Got My DM - But I Don't Want to Dive "This Way"...

[nereas]

... If simply seeing someone else's set up is going to confuse a new diver, they probably shouldn't be diving. It's not like YOU are instructing them. Let him do his job, let you do your's. I think that instructor is just micro-managing.

The D/Ms are role models for the class. As long as they are utilizing gear that (1) they can demo with for the students and (2) that the store sells, there is no problem.

It has nothing to do with confusing the students. It is all about demonstration, which is one of the roles and responsibilities of a D/M one-on-one with students.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

You wear it just like you were taught to wear it in basic OW1.

Should you need to deploy your primary 2nd stage on a long hose to share air/gas, you simply make a curling motion with your right hand to get it around your snorkel. It's not rocket science.

You are vastly more likely to use your snorkel before or after a scuba dive than you are to share air with an OOA buddy. The snorkel is quite useful during entries, exits, and in case of emergencies at the surface.

For a beginning tech diver, I can see where this complicates things. But for anyone who has been around for a number of years, it is a piece of cake.

I would also agree with keeping things as simple as possible for beginning tech divers who are learning to dive a tech rig.

Interesting perspective ... as a tech diver, I can't imagine a possible use for a snorkel. Anything you'd use it for would be far better resolved by breathing off a second stage. And if you haven't reserved adequate gas to breathe through just about any conceivable emergency, then you've got far bigger problems than you'll ever resolve with a little plastic tube.

It's not so much a matter of complicating things as it is having a piece of gear along that you really don't need ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[nereas]

... I'd have no problem with you [read: Peter Guy] swimming on your back and keeping it in your pocket.

If it were a rocky shore entry or exit, or lots of kelp, he will however need it in his mouth while he swims on his face during his entry and exits and watches where he is going.

And if it is in his pocket, he might lose it. And then when he needs it, he won't have it.

 

[SlowRain]

And if you haven't reserved adequate gas to breathe through just about any conceivable emergency, then you've got far bigger problems than you'll ever resolve with a little plastic tube.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Totally agree....

 

[OneBrightGator]

As a DM, paid or not, you are on the "shop" side of the equation. You are participating in something that would not exist without the shop so you need to abide by their requests. Paid or unpaid, it doesn't matter. If philosophies clash, move on.

On the subject of dive shop profit... simply because a shop is not "pushing" what you favor, doesn't mean they are doing a disservice to their customer. They probably have more experience and are more familiar with the customer then you are. They are still in business for a reason, and it is not because they have screwed every customer over.

 

[perdidochas]

Interesting perspective ... as a tech diver, I can't imagine a possible use for a snorkel. Anything you'd use it for would be far better resolved by breathing off a second stage. And if you haven't reserved adequate gas to breathe through just about any conceivable emergency, then you've got far bigger problems than you'll ever resolve with a little plastic tube.

It's not so much a matter of complicating things as it is having a piece of gear along that you really don't need ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

It just depends on the type of diving you're doing. I can't imagine diving without one.

 

[El Orans]

BTW I have no problem diving a shop's gear IF they are providing it. I've got well over 12K in gear. I'm not going to buy more just to be a billboard. If I need it and the shop sells it I'll buy it there. If I don't then there should be some incentive for me to make a switch.

Agreed.

 

[jpcpat]

Quick Story here: Last year another instructor and I were teaching an O/W class. I was in a Back inflate, the other instructor was in a BP/W, and the students were in Jacket style BCDs. We went over the differences in everybody's gear. Nobody was confused. Just by comparing gear, information was passed. From a sales perspective, I think that focus on the gear helps sell it.

I'm lucky in that the shop I teach for sells great equipment, and just about everything I dive is available through the shop.

That said, when I teach in the pool, I use a jacket style that the shop sells. This was simply because I have a set of gear that I leave at the pool, and this made the most sense. When I'm going to be demonstrating every skill, I'd prefer that the students see me doing it in the same gear they are using. In other words, it's the diver, not the gear, though I do explain that my pool gear is not ideal for Northeast wreck diving.

As for the snorkel, my agency requires me to have one, and I do, in my pocket. Some people prefer to wear one, some don't. It's another opportunity to explain different preferences that people have. It's also an opportunity to explain just how strongly held opinions on the whole issue are!

Bottom line, though is that shops have to set guidelines about the issues we are discussing here. If you're not comfortable with the way the run things, you shouldn't DM for them. It shouldn't be too hard to find a shop that you are comfortable with.

Please don't stop being an active DM. DM's really make a difference with students and instructors.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

It just depends on the type of diving you're doing. I can't imagine diving without one.

I don't disagree at all ... the quote I responded to was in reference to technical diving, which is a lot different than recreational diving.

One chooses their tools appropriate to the job they plan to use them for ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

Should you need to deploy your primary 2nd stage on a long hose to share air/gas, you simply make a curling motion with your right hand to get it around your snorkel. It's not rocket science.

I got my butt kicked in Cave 1 for doing this -- it's a bad habit I've developed, and Danny quite rightly pointed out to me that you run a significant risk of having the long hose hang up on a valve behind you when you do it. And I had actually had that happen to me a couple times in Florida, while doing S-drills. It's really important NOT to push a loop of hose out behind and above your head, when you are diving doubles.