I drank the koolaid!

[desidiver]

I agree with you 100%.. which is why I could not understand what the big deal about halcyon was.

Dwayne

i do agree that sometimes getting something cheaper doesn't matter and i personally think that halcyon is over priced at times with no additional benefit. i have preferred dive rite over halycon twice now. my dry suit gaiters and canister light.

dry suit gaiters i found that halcyon were just pricey and didn't offer any additional benefit. they were just elastic straps with velcro at the end and over time i think they would get loose. dive rite on the other hand had clips with adjustable elastic straps so even if they got loose i can adjust the straps for a good fit.

with the canister light i found out that the only main difference was the way battery is connected. with halcyon there are no internal wires the connector is in the batter so it makes it lot more easier to remove and attach the battery. my dive rite can light has wires which can be little troublesome at times to attach and remove but if i am careful with it, i manage it just fine.

if you as a diver are not that careful with the gear then halcyon might be a good bet because removing and attaching the battery is easy but if you are little careful and cautious dive rite is a similar but cheaper option. so it all depends on you.

i bought it all from Hollywood Divers and they have always presented me with an alternative cheaper option when requested with all the pros and cons.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

DIR is the best thing that ever happened to [-]cave[/-] diving.

there fixed that for you

They then write reports about how much fun they had with their group of like-minded divers, but none of them can identify a single animal they saw. I question why they are even diving.

I know a thing or two about biology, and love it, but i am not going involved in scuba diving to classify every species i see. Does that make me a bad diver? So what if i just enjoy the scenery and the ecosystem instead of just species in isolation?

Most will say they took Fundies because OW training is woefully watered down. I have found that you get out of a class what you put into it. For the price of an OW class, there is no way you will get an exhaustive session of back kicks, valve drills and perfect buoyancy, however you can still learn to dive and perfect those skills as needed.

nah, most instructors are watered down too.

As George Irvine said, there are only a handfull of divers he would consider DIR.

holy crapola, dd you REALLY just invoke GI3 and summarize what he tried to say in one sentence?

The ones I see on the West Coast with scooters in open water, monkey diving and doing barrel rolls are simply playing under water. They could do the same dive in a large pool or a lake.

what isnt DIR or enjoyable about it. Also, why does it preclude species identification?

If you really want to get something out of diving and become a better diver, the best advice I can give is to dive more often and find an interest that scuba enhances, whether it's marine biology, photography or working underwater.

why exactly does a task have to be associated with diving if buddies are great, times are fun, and safe dives are had by all? Oh, it must be because DIR forces everyone to dive like they do....or maybe that is just you.

I think that a lot of basic scuba techniques can be perfected by mentorship along with lots of practice and not by having to take fancy classes (GUE, TDI, SDI, NAUI, PADI, et al).

yeah, maybe as long as the instructor/mentor isnt watered down.

 

[ligersandtions]

Wow....talk about train wreck...

It makes me very sad that someone comes on here very excited about her new purchase and the prospect of taking a DIR course....and we have to get into the whole name calling, bad feeling bullsh*t.


On that note, let's get this thread back on track.

LeeAnne, I'm so pumped for you and Charlie! I'm really excited that you came out to the DIR day to see what it was all about, got the opportunity to talk to lots of really knowledgeable people, took the time to consider your options and research the equipment, and eventually took the plunge. Adjusting the harness takes a bit of time and effort, but when you get it all squared away, it's a thing of beauty....it just kind of disappears

If you do get the opportunity to get together with Steve or Karim before setting your gear up, do ask if they could take a few minutes to help you in the right direction. It's not too difficult to set it up yourself, but there are a few things that are important....and many of us (myself included) had everything set up and still tweaked it before, during, and after classes. Hell, I'm still adjusting my doubles harness as recently as last weekend....and probably again before I dive the dubs again.

As for clipping, your SPG should be clipped to your left hip d-ring if you're not looking at it. It will take a bit of time for you to get the muscle memory down, but eventually it will come if you keep working at it....I promise! Your back-up regulator should be in a bungeed necklace below your chin for easy access. Your primary regulator (on the long hose) should be in your mouth, in your buddy's mouth, or clipped off on your right chest d-ring. If it's not in a mouth, clip it off....this is especially important on land, imo, because otherwise you're going to drop the silly thing on the ground and be bummed out about the fact that you did that

I am completely booked until the weekend of November 20th....if you want to try to get out for some shore diving that weekend, please do let me know. I imagine you and Charlie will want to get out before then and play with your new toys. If you can manage to hook up with any LIKE-MINDED () before I'm available, I'm sure they'd be able to help you with any questions. And, of course, if you have any questions, post on here or shoot me a PM.

