Recreational DIR

[KentFrazier]

Let me start by saying I’m a recreational diver and I don’t see any Technical diving in the near future for me. That being said, I have been reading the DIR Fundamentals book and find that I like many of the ideas and concepts presented.

I’ve been considering the purchase of a BP/Wing single tank setup and I have wanted to buy a pair of Jet Fins (replacing the ones I gave to a former girlfriend years ago) before I even heard of DIR.

How does a recreational diver adopt a DIR configuration without looking like a “Tech Wannabe”?

 

[ShakaZulu]

Wow, this thread is going to get crazy................ShakaZulu runs.

 

[Ed Hayes]

Let me start by saying I?m a recreational diver and I don?t see any Technical diving in the near future for me. That being said, I have been reading the DIR Fundamentals book and find that I like many of the ideas and concepts presented.

I?ve been considering the purchase of a BP/Wing single tank setup and I have wanted to buy a pair of Jet Fins (replacing the ones I gave to a former girlfriend years ago) before I even heard of DIR.

How does a recreational diver adopt a DIR configuration without looking like a ?Tech Wannabe??

keep reading,,, continue to lurk on the boards,,, ask smart ??? and seek out a GUE instructor,, make the call to that peson and set up a fundamentals class asap,,, you are on the correct path ,,, continue on it

Ed Hayes

 

[The Wanderer]

Go out and buy a high quality:
BP/W, reg, octo, spg, compass, computer, mask, fins
and whatever else you need and go diving!

You'll learn a lot as you go.... and probably get a lot of advice and opinions. You'll have good equipment to build upon and add to, as needed for great recreational diving.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Let me start by saying I’m a recreational diver and I don’t see any Technical diving in the near future for me. That being said, I have been reading the DIR Fundamentals book and find that I like many of the ideas and concepts presented.

I’ve been considering the purchase of a BP/Wing single tank setup and I have wanted to buy a pair of Jet Fins (replacing the ones I gave to a former girlfriend years ago) before I even heard of DIR.

How does a recreational diver adopt a DIR configuration without looking like a “Tech Wannabe”?

You've probably already heard it, but ... DIR is about way more than the gear configuration.

Start by adopting an attitude that diving is a team thing ... and that each member of the team has a role to play in the overall experience. Use that notion as a basis for developing excellent buddy skills.

Learn all that you can ... not just about how DIR does things, but about diving. If the DIR way is meant for you, it will make sense ... the alternatives will then become simply a context around which you can base your decisions.

Make skills practice a regular part of your dive plan. Cultivate buddies who are like-minded, and safety-oriented. Doing so makes skills practice as much fun as chasing fish on a reef.

If the above feels comfortable to you, then go for the gear. Don't worry about looking like a tech wannabe ... if it feels comfortable, and makes you a better diver, then it's right for you.

Where I dive, there are lots of non-DIR, non-techies in hog rigs ... I'm one of 'em ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Snowbear]

Hope this doesn't make me a traitor, but here's a link to a thread on another board that discusses this very issue. This thread and it's originator was part of a series of deciding factors that led me to setting aside all the negative elitist attitudes I had encountered regarding DIR and allowed me to open my mind enough to start considering taking a DIRf class.

(Sorry in advance - I think you need to actually join this board to view the thread)

Tech Diving Tactics for Recreational Divers (NW D2D)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hope this doesn't make me a traitor, but here's a link to a thread on another board that discusses this very issue. This thread and it's originator was part of a series of deciding factors that led me to setting aside all the negative elitist attitudes I had encountered regarding DIR and allowed me to open my mind enough to start considering taking a DIRf class.

(Sorry in advance - I think you need to actually join this board to view the thread)

Tech Diving Tactics for Recreational Divers (NW D2D)

A classic ... and well worth reading, even if the ending gets a bit side-tracked.

I'm pretty sure anyone can view the posts, just not respond to them without registering first ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[KentFrazier]

Snowbear: Thanks for the link. I’ll read that later today.

I do understand that DIR is more than just gear configuration, and maybe I made a poor choice by using the term “DIR”. My post focused on gear configuration because that is what people see. I don’t think I will be a true DIR diver for quite some time, if ever. I have a few things that I really like that, to the best of my knowledge, would not be DIR approved. My Oceanic Omega II regulators come to mind.

I do like the idea of donating air from the regulator you are breathing, and the long hose just makes sense for this. I also like the idea of the secondary being around the neck. I do not currently own a dive computer and to be honest, I’m not sure I want one. But I’m not sure about giving up my console. I also like a little color in my gear <grin>

Anyway, I really appreciate the posts and the PM that I received.

Thanks,

Kent

 

[DeeDee]

Very good question. The answer is DIR Fundamentals. This course is geared towards Recreational divers , and has the most benefit to these that never tried Technical diving. Course I took emphasized on gear configurations, situational awareness, basic skills like buoyancy and propulsion techniques. I found it to be very similar to PADI Open water , but without the pressure to "PASS" or meet minimum requirements.
You will learn that color is not important (if you like it - keep it) , console gets replaced by wrist display (watches used to be on a chain in a small pocket too), and why some gear is better than other. The choices are still yours, you just get the knowledge to make these choices educated.

 

[rab]

Perhaps it's not the best place to bring this up, but I've thought about this from a slightly different angle.

Is there a form of DIR-F for the non-DIR diver? What I mean is: using one's own existing equipment, explaining/discussing configurations that don't meet DIR standards, working on buoyancy and trim, learning/practicing kick styles, etc.

For example, I've got a new, functional, back-inflation BC -- but not BP/W. High performance regs, but upstream 2nds (Poseidon) so not DIR (and a long-hose is about $100). My UK C-8 light is fine for the limited amount of night/low-light diving I'm doing and I'm not looking to spend $$$ on a canister light.

From what I've read, if you could somehow plot different courses in some n-dimensional space, I think this "course" would fall in a region bounded by Peak Performance Buoyancy, Rescue, and DIR-F. (No, don't ask me how this theoretical plot might be constructed!)

I read the NorthwestDiver posts a while ago and probably need to read them again, but (as you all certainly know) reading isn't much like actual diving.

-Rob