Question Instructor course with Wing BCD

[ghovat]

Hi,

to start: thank you very much for your answers!
I will take SSI the instructor course in a few weeks and start to prepare myself. I work currently as a divemaster in a base and dive/work with a Wing (I have weight pockets but usually don't use them) and dive with a long hose configuration. Now I understand that as an instructor I should teach with the same configuration as the student so for the instructor course I will use the recreational hoses and regulators (Octopus) but some of my colleagues warned me that it might be a problem to use a wing instead a jacket style BC for the instructor training.
Does anyone have experience using a wing during the instructor course, I can not imagine that this would be a problem (but to be fair I would not be surprised).

Thank you!

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[Bowers]

Im not ssi so can’t speak for them, but i teach my students in bp/w and longhose. As a RAID instructor trainer i would have no problem with an instructor candidate using a wing and a longhose as long as it was used correctly. Just check with your IT and see if they care.

 

[rick00001967]

you may want to move this to the ssi forum.

but in my opinion there is no issue using the rig you normally use.

in fact, i would want to be in the rig i normally use so i was as comfortable as possible. the last thing you need is adding complications by switching regs and bcd.

if you do want a direct answer to your concern, feel free to reach out to whoever is doing your evaluation and ask them.

as far as the pockets go....you will need to have ditchable pockets avail for drills.

 

[johnydive]

you may want to move this to the ssi forum.

but in my opinion there is no issue using the rig you normally use.

in fact, i would want to be in the rig i normally use so i was as comfortable as possible. the last thing you need is adding complications by switching regs and bcd.

if you do want a direct answer to your concern, feel free to reach out to whoever is doing your evaluation and ask them.

as far as the pockets go....you will need to have ditchable pockets avail for drills.

weight belt can be an option, if he doesn't use ditchable pocket.

 

[Belzelbub]

I don't see how this will be an issue. It certainly doesn't appear to violate and SSI standards, but it might be an issue for the particular instructor. Probably best to check with the instructor.

FWIW, the instructor (SSI) I've used most recently wears a BP/W in courses I've taken with him.

 

[TravisD]

I've never owned a jacket style BCD - nobody (from a trainer standpoint) ever gave me a second glance. During classes I tend to switch between my BP/W type setups and a shop-owned BCD in order to demonstrate some of the skills to students. I also kind of like the personal challenge of adapting to new stuff (in an appropriate situation of course). You're more likely to encounter push-back from a shop on wanting you to use the stuff that they sell.

As far as long hose goes, my current shop owner also teaches tech (UTD) courses and is fine using a long hose setup in the pool. It's another opportunity to demonstrate things they might encounter 'in the wild' after being certified. We also have bp/w setups in the rental fleet and have the option of using them for OW classes.

 

[rick00001967]

100%. but who uses weight belts anymore? lol actually i still do at times when doing single tank sm. i like being able to adjust the belt higher on my body for trim and being able to slide the weights side to side when the tank gets lighter.

 

[gbirch]

There is no problem teaching SSI Open Water using a backplate and wing configuration. A few skills, such as weight belt remove & replace, and SCUBA unit remove & replace are a little different (because the crotch strap needs to be dealt with). Also, because I use a single piece harness, I need to remember to tell students in a jacket that they can use the clips to extend shoulder straps or unclip them to make getting in & out of the jacket easier. Everything else is pretty much the same.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

100%. but who uses weight belts anymore? lol actually i still do at times when doing single tank sm. i like being able to adjust the belt higher on my body for trim and being able to slide the weights side to side when the tank gets lighter.

I used belts in every class until I retired from teaching. Why? Because some students did not have their own gear and after the class if the traveled to dive, some places still use weight belts over integrated BC's for rentals because it's easier and faster. Plus they don't have to keep track of weight pockets.
There was also the issue of distributing lead over various places. Cam bands, trim pockets, weight pockets, and on belts.
Since I live in an area with diving that requires exposure protection including dry suits and thick wetsuits, covering proper distribution of lead was critical for safety. Even though no one was overweighted for checkouts, I also made sure that they knew there was never a reason to ditch all weight at depth.
If they needed to drop 2-3 lbs to start to get positive due to suit compression, that was enough to do that but still maintain a safe ascent rate.
Rather than dropping everything.
I still remember my OW class and being taught to pull both pockets and that becoming muscle memory. Muscle memory that I worked to get rid of because of how dangerous it was when you had 50-100% of your ballast in those pockets.
My students were drilled over and over to only drop what was absolutely necessary if they were anywhere other than the surface.

 

[VikingDives]

The "big issue" with a BP/W in an IE was it was a pain if you were the rescue victim... now I'd imagine if the skill was one where you'd want a jacket bcd you could borrow one from a classmate.

The only place you may find a long hose and BP/W a little challenging in OW skills is the remove/replace skill underwater.

I'd suggest you practice that, and if you're going to use a long hose to demo with short hose students, you may need to do a bit more explaining

FWIW if you teach OW in a long hose, The way I teach the remove/replace skill is to switch to the short hose, then clip off the long hose and then remove the short hose bungee, and finally switch back to the long hose.

I used to leave students on the short hose, but too many would pull the reg out of their mouth if they did it from the side. It's easier to do with a standard setup.