Padi Instructor Gear swap?

[Colliam7]

I'm just curious. With the COVID-19 in full swing... Is PADI or the other agencies still requiring DM and instructor student to perform the gear swap (sharing one regulator)? If so, have they altered it at all?

Since you mention PADI in your question - yes, they have. Here is (some of the) wording from the PADI third quarter Training Bulletin, describing the alterations:

This exercise has been updated to focus on neutral buoyancy during the gear exchange. As before, it is up to the candidates to determine the best way to carry out this skill.

Please note that it is no longer an airsharing skill. Whenever candidates choose to switch from their air source to their buddy’s air source, they continue breathing from the buddy’s air source through to exercise completion. This facilitates singleuser second stages: When the candidate switches to breathing from the buddy’s cylinder, they breathe from the alternate air source rather than the buddy’s primary second stage, which has already been in use.

So, one of the changes is that buddy breathing, from a single shared second stage, is no longer part of the exercise. The wording of the changes raise some interesting questions. Does each candidate simply switch to the buddy's airsource, at the time the scuba units are exchanged, but breath only from the alternate second stage instead of the primary? If so, that would be a pretty easy switch (putting aside weighting, and the requirement for neutral buoyancy).

But, if there is some element of air sharing - i.e. one candidate has to go to their buddy's alternate for the duration of the exercise, what options can be employed? For example, since PADI has long allowed independent air sources - e.g. pony bottles - to be used as the 'alternate air source' in any skills training where an alternate air source is required (although it seems from my experience that more than a few Instructors are not aware of this), can one presume that such is the case for the DMC equipment exchange (Waterskills Exercise #5), or must the recipient diver use the same air source, but the alternate second stage, during the exercise? Could one DMC, at the start of the exercise, hand a pony bottle to their buddy, who would then use it for the rest of the exercise? I don't know if that makes the exchange easier or not. (And, I am calling PADI Training this AM to clarify the answers to these questions, since I am planning to conduct this exercise with a couple of DMCs this week.) Another opportunity: could one DMC - as the donor in the exercise - deploy a second stage on a long (e.g. 7') hose to the buddy, and go to their back-up, which might either make the exercise easier, or provide a great entanglement hazard to test the DMC's collective skills.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have not seen this in practice, nor will I see it for the foreseeable future, but my initial feeling is that the biggest and most interesting issue is the equipment exchange with people with very different weighting needs. I would love to see how this plays out.

In my experience, most people involved with OW instruction are overweighted, often intentionally so, at least to a degree. When a instructed in a nice, toasty pool while wearing a 3mm shorty, I wore 6 pounds so that I could submerge quickly if needed. If I did a proper weight check and dived accordingly, I would not need any weight at all. In contrast, I have seen instructors my size use 20 pounds or more. What if I were to be paired with someone like that? I would think we would have to come to some sort of agreement about how we would be weighted before the dive.

 

[Colliam7]

I have not seen this in practice, nor will I see it for the foreseeable future, but my initial feeling is that the biggest and most interesting issue is the equipment exchange with people with very different weighting needs. I would love to see how this plays out.

VERY good point, John.

Frankly, to me the more challenging aspect of the exercise previously was the buddy breathing. Yes, I know we refer to it as 'double drowning'. But, it really promoted teamwork and underwater communication between the DMCs. So, now, our emphasis as Instructors of DMCs will have to shift, to neutral buoyancy when the rigs have different weights in them. I like the challenge of change, of course. But, I guess I can still say 'I miss the old days', with a (somewhat) straight face.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I have not seen this in practice, nor will I see it for the foreseeable future, but my initial feeling is that the biggest and most interesting issue is the equipment exchange with people with very different weighting needs. I would love to see how this plays out.

Do you say this due to the fact that weight belts have fallen out of disfavor? As I'd see weightbelts as the solution to dealing with different weighting needs (though in a pool without exposure protection, not much weight is typically needed except to deal with some bioprene).

 

[boulderjohn]

not much weight is typically needed except to deal with some bioprene

I think this could be a revelation for some people. As I said, I have seen instructors my size wearing 20 pounds or more in the pool. I met a young woman who told me that she, a slight 100 pound woman, wore 20 pounds for her OW class because the instructor put 20% of bodyweight on everyone as a standard practice. If your idea of ideal weighting is making sure everyone is anchored to the floor on their knees, finding that you don't need much weight at all to be properly weighted may be a surprise.

