tweaking a students gear

[mech]

I'm not sure if this is right or wrong but I'm considering doing this for a friend.
I have a friend that is taking an OW class.
He has done one pool dive and says he is uncomftorble in his gear.
I've seen it and it looks and fits "so so" at best.
He is being supplied an ill fitting farmer john,an aluminum tank and a heavy weight belt.
He is coming over for dinner tonight and I'm thinking of outfitting him better gear like a nice hooded one piece, a steel tank and a better weight belt (with proper weights).
Being that he is in the middle of his OW class with one more pool dive and the ocean dives to do is this a bad idea?
I was thinking of loaning him a BP/wings rig after he's done with the class for the mear reason of not pissing off the instructor.
Thoughts?
Andy

 

[FatCat]

Is he taking the class with an LDS, or is he taking it with an instructor who works on his own?

The reason for asking is that any self-respecting LDS should have an assortment of gear to fit most people, except for those who tend to have to shop in special size stores.

If you can outfit your friend with well-fitting equipment, I'd tell you to go ahead. I don't think you'll be PO-ing the instructor.

If any of my students bring along their own gear or something they've borrowed off a friend or relative, I don't mind.

Except of course when the equipment is totally unsuitable, like the one time I got a student who borrowed his uncle's Fenzy

 

[Atticus]

I'd suggest that your friend let the instructor know what changes he's making and why, and give the instructor additional time to go over that gear with the student if s/he sees fit.

For something like a wetsuit, wb, tank, etc it's no big deal. With a new BCD I'd want to make sure the student was comfortable using it before taking him/her to open water.

I know you said there is one pool session left, and usually that's an ok time to upgrade gear, but not if there are a bunch of skills that still need to be done and not enough time to do them.

 

[SubMariner]

I'm not sure if this is right or wrong but I'm considering doing this for a friend.
I have a friend that is taking an OW class.
He has done one pool dive and says he is uncomftorble in his gear.
I've seen it and it looks and fits "so so" at best.
He is being supplied an ill fitting farmer john,an aluminum tank and a heavy weight belt.
He is coming over for dinner tonight and I'm thinking of outfitting him better gear like a nice hooded one piece, a steel tank and a better weight belt (with proper weights).
Being that he is in the middle of his OW class with one more pool dive and the ocean dives to do is this a bad idea?
I was thinking of loaning him a BP/wings rig after he's done with the class for the mear reason of not pissing off the instructor.
Thoughts?
Andy

As an Instructor, I would advise that your friend talk to his Instructor about any gear concerns he may have. It's better that it be done WITH the Instructor rather than in a vaccuum. Afterall, you don't know if he's been through a buoyancy check, etc.

The BP/wing thing can DEFINITELY wait until he has the experience to understand the pros & cons of different gear set-ups. Let him go through the course & get some dives in before you start steering him towards more advanced gear configurations.

JMHO,