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Edd isn't who I'd go to for Razor training. I'd go to Edd for SMS75/Halcyon Contour/SMS100/Hog SM training. I'd go to him for Sidemount training. I'm a huge fan of Edd....I'll put that right out there. I think he's one of the best instructors out there, period. Probably THE best for sidemount. Michal Turek (his head instructor) is fantastic as well. I like his teaching method and style. If you take his Sidemount course, you'll know what you need to know to make ANY sidemount rig work. Period. If you take someone else's class, you'll learn (at best) how to make THEIR sidemount rig work. Having dove with Edd and multiple Stealth/Razor instructors, I feel very confident stating that outright.
gearhound: If you don't think those tanks are too low, you should probably consider further training. Also, those are the ONE type of tanks that are almost an exception outside of Europe. The buoyant LP85s. The heavy LP85s won't work. The heavy 104s/108s won't work. Stages with those 85s will barely work (and not well). The razor does poorly with MOST steel tanks because it wasn't designed that way. Its entire geometry is built on the lightweight AL80s. It does a GREAT job of AL80s (almost as good as the Stealth). It simply doesn't do MOST steels well. The wing will come off of your back and turn into a gigantic beach ball. I've dove with a guy diving Worthington LP85s (not very heavy tanks) in a Razor. This guy was Steve-trained in his Razor. I could fit my fist between his back and his wing. He's completely stopped diving his Razor in favor of his SMS100....even in Abaco/Mexico/Dominican caves.
---------- Post added March 4th, 2015 at 04:38 PM ----------
One thing I'll say here is that with Edd's academic training, his in-water skills training, and fifteen minutes worth of YouTube videos and a few dives worth of tweaking....you can EASILY dive the Razor super well with Edd's training. His in-water skills are VERY demanding. You actually learn what it feels like to have everything "just right" and can easily transfer that to other rigs. I made a custom Razor-style harness for single-tank AL80 diving in a shorty in the Caribbean. EASY to set up. Would've been a pain without Edd's knowledge transfer....and I didn't even take his SM class (Did Cavern->Full+Deco with Michal, Apprentice with Edd...learned a ton).
I'm glad you enjoyed your course with Edd, but I'm curious as to which Razor/Stealth instructors you've dove with?
I know you like to harp on all the forums about what can't be done by others, without looking at the limitations of your own system and beliefs. And I know you think Florida is the centre of the universe, but there's a whole other world out there. I'm confident in my ability to dive steels. I've even posted video of it. I love my Fabers and have a set of Worthingtons. But that is beside the point. The OP already said he wasn't going to dive steels.
If the Hollis stuff is so good, why are you guys always modifying it? You can't dive the SMS100 without the mods to make it more like an Armadillo. You still need to modify the SMS75. You look like crap diving al80s with those rigs. You have to put trim weights on your shoulders and on the tanks, etc... Plus they're crappy for travelling with.
And in the same vein as you, I've been in the water with many "sidemount" instructors and students that use the Hollis systems. They look like crap! In fact, it isn't too hard to go on youtube to find evidence of such.
It wasn't in FL. It was in Mx. At least one of them of them wasn't based in Mx, but was in Mx. Believe me, they were official ones.Only ask because none of the official ones are listed in Florida.
OP asked if Edd was a good choice. Due to proximity, he is. He does teach people in Razors. He'll also teach students in other SM harnesses. His class is also spectacularly through. For diving JUST the Razor, Steve Bogaerts is obviously the best choice. Considering money, convenience, and overall course....then Edd starts making a lot more sense.If he wants to learn how to dive the Razor, I am fully confident that he will learn it faster and better taking a class from Bogaerts in a Razor than he would from taking a class from Edd in an SMS and then trying to convert.