke" the way you do... up until a few days ago I was under the impression a stroke was anyone not DIR, but I found an article written by Irvine, which explains what a "stroke" is, and after reading it, basically it's an unsafe diver, it doesn't really related to gear at all according to the article, but the attitude of the diver... in fact he says "strokes" can be natural, but more often they are "created" by instructors and such... Put simply it's someone you don't want to dive with because of thier attitude, etc. So it's interesting you brought that up, because I thought a "stroke" was any non DIR diver... though I belive it has changed to that a little more lately... but this article by Irvine states it's pretty much the attitude, etc of the diver... so yes, according to it, it's possible to dive 100% NON-DIR and not be a stroke... which I feel most divers I dive with are that way...for the most part. The ones who seem to be oblivious to me (thier buddy) and it's MY job to stay with them, are more "stroke" like, etc.

My best buddy, the one who has given me grief lately about the valve drill (which we've finnaly dropped I think) is far from a stroke.

Also on another side note, I realized him and I have NEVER done an OOA drill or any drills for that fact (which I feel they should be done at least at the beggining of a day of diving) and I e-mailed him and mentioned it... Of course he came back with something like "your right, shame on us, we will do it next time we dive" For all he knew I could be so bad at OOA drills that I couldn't get him my backup if he needed it... course from his perspective he probably would "never need" my back up because he has a "pony" bottle... which he sorta wants me to get one, which IF I did would be a 40cf rigged as a stage, so if I got into DECO diving someday I could convert it to a Deco bottle, of course he says you could get a smaller bottle and convert it to an argon bottle later, but a back mounted pony is a no-no....

Anyways... Thanks again for the help, I deffinately feel better about it, and I don't ever critisize others, I do keep my mouth shut until someone asks me about it... I have a feeling my Rescue Class in about 4weeks is going to be interesting with my long hose, and BP/Wings, the instructor shouldn't cause me much if any flack, but I bet I get a few questions from fellow students and maybe some DM's.

<edit> Whoops, I guess a link to the article might be good, huh? http://www.pina3.net/dive/stroke.htm </edit>

Bah you edited your post? I liked it before...hehe

Don't remind me of the diver dragging the computer over the reef... UGH!, I don't know HOW many dives she had, but I'm sure it's well over 100-200 dives, and her back up and computer both drug behind her, on our Saftey Stop swim, at the end of the dive, we swam through some grasses, as I swam behind her, I kept reaching forward to pull the grass off her back up... ;-0 I mean, DANG if I ran out of air at that point, it would take me too long to find her regulator, and then clean all the grass and crap off it... not to mention the $900computer dragging along the rocks, thank goodness there was no coral or anything here to ruin, but the computer must only last her about 10 dives before needing a new face shield at the least.

 

[Lead_carrier]

WillAbbott once bubbled...
Well, I've started getting junk from other divers for being somewhat DIR... and I must say it's really annoying...

Ack... I guess this thread is more of a rant, and needing to blow off some steam, and I'm sorry... I just find it agrivating that I do ALL this research on this board, and DIR related sites and such, in a struggle to dive safely and better (though maybe not 100% DIR per se) and find divers/buddies who have dove longer than I and give me grief about the DIR type things I am trying to lean or do (granted I need to take the DIR-F class, and hopefully I can this summer) or find buddies I don't like diving with

I can understand the flak you get but unfortunately the only DIR divers that I have run into more than hold their on on giving flak. I have picked up a lot of info from the board and watching other divers, both DIR and not. I choose not to go totally DIR. Does than make me any less of a person or diver? According to some it does. I have been told but newbie DIR divers that the diving skills of a beached whale. If I wasn't DIR and using bp/wings I had no business in the water and they would never use me as a dive buddy. After seeing their skills I said a silent little thank you prayer.

Yes, I 'm sure you get plenty of flak for being DIR. I get if for not. If I choose to dive a bit different, let me. Just because I'm not DIR that doesn't mean I'll DIE.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Lead_carrier once bubbled...


