Is gear standardization necessary?

[TSandM]

It always surprises me when people write about standardization as though it is irksome. I configure my gear the way the people I like to dive with configure theirs. This is in part because it's EASY -- makes gear borrowing or emergency swaps or repairs simple -- and in part because the setup is well-thought-out and it WORKS. I have occasionally thought that something would be better another way, and have tried it. I usually conclude that there was either no advantage, after all, or I lost some part of the functionality by changing things.

It is interesting to me to watch my husband's TecReational classes. (It's a Fundies-like class for non GUE students, and is gear agnostic.). The students are asked to come to the class the first night with their gear, and go through what they own and explain why they have it configured the way they do. By the end of the class, almost all students have adopted paddle fins and a long hose/bungled backup system. Many go on to buy backplates and harnesses. We don't push them at all. They just see how everything works, and prefer it.

 

[boulderjohn]

During my UTD training days, standardization was pretty extreme. My first non-UTD experience was my cave training, in which my instructor just had me explain what I did and why. He had no UTD/DIR training in his background, but about 95% of what he did was identical to what I did. Then I completed by trimix training through TDI, and I discovered roughly the same thing--people who had never heard of UTD/GUE/DIR (and, believe it or not, there were many such people) still did everything 90-95% the same as each other and as me. As others have said, the overwhelming majority of the things that tech divers do are the same not because of a need for standardization but rather because experience has shown it is what works best for everyone.

The challenge for me came when I was asked about some of the littler things I did and could not come up with a better reason for them than that's what everyone else in my group did. Some of what the others were doing made sense to me, but I had trouble bringing myself to do things the way they did because of my earlier training. I now do a number of things differently from my old standardization. In many cases I am completely happy with my new choices, but in some cases I suffer from a small, haunting sense of guilt with what I do.

A couple of years ago, I listened to a conversation in which a dedicated GUE diver talked about this very issue. He was relating a conversation he had with a diver who used to dive in precise DIR detail but now did a number of things differently. He said he asked that diver what happened to the idea of standardization in his diving, and the diver said he had moved on in certain areas, doing things differently because he thought those changes were improvements. He was essentially saying a devout dedication to standardization interfered with the ability of the dive commuity to improve its practices. I thing he is right. BTW, the diver he was talking about was Bill Main.

 

[tbone1004]

and that's where everyone gets up in a tizzy when people recommend bpw's and a suicide strapped octopus as being superior gear... Almost everyone in the technical world has settled on a gear configuration that is at least 90% identical to everyone else and there is a reason for it, that is my fundamental issue with the DIR style diving, because they are bound to "team diving" it is a game changer with regard to the level of standardization required. If you're team diving, you really should be as close to standardized as you can, but I don't believe in team diving, so that's why my rig is optimized for me.

 

[Nasser]

Will pretty much echo what's already been said. Strict standardization definitely has it's advantages and I can see why some teams and agencies choose to adopt it.

I have found myself somewhere in between... or more like a "loose standardization" on the vast majority of tech dives. We've had very similar configurations but not identical and yet each of us also had a few accessories or slight variations in our setups. We all know how to get around on each others rigs as the these variations are subtle and unobtrusive.

 

[Adobo]

Hello everyone: It seems like different Tec agencies have different attitudes towards gear standardization. Some agencies dictate how many d-rings should you have and where you should clip what. It seems like they have already made decisions for you and things have been decided down to such minute levels that personal preference has been totally eliminated in favor of standardized configuration for the whole team. Other agencies allow more room for customization acknowledging that each individual may be different in terms of how they may want to configure. I just wanted to know from high end tec guys where do you stand on this issue? Is extreme gear/ configuration standardization necessary for safe team oriented tec diving?

Thanks -

There are a couple of questions here that seem like they have their own sets of valid answers.

Going backwards:

Is extreme gear/ configuration standardization necessary for safe team oriented tec diving?

I imagine there are hundreds and maybe thousands of divers who would argue that they have been doing dives with dissimilarly equipped buddies without incident for years.

Recently, I am seeing/hearing of GUE divers diving in mixed teams (at least one diver in open circuit, at least one on a rebreather).

Whether these practices are safe would depend on what your definition of "safe" is.


Other agencies allow more room for customization acknowledging that each individual may be different in terms of how they may want to configure

There are things that matter to the team and there are things that only matter to you. Does it matter to the team if you dive a $1000 computer vs. a $300 bottom timer? No. Does it matter to the team if you are diving a short hose on your primary? In an emergency, yes.

I imagine all divers care to some degree or another how their dive buddy is equipped. The more challenging the dive, the more scrutinizing you might be about your buddy's gear choices. I suspect that concept is not agency specific.

It seems like they have already made decisions for you and things have been decided down to such minute levels that personal preference has been totally eliminated in favor of standardized configuration for the whole team.

This is one of those oddities in scuba diving - personal preference. When I was shopping for gear as a new diver, I asked the dive shop, how do I choose? BP/W vs. jacket. Split fins vs. paddle fins. Air2 vs octo. I was told the same thing by the dive shop that many here in scuba board like to say - its all personal preference. Here is the thing, how is a new diver supposed to know what is optimal? It turns out, there are consequences to choosing a jacket vs. a BP/W. It does matter if you pick paddle fins and an air 2. As a new diver, you are ill equipped to anticipate these consequences.

Similarly, a diver that has been diving a single tank on a jacket BC all her life, how is she supposed to know the optimal configuration for the tec diving she wants to do? Manifolded doubles? Independent doubles? Side mount? What length hoses? Double bladder wing? More d-rings on your harness must be better, right? And more dump vales on your wing must also be better, right?

In my opinion personal preference is a great concept... for divers who have the knowledge and experience to anticipate the consequences of their gear choices. For new divers and divers who are embarking on a new level of diving (cave or tech), probably the most prudent thing is to ask their instructor for a recommendation on a specific configuration that is proven to be effective for a huge percentage of divers. In the case of some agencies, they keep it simple and give very specific recommendations.


P.S. I don't know what a "high end tec guy" is, but I can't think of any definition wherein I am one.

 

[tbone1004]

In my opinion personal preference is a great concept... for divers who have the knowledge and experience to anticipate the consequences of their gear choices. For new divers and divers who are embarking on a new level of diving (cave or tech), probably the most prudent thing is to ask their instructor what they recommend. In the case of some agencies, they keep it simple and give very specific recommendations.

THAT!

You don't know what you don't know. I have yet to see a legitimate argument for poodle jackets, split fins, air2's, the "golden triangle", diving without a crotch strap, and clear skirted masks. You may think from the marketing that all of those are superior to the standard technical base configuration, but it isn't. You might not understand why, and if you aren't around people who "get it", then you may stray down that path. Lynne's example is perfect, they start in whatever gear they thought was best, and by the end all move over to the base technical backmount configuration because it genuinely is a superior configuration. The base configuration is pretty universal, the bp/w, the regulator configuration, etc., there may be some preferences put in there with the harness or whatever, but 90% of it is all the same, and for good reason.