Finally, I'm super pumped that Charlie is interested in taking a Primer class!!! It's not about being a robot, it's not about joining a cult, it's not about being better than other divers....it's about becoming a safer diver, a better buddy, and having more fun. I'm so excited that he's coming around to the idea that Primer could be a worthwhile class for him

 

[on_two_wheels]

I agree that GUE divers have less testosterone involved in their diving since they've all essentially agreed on what works best. Random divers are constantly having "discussions" about why their gear is better, split fins vs blades, etc, etc. How eliminating that aspect of diving doesn't appeal to all is a mystery.

I'm in agreement about the fun diving. I'm not a fan of scooters on random boats just because they take up unnecessary space. However, if it was that type of boat (GUE charter), then enjoy!! I don't identify everything I see, nor do I care to every time. There are those things that I occasionally want to know (sunburst starfish recently). But overall, just seeing them and moving on is fun for me!! Does it really matter to anyone else?

I did not adopt a HOG (or close to DIR) rig because I thought it was cool. I did so because I had some great mentorship and using it actually improved my diving. Furthermore, the simplistic approach appeals to me. Again, does it really matter to anyone else? I may not take a course just so I can have a label but I strive every time I'm underwater to be the best, most competent diver I can be. I ask questions from those I see with impeccable skills and absorb information like a sponge. Even that part is fun/interesting to me.

LeeAnne, now you can see why these posts are often best kept in the DIR forum. It's certainly not a local topic.

 

[fnfalman]

Well, LeeAnn, at least you reasoned out your selection of the Halcyon rig.

As for me, I was a sucker. I saw it, I tried it on and I bought it from Hollywood...at a wheeled & dealed price.

 

[scjoe]

Okay, well this thread totally did NOT go the way I was expecting it to.

And this surprises you on SB?

 

[kathydee]

The ones I see on the West Coast with scooters in open water, monkey diving and doing barrel rolls are simply playing under water. They could do the same dive in a large pool or a lake.

If you really want to get something out of diving and become a better diver, the best advice I can give is to dive more often and find an interest that scuba enhances, whether it's marine biology, photography or working underwater.

Why does one exclude the other? I've seen plenty of DIR divers engage in photography, and various forms of underwater science. The technique/skills/awareness/teamwork learned in Fundies only expands opportunity.

It's quite handy to be able to effortlessly hover, position the body wherever you want without much effort, kick without silting or impacting the environment & dive/communicate without much complication. I don't know a more efficient way to learn these basic skills than GUE-F.

I think it’s funny that so many people have opinions about training/equipment that they haven't personally experienced. How can one be an authority, or even form an educated opinion from limited passive sideline observations?

 

[Leejnd]

And this surprises you on SB?

LOL I guess it shouldn't, by now!

A couple things I want to say:

Thanks for the PM's - I promise I'll respond when I get a moment!

Thanks very much, everyone, for jumping in to defend my decision to go DIR, my gear choices, and DIR as a whole. At this point I really would like to not continue any "defenses", because I never intended to go on the "offensive" to begin with!

I know some people are irritated at Phil for his comments. I don't know if he's going to come back to this thread, but I just want to say I'm not at all upset at him. Yeah, he kinda derailed my thread (and killed my buzz for a few minutes ), but he has his viewpoint and is entitled to it. I will now respectfully request that if he, or anyone else, wants to debate the merits of DIR, GUE, UTD, Halcyon, etc, let's go start another thread for that. It's all very interesting to me - all of it, including the alternate viewpoints.

I'm not saying "ooh I want this thread to be all about ME!" I'm just saying, that wasn't intended as the topic of this thread, and given all the heaviness of the conversations I've had on SB lately (e.g. about bug hunting, and the "Drifting Dan" case), I'd kinda like to just have a thread that focuses on the joyful aspects of diving. Which, for me right now, are about my new gear, my upcoming class, the skills I'm gonna learn, and my new DIR friends. I wanna return to a focus on the FUN of it!

