DaleC
Contributor
PfcAJ voices one POV, I would voice the polar opposite.
I love to learn about, study and dive different gear and find it a rewarding and fascinating aspect of the hobby. I derive a great deal of satisfaction from investigating a new piece of gear or technique first hand. For most recreational diving scenarios, the gear isn't critical and like rjack said: good divers can dive almost anything.
Two weeks ago I dove in Port Townsend. On the first dive I used a doublehose and horsecollar BC. On the next dive I soloed in sidemount. Did I need to use either? no. But I didn't need to use a BP/W longhose-bungeed backup combo either - which I also have. The doublehose generated some conversation (as it often does) with an older diver who reminisced about his own experiences with them (speaking about the social/fun aspect of diving) and the sm rig has (perhaps in a small way) tweaked another's interest in trying it out as well.
Ever dived a Hawaiian pack? I have - built one too. Know how they perform, the pros and cons.
Sidemount? I have - built my own rig too. Learning how it works, the pros and cons.
Vintage equipment? I have. Know how it works, the pros and cons.
Inverted cylinders?
FFM's?
Independent doubles?
My next projects are a Le Prieur diving apparatus and a shallow water diving helmet. Hands up from those with first hand experience.
If people stick with diving they (hopefully) will eventually have a sense of accomplishment in some aspect of the sport. Some will feel they have traveled the globe and experienced many different geographic settings. Some will feel they penetrated a fair distance into a cave, or to a specific depth, or touched some particular wreck. Some will feel they excelled in photography or videography.
I will feel I've investigated diving's past, present and (if I'm lucky) future. I will have had a tactile experience with equipment and techniques from different eras and arenas. If I were a doctor I would be a well rounded GP instead of a specialist. What value that has depends on the person I suppose. I know I have a lot of diving friends that seem to enjoy my company cause they keep asking me to go diving (maybe it's the cookies).
All this talk of "mission" and "taking only what one needs" seems to reduce diving down to a mathematical equation - for which people keep trying to find the one correct answer. That's ok for some venues but not for recreational diving IMO.
To me, other than highly committed technical dives, diving can be more creative and dare I say, poetic; for which there are many many valid expressions. My experiences so far have removed the desire for a single, linear approach in favour of something far more organic and cyclic. Oddly, my interest in diving gear has resulted in my transcendence and freedom from it. I really need very little, and can use almost anything.
Having said that: I have friends who pursue the GUE/UTD path and don't look negatively upon them for doing so. I genuinely like them and enjoy diving together with them. But for my personality type, that regime would never allow the flexibility for me to pursue my interests to their fullest.
I love to learn about, study and dive different gear and find it a rewarding and fascinating aspect of the hobby. I derive a great deal of satisfaction from investigating a new piece of gear or technique first hand. For most recreational diving scenarios, the gear isn't critical and like rjack said: good divers can dive almost anything.
Two weeks ago I dove in Port Townsend. On the first dive I used a doublehose and horsecollar BC. On the next dive I soloed in sidemount. Did I need to use either? no. But I didn't need to use a BP/W longhose-bungeed backup combo either - which I also have. The doublehose generated some conversation (as it often does) with an older diver who reminisced about his own experiences with them (speaking about the social/fun aspect of diving) and the sm rig has (perhaps in a small way) tweaked another's interest in trying it out as well.
Ever dived a Hawaiian pack? I have - built one too. Know how they perform, the pros and cons.
Sidemount? I have - built my own rig too. Learning how it works, the pros and cons.
Vintage equipment? I have. Know how it works, the pros and cons.
Inverted cylinders?
FFM's?
Independent doubles?
My next projects are a Le Prieur diving apparatus and a shallow water diving helmet. Hands up from those with first hand experience.
If people stick with diving they (hopefully) will eventually have a sense of accomplishment in some aspect of the sport. Some will feel they have traveled the globe and experienced many different geographic settings. Some will feel they penetrated a fair distance into a cave, or to a specific depth, or touched some particular wreck. Some will feel they excelled in photography or videography.
I will feel I've investigated diving's past, present and (if I'm lucky) future. I will have had a tactile experience with equipment and techniques from different eras and arenas. If I were a doctor I would be a well rounded GP instead of a specialist. What value that has depends on the person I suppose. I know I have a lot of diving friends that seem to enjoy my company cause they keep asking me to go diving (maybe it's the cookies).
All this talk of "mission" and "taking only what one needs" seems to reduce diving down to a mathematical equation - for which people keep trying to find the one correct answer. That's ok for some venues but not for recreational diving IMO.
To me, other than highly committed technical dives, diving can be more creative and dare I say, poetic; for which there are many many valid expressions. My experiences so far have removed the desire for a single, linear approach in favour of something far more organic and cyclic. Oddly, my interest in diving gear has resulted in my transcendence and freedom from it. I really need very little, and can use almost anything.
Having said that: I have friends who pursue the GUE/UTD path and don't look negatively upon them for doing so. I genuinely like them and enjoy diving together with them. But for my personality type, that regime would never allow the flexibility for me to pursue my interests to their fullest.
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