I can understand the flak you get but unfortunately the only DIR divers that I have run into more than hold their on on giving flak. I have picked up a lot of info from the board and watching other divers, both DIR and not. I choose not to go totally DIR. Does than make me any less of a person or diver? According to some it does. I have been told but newbie DIR divers that the diving skills of a beached whale. If I wasn't DIR and using bp/wings I had no business in the water and they would never use me as a dive buddy. After seeing their skills I said a silent little thank you prayer.

Yes, I 'm sure you get plenty of flak for being DIR. I get if for not. If I choose to dive a bit different, let me. Just because I'm not DIR that doesn't mean I'll DIE.

For the record...

The few GUE trained divers that I have met in person don't bother anyone or tell them how to dive. The exception would be some of the new ones who let their mouth run away even though they can't back it up with anything. I usually chalk it up to enthusiasm and let it go. There are exceptions. Of course this isn't unique to DIR it's a people thing I guess.

 

[victoriawtx]

and I have recently been bombarded with similar (RUDE!!) comments.

I am also a relatively new diver, and after much thought and consideration, and with the guidance of another member of SB, I chose to purchase a Halcyon BP/W set-up. From the time I placed my order, to the time I received it, I have been constantly verbally confronted about my choice when I talk to other divers in my area. I felt like I immediately had to be on the defensive, and it really caught me off guard. LOL

At first I was totally shocked by this behavior. I felt like an outcast, received wierd side-looks, and everyone imaginable tried diligently to persuade me to 'sell the thing'. I was told ridiculous things from 'you are too petite to use a BP, it would be too heavy for you' and 'some DIR divers must've gotten ahold of you and brainwashed you, poor thing'. On and on. I can tell you stories! LOL

Finally, I realized that discussing this issue with other divers was causing me constant grief, so I indicated that I was still picking out my equipment. And at that time, the other person would go on about jacket BCs, and I would just smile and nod.

It is a shame that most of these people I spoke to were much more experienced divers than myself, and yet appeared so uneducated in the options available. From all the criticism I have received, it has just made me even more determined to learn more about DIR. I am a bit stubborn that way, and I didn't much appreciate many LDS men telling me that I was 'too small' to handle a BP. PLEASE. LOL

Sorry for adding my ranting also to the thread, it was just so nice to see that my experiences have not be unusual. It's great that we have this board, and the wonderful people here to understand and support our choices in diving.

 

[Doof]

I, too, am on the path to becoming a DIR convert. Not sure if I'll ever go completely DIR or not, although I think, for the most part, I will. There's still some confusion in my mind about the DIR "cult" or "attitude" regarding diving with non DIR divers.

Does being DIR mean you can't dive with non DIR divers? If so, then I'll probably never be DIR.

But as far as the equipment goes... I was talking to a guy about a month back about setting up some dives, and he asked me what kind of equipment I dove. As soon as I mentioned BP\wing, he went kind of pale and very tentatively asked me if I was a DIR diver. I told him I was moving towards a DIR rig, but without the attitude. He immediately brightened up, grinned from ear to ear and shook my hand!

There seems to be a lot of finger pointing on both sides of this fence. Each side has people insisting that the other is the problem. I think, that like all things, it's individuals that cause problems, not entire groups.

Me... I just want to dive.

 

[Arnaud]

I was using Quatros and my buddies all have split fins. Each time I would put on the Quatros, they would try to convince me to switch to the split fins.

The peer pressure got even worst when I switched to the Turtles. I just said: "I want to try these out. I've read a good things about them".

We swam for 10-15 minutes at the surface on our back. I was faster than anyone else with much less efforts. The BP/W obviously had something to do with it as well. The only question I got after the dive was "what's that brand of yours, again?"

Seems to me that any reasonable person should see the benefits of the DIR configuration if they have an opportunity to judge it for themselves, just like I did. And I'm hoping that, after they see the overall benefits (i.e., not only the gear), they will be even more convinced. But I still have a lot of work to do. Upgrading gear is the easy part.