But the gear is all about diving! Try staying under without it!
I ran a student machine shop at UF for two years back in the seventies. I would show them how to use the drill press/band saw/horizontal mill or lathe, make sure that they were operating safely and then went to my desk. The tenor of metal cutting metal tells the whole story. When I detected a disturbance in the force, my reply was always "It's not the tool". It's human nature to push things too hard, take too big of a bite and to generally rush the process. In that respect, I certainly agree with Bob. The diver makes the gear work, not the other way around. I can trim out in a poodle jacket or my favorite Sidemount BC.
Another anecdote. A fairly famous underwater photographer with a bit of an ego was inordinately proud of his Hassleblad. He kept telling just how bad ass and expensive it was and looking at his pics, it was indeed. So, we were getting on a boat to see derelict Hell Diver at the bottom of the ocean. and he had his camera out for display in all it's glory. It was beautiful. Guy getting on the boat pauses for a moment, considers the camera for a moment and says "Awesome camera! I bet it takes really great pictures!" It was all I could do to stop laughing as I saw the look on the photog's face. Brows furrowed, mouth open in a mix of surprise and contempt, he came over to me and whispered: "Doesn't he realize that -I- take the pictures and not the camera???" I still chuckle at the recollection.
So gear is important, but skills are importanter... and if you want to piss off your favorite photographer, just tell 'em their camera probably takes pretty good pictures.
