Skills Poll

[meagicano]

I don't take my gear on and off - I still don't get the point of that skill - but I deploy SMB's regularly and do mask skills. Reg recovery and switching to my secondary isn't a big deal - I get bored on dives sometimes so I'm always playing around with those.

Now that I have a drysuit I will do a lot of drills and practice with it to get comfortable again.

 

[Mike.D]

I think the point of doffing and donning gear is to clear any entanglements what you may encounter around your first stage where using a knife behind your back near hoses would be a little bit too risky.
Definitely a skill to have nailed down for that 'oh crap' moment.

Plus it's hard to perform a warhammer manouevre without taking your gear off!!!!


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[Tigerman]

Good luck with cutting a hose with a knife..
That aside, as you pointed out, theres other situations where doffing is prudent

 

[AfterDark]

I use skills on every dive. If I change my gear configuration I'll practice finding / using whatever it is I changed for a few dives. Some of this I'll do out of the water also. After that it's muscle memory.

I just changed my pony bottle configuration, added a inline shutoff, this adds a step to deployment, opening the shutoff. It also eliminated a step, unclipping the regulator. So I'll practice deployment until I'm satisfied I can do it without much thought, then until I need it it'll hang there. I don't even use it on every dive, solo diving with IDs the pony stays in the barn. With brings up switching regulators practice, I do it whenever I dive IDs several times during a dive in fact. Doing is practice.

 

[TMHeimer]

Taking the unit off and back on was my worst skill. It even held up my DM cert. But both things are useful, if not always important. There is the time that for whatever reason it is easier to haul it to the water and put it on in the water. I do this often at the pool of course, but maybe at a beach you may avoid sand in the reg (I don't even do that anymore--if I can't walk geared up from the car I don't usually dive). Taking it off is of course easier. Once I was seriously cramping, probably risky to try to make it back to the beach entry. Unit came off & tossed on the rocks amongst the surge, so it was "easy enough" to exit there. It also can be useful if diving from a very small boat.

 

[crab4life]

I hop in the pool and practice before every trip

 

[CT-Rich]

doff and don, in my mind is mostly about being familiar with your rig and paying attention to what you are doing. That was probably the logic of teaching it as a skill back when I was certified. Not really that difficult, but a nice confidence builder. As a practical skill it can be used to get through restrictions and to clear entanglements (we will now hear long diatribes from the tech/cave/side mount crew about the appropriateness of their philosophy so never having a need to do this....)

 

[cmulvaney]

Definitely a skill to have nailed down for that 'oh crap' moment.

Plus it's hard to perform a warhammer manouevre without taking your gear off!!!!

Here is a youtube video of that. The Warhammer Maneuver - YouTube
WARNING!!!!!!! Do not look at this if you are squeamish. It is Disgusting!!! I warned you but you know you are still going to watch it!!!