DIR- GUE Importance of doffing/donning bp&w in water?

[PfcAJ]

People can't think of a reason to put your scuba gear on underwater? Seriously? What if you have a leak and want to see what it looks like? What if you get tangled and need to remove the unit to get untangled? Do you then just carry the tank(s) in your hands to the surface?

I have no good experience doing it with a dry suit and dealing with the inflator, but if I were diving that rig, I would figure it out. I am absolutely amazed at some of the opinions expressed above. People perseverate over perfecting their trim, being able to swim backwards, propelling themselves slowly like a primitive amphibian, but feel that being able to put their tank back on underwater is such an unimaginably rare event that it should be ignored?

There’s really no reason to take it off underwater.

Leak? It’s either fixable by your buddy or the dive is over. There’s no need to look at. There’s no additional information to be gained. Shits broke or it ain’t.

Entanglement? There’s nothin back there to get entangled except the manifold, and you can reach it as-is. Also, buddy. God knows I’ve snagged a manifold plenty of times. Stop. Feel. Remove the line. Easy.

A lot of the “reasons” to take off your gear are made up and don’t withstand scrutiny.

If you take your gear off when wearing a drysuit, you’re REALLY risking getting separated from your kit. That will not end well.

 

[elgoog]

Can you give an example or two? I'm having difficulty coming up with any scenario where you would enter the water without your rig on. I suppose I have heard of Mexican cenotes where it's common to lower one's gear into the water by rope, climb down, and don it on the surface (though that sounds like a good argument for sidemount).

I had forgotten about this dive but we did exactly this. The path to the water was essentially through a field saturated with cow poop and then a pretty gnarly scramble down a slope covered in slick tree roots. I was the only diver in backmount doubles and drysuit; buddy and guide were in sidemount.
I used the deployed longhose to breathe off of on the surface while I got into the rig - buddies helped hand stuff, keep straps open, etc.

My dive log has the name for this cenote as Xoch


Natalie and sherpa lowering tanks down


Yours truly trying not to fall into cow poop

 

[larsdennert]

Have you tried putting it on in overhead manner? Put it upside down ie regs facing down harness towards you. Organize everything and then stick your arms through the harness grabbing the wing. Flip the rig over your head swimming under it like putting on a shirt over your head.

 

[FF / EMT]

It is just not possible with a drysuit and doubles.

This is inaccurate, you can certainly get under in a drysuit without having weight on,

There is usually no weigth on the diver, because the doubles are heavy enough.
If you remove them you are extremely positive because of the drysuit. And the doubles extremely negative. If you put more air in the wing to make the doubles less negative you shoot up.

With mono and weigth belt, yes its possible.
The whole DIR/gue system is well constructed. If they dont see a rig removement as a necessary skill, then there is probably the reason for it.

 

[Joneill]

Like underwater? Yeah there’s about zero reason to do that.

On the surface? Yes.

A DM I know has a bad back and it’s easier for her to don and doff her BC in the water (on the surface) - this is on boat dives.

 

[Searcaigh]

During my IANTD Trimix training doffing and donning a twinset on the surface and UW was part of two courses (ART and Normoxic).

Pulling twinset overhead is not that difficult.

If wearing a drysuit UW, then vent the suit first to mitigate any buoyancy issues. Stages / deco bottles were not worn during that exercise.

 

[kensuf]

Can you give an example or two? I'm having difficulty coming up with any scenario where you would enter the water without your rig on. I suppose I have heard of Mexican cenotes where it's common to lower one's gear into the water by rope, climb down, and don it on the surface (though that sounds like a good argument for sidemount). Others? Whatever it might be, it can't be all that common.

Yesterday I was at Little River and during a bubble check we noticed I had a HP hose fail. The water is over the bottom of the stairs, standing next to the walkway you're waist deep in water. Option 1: Walk my double 104s up the stairs to deal with the issue. Option 2: Remove my doubles on the surface of the water, take the reg off while they float and walk up the stairs to deal with the issue.

There was a place I dove a few times in the 90s where we had to lower our gear via a pulley and rappel down to the water. The water was too deep to stand. We had to don our gear while floating on the water (added note: getting out was a bitch). Pun for AJ, it was a Dismal place.

 

[PfcAJ]

Yesterday I was at Little River and during a bubble check we noticed I had a HP hose fail. The water is over the bottom of the stairs, standing next to the walkway you're waist deep in water. Option 1: Walk my double 104s up the stairs to deal with the issue. Option 2: Remove my doubles on the surface of the water, take the reg off while they float and walk up the stairs to deal with the issue.

There was a place I dove a few times in the 90s where we had to lower our gear via a pulley and rappel down to the water. The water was too deep to stand. We had to don our gear while floating on the water (added note: getting out was a bitch). Pun for AJ, it was a Dismal place.

Oh yea I forgot about that. We’ve got another sinkhole with the same problem. In is reasonable, out is super hard.

There’s a whole rope/pulley/winch system.

 

[PfcAJ]

Oh yea I forgot about that. We’ve got another sinkhole with the same problem. In is reasonable, out is super hard.

There’s a whole rope/pulley/winch system.

Took a tumble on the way in

 

[kensuf]

Yeah, I think I know where that is. Charlie and I have done some stuff at another sink in the same system that is similarly entertaining to get in and out of, but we had sm bailout which made it easier. One day it rained while we were in, the slope was all slick mud, entertaining indeed.

BTW, that image is clearly Photoshopped, I hear you only dive on the internet.