Here is what will make it a revelation. An overweighted diver has to add a lot of air to the BCD to be neutral. If the skill is being done in a pool that is, say, 10-12 feet deep, as they move around during the equipment exchange, they will change depth to some degree. As they change depth, the air in the BCD will expand or contract, and the more air there is, the more it will affect them. When I first started practicing tech skills in a pool while wearing Worthington LP 108 doubles (like anvils), I was, of course, significantly overweighted. It was a real surprise to me how hard it was to control my buoyancy at that shallow depth. I think this skill will be really hard for people who are overweighted, since they are not allowed to breach the surface or touch the bottom. They may learn the true virtue of proper weighting.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I think this could be a revelation for some people. As I said, I have seen instructors my size wearing 20 pounds or more in the pool. I met a young woman who told me that she, a slight 100 pound woman, wore 20 pounds for her OW class because the instructor put 20% of bodyweight on everyone as a standard practice. If your idea of ideal weighting is making sure everyone is anchored to the floor on their knees, finding that you don't need much weight at all to be properly weighted may be a surprise.

Here is what will make it a revelation. An overweighted diver has to add a lot of air to the BCD to be neutral. If the skill is being done in a pool that is, say, 10-12 feet deep, as they move around during the equipment exchange, they will change depth to some degree. As they change depth, the air in the BCD will expand or contract, and the more air there is, the more it will affect them. When I first started practicing tech skills in a pool while wearing Worthington LP 108 doubles (like anvils), I was, of course, significantly overweighted. It was a real surprise to me how hard it was to control my buoyancy at that shallow depth. I think this skill will be really hard for people who are overweighted, since they are not allowed to breach the surface or touch the bottom. They may learn the true virtue of proper weighting.

Why overweighting is such a problem, especially for open water students | Facebook

 

[Colliam7]

As I'd see weightbelts as the solution to dealing with different weighting needs (though in a pool without exposure protection, not much weight is typically needed except to deal with some bioprene).

Kosta,

You apparently come from a different era. AS DO I! I like weight belts.

For this exercise, at least with the two DMCs I am now working with, I could have an advantage - they are both wearing SS backplates. But, they are sufficiently different in physique that I am giving at least some consideration to putting them in jackets for the exercise so that the shoulder strap sizing won't be a problem. (OK, I could put them in Halcyon Eclipse rigs, but that ain't gonna happen).

I personally wear a weight belt, in addition to my BP/W. I actually wear a rubber (aka depth compensating) weight belt with ~ 2-4 lbs. I love it. And, OMG, I sometimes have a slip of the tongue, and casually mention to my OW students that I DESPISE (an understatement, but at least not profane) weight-integrated BCDs. I really do. Particularly the brand that our shop carries.

So, I am going to either put these guys in jackets, and weight belts, or have them strat the exercise with very loose straps. We will see.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Kosta,

You apparently come from a different era. AS DO I! I like weight belts.

For this exercise, at least with the two DMCs I am now working with, I could have an advantage - they are both wearing SS backplates. But, they are sufficiently different in physique that I am giving at least some consideration to putting them in jackets for the exercise so that the shoulder strap sizing won't be a problem. (OK, I could put them in Halcyon Eclipse rigs, but that ain't gonna happen).

I personally wear a weight belt, in addition to my BP/W. I actually wear a rubber (aka depth compensating) weight belt with ~ 2-4 lbs. I love it. And, OMG, I sometimes have a slip of the tongue, and casually mention to my OW students that I DESPISE (an understatement, but at least not profane) weight-integrated BCDs. I really do. Particularly the brand that our shop carries.

So, I am going to either put these guys in jackets, and weight belts, or have them strat the exercise with very loose straps. We will see.

It's a silly exercise (not my opinon, quoting peer reviewed science paper), so do what it takes to get them through it.

 

[Colliam7]

Actually, I think it is one of the best parts of the DM program. I remember to this day when I did the Equipment Exchange (and the diver I did it with would say the same). And, EVERY DM I have trained has commented that it was probably one of the most challenging, and rewarding parts of their training. To do it well is viscerally rewarding.

If anything, I am sad that the 'buddy breathing' aspect had to be removed. Not only was learning to buddy breath a real confidence booster, but adding that dimension to to exercise represented both task loading, and parallel processing.

 

[boulderjohn]

Actually, I think it is one of the best parts of the DM program. I remember to this day when I did the Equipment Exchange (and the diver I did it with would say the same). And, EVERY DM I have trained has commented that it was probably one of the most challenging, and rewarding parts of their training. To do it well is viscerally rewarding.

If anything, I am sad that the 'buddy breathing' aspect had to be removed. Not only was learning to buddy breath a real confidence booster, but adding that dimension to to exercise represented both task loading, and parallel processing.

While I agree, with the old rules the students could do it while on the floor of the pool. I think that knowing they will have to do it in mid water will affect their preparation in a very positive way.

When I was conversing with an instructor and he learned that my OW students did both the weight belt and scuba unit removal and replacement in mid water, he said he was very surprised they could do it. I think he was expressing doubt that he could do it himself. Not long afterward I happened to walk by the pool, and he was in the deep end trying those skills himself. He had no problem, which I think greatly surprised him and no doubt altered his thinking of what students could do.