Thinsulite

[3D diver]

er...Anywater sports...

 

[Adobo]

That's why I am on ScubaBoard!

- Bill

---------- Post added July 18th, 2013 at 10:53 AM ----------



Would it keep you warm if the suit floods?

- Bill

Scubaboard has always been hit or miss for me. Its not uncommon for me to see just as many bad answers here as good answers. How new divers are able to sort out the good stuff from the bad, I have no idea.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got through scubaboard (via private message) was from my buddy Ben_CA way back in the day... stop trying to re-invent the wheel using scubaboard as your guide, stop buying gear and go take essentials/fundies.

 

[billt4sf]

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got through scubaboard (via private message) was from my buddy Ben_CA way back in the day... stop trying to re-invent the wheel using scubaboard as your guide, stop buying gear and go take essentials/fundies.

That kind of advice is why I am on ScubaBoard !

 

[Peter_C]

That kind of advice is why I am on ScubaBoard !

Yeah, but did you listen? Adobo's point is don't try to change the system that works so well. IE: "If I had a longer hose on my pressure gauge..." The key is learning who to listen too, and Ben...sigh

 

[manni-yunk]

Scubaboard has always been hit or miss for me. Its not uncommon for me to see just as many bad answers here as good answers. How new divers are able to sort out the good stuff from the bad, I have no idea.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got through scubaboard (via private message) was from my buddy Ben_CA way back in the day... stop trying to re-invent the wheel using scubaboard as your guide, stop buying gear and go take essentials/fundies.

Funny - because the "go take fundies" answers, as predictable as they are, are one of the most frustrating part of scubaboard. Drives me absolutely nuts since a large majority of the time, it is irrelevant to the point. Part of the often denied and misunderstood reputation that the GUE people have created for themselves.

 

[tracydr]

Not that was thinsulite. The 400g of polartec that they had was WAAAAY too lofty for me to even get in a drysuit. But my size thinsulite can be ordered.

Thanks for the clarification on 400, not 300.

- Bill

The polartec that Janice uses is 300 weight. I use a medium weight smart wool under it. I suspect I would need a base in Puget Sound or BC water. It's been great in CA, although I need a warmer hood and dry gloves. I'm also going to order the vest that she makes because that will warm up my core for repetitive diving.
She does a great job with customizing and I believe a lot of people are using her garments in Monterrey.
I forums her information on a mainly CA/WA forum.
I have to be careful about anything too lofty with my drysuit, as I have gained some weight and don't have a lot of room, especially in the legs. Another reason I found that these worked better. The thinsulate garments seemed like wearing snowmobiling suits,as lofty and non-stretch as they are. Even the Bare T-100 or the Diving Concepts T100 is loftier than polartec. ( course, you can't get the Diving Concepts anymore).

 

[Adobo]

Funny - because the "go take fundies" answers, as predictable as they are, are one of the most frustrating part of scubaboard. Drives me absolutely nuts since a large majority of the time, it is irrelevant to the point. Part of the often denied and misunderstood reputation that the GUE people have created for themselves.

I agree that getting any recommendation that is irrelevant to the point is frustrating. That happens quite a bit in scubaboard and frankly goes far beyond "go take essentials" (which by the way is not a GUE class).

In my case, I was frustrated:

• with what seemed like such inadequate training for a sport that has such serious consequences.
• that I didn't know how to stay with and communicate effectively with my dive buddies (something I was told was important in my open water class).
• that I didn't know how to plan a dive - heck I didn't even know to begin to figure out how to "be back on the boat with 500psi".
• that I didn't know which exposure protection to get or even, what thought process was most sensible in picking a drysuit and undergarments. Heck, like most people, I went and bought a drysuit first, only to realize that the undergarment that was best suited for the diving I wanted to do was not going to fit in my suit.
• I had no idea how to begin to figure out what the right choices were in terms of gear. My dive shop even had me convinced that a spare air was a good idea.

I came to scubaboard and was basically trying to develop my own set of best practices for scubadiving. This a great exercise for a newly minted open water diver to embark on, eh? There was a bit of trial and error, as can be expected when one gets advice from a committee of strangers from the internet. I bought a BCD that sucked, bought a flashlight that was useless, bought a retractor to hold the flashlight. Then my friend Ben finally stepped in and asked if i was tired of trying to reinvent the wheel.

And he did so in a private message. He recognized that this advice is not applicable to all divers and for many, not even welcome. He realized that while a great many divers can and do figure this out without GUE, UTD or whatever other agency's classes, I wasn't going to be one of them.

From time to time, I see others traveling the same path I was on, making the same mistakes I made. And if I see the person asking questions that are all addressed in a specific class, I pay forward the advice that Ben gave to me - save yourself a little time and a lot of trouble and take a class from someone who knows this stuff as opposed to trying reinvent the wheel. That instructor might even be an avid cave diver and be able to tell you all about cave diving and the training that is involved. <- this last bit only seems irrelevant but it is in reference to another question the OP had in a different thread.

 

[manni-yunk]

I agree that getting any recommendation that is irrelevant to the point is frustrating. That happens quite a bit in scubaboard and frankly goes far beyond "go take essentials" (which by the way is not a GUE class).