Meanwhile, our plan is to go back down to HWD on Friday and have them help us get set up with our new gear. We'll don our wetsuits and get some instruction in how to adjust and clip off etc. I'm more concerned about the first time I hit the water - will I remember everything? I know that Karim is going to be at Casino Pt all weekend, and has offered to spend as much time as we need getting settled with our gear (during breaks in his classes). I'm trying to talk Charlie into going out there. We'll see.

 

[Codyjp]

...
Yes, the interior bladder was a selling point. We have our own sailboat and gearing up on it can get rather challenging in our small cockpit. We discussed the possibility of dropping things on the wing - the interior bladder of the Halcyon appears less likely to be punctured should something like that happen. So that moved Halcyon up a notch for us. But that wasn't the only selling point - that was just an example. We simply liked the Halcyon gear better. We have the money - we can afford it. Why NOT buy the gear that we liked better?

...

I've done a fair bit of diving off sailboats and dingies. To say the least it is a challenge but you have to do what you have to do right! If you manage to puncture a bladder it will probably be because you drop something on it, or pinch the wing under your plate, maybe between a tank or something. What I do is just leave the wing inflated a good bit so that it will deflect whatever it is instead of getting pinched. So far so good!

Sounds like you made a great, educated choice and I'm sure you'll love it. If your interested in a local shore dive this weekend I could probably pull something off on Sunday if your interested. I can't say as I would be the best for this position but I'll do what I can!

I agree that GUE divers have less testosterone involved in their diving since they've all essentially agreed on what works best. Random divers are constantly having "discussions" about why their gear is better, split fins vs blades, etc, etc. How eliminating that aspect of diving doesn't appeal to all is a mystery.

This never really crossed my mind, but now that I think about it I think your spot on with this. It works, so what is left to debate? That is, until we start talking about which scooter is better for flips and rolls and such. Then the debate can get heated, but really that is pointless because 'playing' would't be in line with what were supposed to be doing while diving as it turns out.

Maybe these GUE divers are a bit more inline with your ideas of fun Phil.

 

[Codyjp]

LOL I guess it shouldn't, by now!

A couple things I want to say:

Thanks for the PM's - I promise I'll respond when I get a moment!

Thanks very much, everyone, for jumping in to defend my decision to go DIR, my gear choices, and DIR as a whole. At this point I really would like to not continue any "defenses", because I never intended to go on the "offensive" to begin with!

I know some people are irritated at Phil for his comments. I don't know if he's going to come back to this thread, but I just want to say I'm not at all upset at him. Yeah, he kinda derailed my thread (and killed my buzz for a few minutes ), but he has his viewpoint and is entitled to it. I will now respectfully request that if he, or anyone else, wants to debate the merits of DIR, GUE, UTD, Halcyon, etc, let's go start another thread for that. It's all very interesting to me - all of it, including the alternate viewpoints.

I'm not saying "ooh I want this thread to be all about ME!" I'm just saying, that wasn't intended as the topic of this thread, and given all the heaviness of the conversations I've had on SB lately (e.g. about bug hunting, and the "Drifting Dan" case), I'd kinda like to just have a thread that focuses on the joyful aspects of diving. Which, for me right now, are about my new gear, my upcoming class, the skills I'm gonna learn, and my new DIR friends. I wanna return to a focus on the FUN of it!

Meanwhile, our plan is to go back down to HWD on Friday and have them help us get set up with our new gear. We'll don our wetsuits and get some instruction in how to adjust and clip off etc. I'm more concerned about the first time I hit the water - will I remember everything? I know that Karim is going to be at Casino Pt all weekend, and has offered to spend as much time as we need getting settled with our gear (during breaks in his classes). I'm trying to talk Charlie into going out there. We'll see.

That would be perfect!

What you could do is practice clipping and un clipping of your SPG and reg a few dozen times each to get the muscle memory sorted out. I think most of us prefer to keep the gate (open side) facing out. Your friends, family or neighbors might think your nuts but it does help.

Otherwise, just be careful of mask flooding. When you get in for the first time your going to be smiling big, and when you do that sometimes it will flood your mask. I've got one buddy and that is my primary objective with her. Make her laugh so she floods.