My own equipment not allowed for Open Water class?

[Superlyte27]

I don't know how legit the liability reason is, but I can understand why they would want all students using the same equipment for training. For example, if some students are using octos, and others air2s, it adds some complexity to buddy breathing that they might not want to deal with.

That said, if it were me, I would at least go through my open water classes before buying anything other than fins, mask, and snorkel. Sort of tough to know what equipment you might prefer, if you just have try scuba dives under your belt. Imho

We’re not allowed to teach buddy breathe/share air since covid.

 

[Superlyte27]

Honestly, I preferred killing the shop's gear in the chlorine at the pool rather than mine...

This is a good point

 

[Boarderguy]

We’re not allowed to teach buddy breathe/share air since covid.

2 years ago that makes sense. Why now? Rapid testing, more awareness... that is an important life saving practice. That said, I don't remember my wife being taught that in April and she recently asked any it.

 

[kinoons]

My daughter recently did her Jr OW and she was allowed to use her own equipment.

Actually, we had the inflater fail on her BCD and the store rebuilt it overnight so it could be used in the pool the next day. They wanted her to learn on her equipment. No rush charge, just standard repair. It was equipment I had not purchased from the store.

Only requirement was intergrated weight system and she have a computer. Both conditions were met so I didn’t make any fuss over it.

 

[formernuke]

I too have my own compressor. I bought it on eBay for $1600, then built my own mixing stick, oxygen and helium tanks, and analyzer. That added about another $1400. Getting certified to VIP my own tanks was $300 and the renewal every 3 years is $75. My RoI on all this was about 3 years of making my own nitrox and trimix and I now have no need of that LDS who will soon go out of business because I've been buying all my kit used on eBay for the past 20 years.

I would love to mix my own trimix, problem is I can't get helium

 

[hotdive global]

Better buy your equipment after you have some general idea about diving, so I recommend you buy your equipment after your ow course and you might have some extra discount for that too.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

When I first began, it was with the YMCA, and they provided everything, including masks (no snorkels, if I recall, were ever used in that OW class) -- the only exception being the wetsuits, which we had to rent or buy, for the ocean dives. Pool sessions only required swim trunks.

The regulators were a mixed bunch, chosen at random from an old plastic laundry basket. What was unique back then was that there was never any sales pitch when it came to eventually buying your own gear, since the "Y" was never directly associated with any shop.

Fast forward a few decades, now with alphabet-soup agencies and sectarianism, up the wazoo, I ran into a college instructor -- presumably some GUE cultist -- who wished to argue with me about the safety of my niece's upstream regulators, which she received for high school graduation.

Crap, so much has become increasingly granular in recent years. I never thought I would ever have to justify a regulator design, to some CSU twit, with a massive hog ring in his nose . . .

Where did you learn? I was Y certified for OW too. We also only had to rent a wetsuit.[/QUOTE]

 

[Bigbella]

Where did you learn? I was Y certified for OW too. We also only had to rent a wetsuit.

San Francisco, originally. I had some cousins in the East Bay and we all took the course one Summer . . .

 

[Quikster]

2 years ago that makes sense. Why now? Rapid testing, more awareness... that is an important life saving practice. That said, I don't remember my wife being taught that in April and she recently asked any it.

I just completed my OW with my brother and we certainly did this skill. It was an independent instructor and not through a shop and we are brothers so maybe that's why but I certainly appreciated the practice

Separately, we could use the instructors equipment or our own for all or part of it with no issues.

 

[Sebs]

Horgh it's been a few months. Did you end up doing your OW?