Reel - GI - DIR - Where?

[ckharlan66]

take this for what you will, but, the reason you clip extra stuff to the butt ring is that it is out of the slip stream there so it offers less drag and if it is a negative object and hangs down it can not hang below the diver so you won't have anything dangling to stir silt or tangle in a line.

Chad

 

[MikeFerrara]

Actually I think the official answer is that GI clips them where ever he can...hip, stage bottle or where ever. Last I heard he doesn't even have a butt ring. At least that's what I heard.

 

[Braunbehrens]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
Actually I think the official answer is that GI clips them where ever he can...hip, stage bottle or where ever. Last I heard he doesn't even have a butt ring. At least that's what I heard.

Yes, the lastest is that you can just clip it to the stage. The idea is that if you jump in with a reel you'll probably use it pretty quick anyway.

I have no problem reaching the butt D-ring so that is where I clip my reel, especially since I may not use it if the viz is good.

Technical divers used to do many things that are now considered dangerous by most. Deep Air is one example, suicide clips is another. The reason people don't use these methods anymore is because the have proven to be dangerous.

In a way, DIR is a refinement of this pattern. A method of diving is hammered out that eliminates all of the potentially dangerous practices, and promotes the ones that are proven safe.

Of course the system evolves. However, it evolves very slowly.

This is a good thing, IMO, because so far it has proven very safe and reliable. This is also why I dive DIR.

Enough people dive this system to ensure that every aspect of it is tested repeatedly. That's part of the reason it's so reliable, and it's also the reason why it's so rigid. If everyone changed a little thing, then the whole reliability of it would go out the window.

I'm not saying that non-DIR diving is inherently more dangerous. It may be, or it may not be, depending on your setup. I'm just not interested in finding out the hard way.

 

[ckharlan66]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
Actually I think the official answer is that GI clips them where ever he can...hip, stage bottle or where ever. Last I heard he doesn't even have a butt ring. At least that's what I heard.

What GI does. I was just going on the answer I was given when I asked this question at DIRF last month.

Chad

 

[Todd]

Seacur once bubbled...
I admit I'm one who hates stuff clipped off to my buttring because I have a helluva time unclipping things there, and look like I'm just enjoying playing with my own butt...

Nothing wrong with a little butt playing–GI3 approved or not. ut:

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
This is funny. I heard that he doesn't like the reel clipped to his butt anymore.

I assume a joke about a good ********** would be inappropriate?

Todd.

[edit by moderator - profanity removed]

 

[Scubaroo]

Todd once bubbled...
I assume a joke about a good *********** would be inappropriate?

This board strives to be family oriented.

This thread is starting to push the limits.

 

[cast55]

The butt ring was where Irvine stowed the exploration reels (i.e. the reels that are too large to effectively get stowed anywhere else). For a standard primary reel, you can either clip off to the hip ring, or may even be able to fit it in your pocket if you don't also have a backup mask in there.

The butt ring is not entirely superfluous. I keep lift bags there sometimes, but would be hesistant to put a reel there where the line could come off the reel without immediate indication.

The lift bag, or anything else to get stowed in that location, is either up in the backplate channel or held tight to the plate with bungee. You don't want anything hanging there that could interfere with towing, either by obscuring the crotch strap (as in the case of towing another diver), or by entangling a camera or scooter leash (clipped to the crotch ring).

I think this is why WKPP et. al. have moved away from using the butt ring, since in cave exploration you don't carry lift bags there. Besides, the butt ring is a bit "out of sight, out of mind" - having a big exploration reel full of line staring you in the face is all the more motivation to lay it...

-Sean