In my case, I was frustrated:

• with what seemed like such inadequate training for a sport that has such serious consequences.
• that I didn't know how to stay with and communicate effectively with my dive buddies (something I was told was important in my open water class).
• that I didn't know how to plan a dive - heck I didn't even know to begin to figure out how to "be back on the boat with 500psi".
• that I didn't know which exposure protection to get or even, what thought process was most sensible in picking a drysuit and undergarments. Heck, like most people, I went and bought a drysuit first, only to realize that the undergarment that was best suited for the diving I wanted to do was not going to fit in my suit.
• I had no idea how to begin to figure out what the right choices were in terms of gear. My dive shop even had me convinced that a spare air was a good idea.

I came to scubaboard and was basically trying to develop my own set of best practices for scubadiving. This a great exercise for a newly minted open water diver to embark on, eh? There was a bit of trial and error, as can be expected when one gets advice from a committee of strangers from the internet. I bought a BCD that sucked, bought a flashlight that was useless, bought a retractor to hold the flashlight. Then my friend Ben finally stepped in and asked if i was tired of trying to reinvent the wheel.

And he did so in a private message. He recognized that this advice is not applicable to all divers and for many, not even welcome. He realized that while a great many divers can and do figure this out without GUE, UTD or whatever other agency's classes, I wasn't going to be one of them.

From time to time, I see others traveling the same path I was on, making the same mistakes I made. And if I see the person asking questions that are all addressed in a specific class, I pay forward the advice that Ben gave to me - save yourself a little time and a lot of trouble and take a class from someone who knows this stuff as opposed to trying reinvent the wheel. That instructor might even be an avid cave diver and be able to tell you all about cave diving and the training that is involved. <- this last bit only seems irrelevant but it is in reference to another question the OP had in a different thread.

I know that essentials is not a GUE course - however, Fundamentals, which I mentioned - is a GUE course and is the usual comment........


That being said - isnt "essentials" the same darn thing, basically?? From people that either left - or became disgruntled with GUE at one time or another.......and isnt the difference between essentials and fundamentials just splitting hairs????

 

[billt4sf]

I agree that getting any recommendation that is irrelevant to the point is frustrating. That happens quite a bit in scubaboard and frankly goes far beyond "go take essentials" (which by the way is not a GUE class).

In my case, I was frustrated:

• with what seemed like such inadequate training for a sport that has such serious consequences.
• that I didn't know how to stay with and communicate effectively with my dive buddies (something I was told was important in my open water class).
• that I didn't know how to plan a dive - heck I didn't even know to begin to figure out how to "be back on the boat with 500psi".
• that I didn't know which exposure protection to get or even, what thought process was most sensible in picking a drysuit and undergarments. Heck, like most people, I went and bought a drysuit first, only to realize that the undergarment that was best suited for the diving I wanted to do was not going to fit in my suit.
• I had no idea how to begin to figure out what the right choices were in terms of gear. My dive shop even had me convinced that a spare air was a good idea.

I came to scubaboard and was basically trying to develop my own set of best practices for scubadiving. This a great exercise for a newly minted open water diver to embark on, eh? There was a bit of trial and error, as can be expected when one gets advice from a committee of strangers from the internet. I bought a BCD that sucked, bought a flashlight that was useless, bought a retractor to hold the flashlight. Then my friend Ben finally stepped in and asked if i was tired of trying to reinvent the wheel.

And he did so in a private message. He recognized that this advice is not applicable to all divers and for many, not even welcome. He realized that while a great many divers can and do figure this out without GUE, UTD or whatever other agency's classes, I wasn't going to be one of them.

From time to time, I see others traveling the same path I was on, making the same mistakes I made. And if I see the person asking questions that are all addressed in a specific class, I pay forward the advice that Ben gave to me - save yourself a little time and a lot of trouble and take a class from someone who knows this stuff as opposed to trying reinvent the wheel. That instructor might even be an avid cave diver and be able to tell you all about cave diving and the training that is involved. <- this last bit only seems irrelevant but it is in reference to another question the OP had in a different thread.

I like your post Adobo. Peter_C helped me in much the same way. I have gone thru much of the same process, and guess what -- I am still asking questions because I am still learning. We haven't taken Fundies or Essentials yet though, and although it's in our plans, it's not imminent.

I found the info on undies that was in this thread quite helpful. As well as some PM's that developed from the thread.

I'm not sure if I said or posted something that you think is a waste of time. If I did, ignore it and move on. Personally, I typically have a few posters whose messages I always read, some whose messages I sometimes read, and some whose messages I usually do not read.

- Bill

 

[Adobo]

I know that essentials is not a GUE course - however, Fundamentals, which I mentioned - is a GUE course and is the usual comment........


That being said - isnt "essentials" the same darn thing, basically?? From people that either left - or became disgruntled with GUE at one time or another.......and isnt the difference between essentials and fundamentials just splitting hairs????

Just checking - some people like to single out agencies for one reason or another. Ultimately, my exposure to the answers for some of the issues I was struggling with came from an Essentials class but under a NAUI instructor of all things.

---------- Post added July 20th, 2013 at 02:09 PM ----------

I'm not sure if I said or posted something that you think is a waste of time. If I did, ignore it and move on. Personally, I typically have a few posters whose messages I always read, some whose messages I sometimes read, and some whose messages I usually do not read.

- Bill

Bil,

You are not the first to come along to try and get the answers to scuba problems from the internet. Ultimately, you might figure it all out and not need any additional instruction from anyone. If you do, good on you.

The other scenario I have seen is after a bunch of trial and error and bunch of money spent on gear, the diver takes instruction from someone who has a lot of this stuff figured out. Then the diver realizes they could have short cut the process and saved money at the same time.

Either way, good luck with it.