What do we think about taking rescue course with rental gear?

[ntlhui]

Rental should be fine.

Most rental gear is generic integrated weight BCD, reg set, all that.

One is just like another.

For Rescue Class, do not show up in anything other than that like BPW or weight belt, it throws off your paired training partner. (Unless it’s all agreed upon and worked-out in advance)

Why do you say don't show up in BP/W? Isn't that added training value, to understand what other types of setups you might see when diving? Doesn't that also become a forcing function to become familiar with not only your gear but your (insta)buddie's gear?

IMO rescue in a BP/W vs a jacket style BCD aren't all that different. Even throwing in a long hose and necklace doesn't really change the fact that you still need to get everything off of them, and sometimes they'll have other stuff on them (like kelp, fishing line, cameras, etc).

 

[TMHeimer]

I don't think it makes any difference. If anything, using rental gear may be better because it forces you to become familiar with different gear?

 

[SlugLife]

Rental gear should be just fine. Theoretically, you should be able to rescue another diver in any "normal" basic gear config. If you wanted to do something a little different like SideMount, I'd definitely clear that with the instructor first.

edit: While a rescue course isn't a bad thing, if you're only diving 2x per year, and don't have your own equipment, it doesn't seem like the best use of money. You'd probably be better off investing in your own equipment.

 

[Lorenzoid]

While a rescue course isn't a bad thing, if you're only diving 2x per year, and don't have your own equipment, it doesn't seem like the best use of money. You'd probably be better off investing in your own equipment.

I would vote spending a limited budget on training and actually going diving over equipment. Diving more than twice a year would help skills from getting rusty. But it doesn't matter whether the equipment is rented or owned.

 

[jsarche]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts. First off, I think I’ll definitely use gear during the course, so I appreciate that advice! To address some questions, I have only about 60 dives since I got my AOW certification, but I feel like my skills and knowledge are up to rescue diver. Also, I’m feeling really obsessed with diving lately (a week in Roatan and another week in Cozumel last year will do that to a person) and I know I want to dive a ton more and improve and progress. And I want to know I could be part of the solution in the event of a problem. Rescue diver seems the best next step for me, and I may be buying my own setup before my next week in Roatan this summer anyway.

So thanks again for your opinions.

 

[Boarderguy]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts. First off, I think I’ll definitely use gear during the course, so I appreciate that advice! To address some questions, I have only about 60 dives since I got my AOW certification, but I feel like my skills and knowledge are up to rescue diver. Also, I’m feeling really obsessed with diving lately (a week in Roatan and another week in Cozumel last year will do that to a person) and I know I want to dive a ton more and improve and progress. And I want to know I could be part of the solution in the event of a problem. Rescue diver seems the best next step for me, and I may be buying my own setup before my next week in Roatan this summer anyway.

So thanks again for your opinions.

I go more often since I upgraded gear and added more tanks. Having everything in your garage makes it much more doable without having to make multiple trips to your shop. The main thing for me is if i have to cancel a dive I don't feel as though I just wasted $100 on equipment I didn't get to use. There is less pressure imo to dive safely dive the lost rental fee is no longer a thought

 

[happy-diver]

Fair dinkum

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[Bob DBF]

For Rescue Class, do not show up in anything other than that like BPW or weight belt, it throws off your paired training partner. (Unless it’s all agreed upon and worked-out in advance)

Wasn't a problem when I took the class. The instructors I had, for that and other classes, actually liked it because teaching about people with different configurations is easier when there is actually is different rigs to show the students. The class may have taken longer, but everyone had an appreciation of how important it is to notice other divers rigs before a rescue.

Out of 8 students in my rescue class, half had configurations that were not poodle jacket, integrated weights, and the alternate attached on the divers right side. The four in the "standard" rig were vacation divers, the rest of us were local divers. I was the only BP/W, two had Air 2, one had a back inflate jacket, one had a pre-integrated weights jacket.

 

[tursiops]

Wasn't a problem when I took the class. The instructors I had, for that and other classes, actually liked it because teaching about people with different configurations is easier when there is actually is different rigs to show the students. The class may have taken longer, but everyone had an appreciation of how important it is to notice other divers rigs before a rescue.

Out of 8 students in my rescue class, half had configurations that were not poodle jacket, integrated weights, and the alternate attached on the divers right side. The four in the "standard" rig were vacation divers, the rest of us were local divers. I was the only BP/W, two had Air 2, one had a back inflate jacket, one had a pre-integrated weights jacket.

That would be a much more fun class to teach and to take.

 

[SlugLife]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts. First off, I think I’ll definitely use gear during the course, so I appreciate that advice! To address some questions, I have only about 60 dives since I got my AOW certification, but I feel like my skills and knowledge are up to rescue diver. Also, I’m feeling really obsessed with diving lately (a week in Roatan and another week in Cozumel last year will do that to a person) and I know I want to dive a ton more and improve and progress. And I want to know I could be part of the solution in the event of a problem. Rescue diver seems the best next step for me, and I may be buying my own setup before my next week in Roatan this summer anyway.

So thanks again for your opinions.

Self evaluation of skill can be misleading. If you're only diving about twice per year, it's certainly possible you're safe during those dives, but skills, knowledge, and experience atrophy when there are such long gaps between diving. When I take a break of about 6-months over the winter, I almost always do an easy warmup dive. Sure, I'm plenty confident to go straight to 130ft on my first dive of the season, but that confidence is perhaps slightly misleading.

IMO, you might want to look into dry-suit diving, that way you can dive locally in Colorado, and continue to gain experience outside of vacation diving.