I tasted the Kool Aide and it didnt agree with me

[Divin'Papaw]

They all dive deep air.

Maybe if Chatterton wasn't diving air all the time he would have identified the wreck correctly and Gentile wouldn't have had to write a book to set the record straight.

They dove deep air when that was all they had. All of them went to other air mixes when they became available and use them when they make sense. That is key. Mixed gases are a tool, as are rebreathers, and they use them when they're appropriate for the tasks at hand. To insinuate that only DIR divers achieve amazing things in technical diving is just plain ignorance or arrogance or most likely both.

 

[Thalassamania]

Sometimes I feel that the anti-deep air claque is less motivated by questions of performance and safety (which I acknowledge as real) than it is by much older human traditions such as [SIZE=-1]potlatch[/SIZE] or the dietary restrictions of [SIZE=-1]Leviticus[/SIZE].

 

[deepstops]

You crack me up. Non-DIR diver = ditch digger. You just can't help but look for a fight. So I guess Gary Gentile, John Chatterton, Brett Gilliam ... I could go on ... are all ditch diggers?

Compared to JJ, CMac, GI3, and the rest of the boys, yeah
You take your "best of the best" and I'll take my "best of the best".


Hey Carribeandiver (you know that's mis-spelled, right??) - do you wanna sell your backplate and wing??

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Compared to JJ, CMac, GI3, and the rest of the boys, yeah
You take your "best of the best" and I'll take my "best of the best".

This isn't a "my daddy can beat up your daddy" argument for crying out loud. The GUE/DIR folks are amazing explorers and have achieved numerous remarkable accomplishments. I'm in no way belittling that. But long before GUE and DIR, there were divers pushing the boundaries of exploration. To boil this down to an argument that all true technical exploration diving is now GUE/DIR or it just isn't worthy ("ditch diggers") is just plain crap.

 

[Caver95]

This is kind of like winning a gold medal in the special olympics.

 

[RTodd]

Have you actually ever tried a 40" hose without a swivel? Puts the reg in a very awkward position. Most divers (DIR included) add a swivel if they use this config (note "if"). Just add one with NO known failures (e.g. Atomic or KM). Come on now, I know you've only gone through GUE-F, but they did teach you to be a thinking diver, no?

It appears that the term "thinking diver" has now replaced "personal preference." Swivels are an unnecesary failure point, an elbow is an acceptable way to use a 40" but swivels were never acceptable.

 

[RTodd]

You crack me up. Non-DIR diver = ditch digger. You just can't help but look for a fight. So I guess Gary Gentile, John Chatterton, Brett Gilliam ... I could go on ... are all ditch diggers?

TS&M, I realize this is singificantly before your time. But, lists of people that include participants in the infamous Wha Wha deep air dives are probably inappropriate in the DIR forum.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

TS&M, I realize this is singificantly before your time. But, lists of people that include participants in the infamous Wha Wha deep air dives are probably inappropriate in the DIR forum.

(COMMENTS REMOVED VOLUNTARILY) ... Never mind ... I surrender!!!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

TS&M, I realize this is singificantly before your time. But, lists of people that include participants in the infamous Wha Wha deep air dives are probably inappropriate in the DIR forum.

Why are you addressing these comments to TSandM?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[JeffG]

Why are you addressing these comments to TSandM?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

She is pretty much the appointed mod for DIRness. (Her and that other guy...whats his name)